Isobel's pov
The market in Nyxara pulsed like a living thing, alive with murmurs, chains, and the sharp glint of polished boots, with beasts of different shapes and sizes.Every slave moved carefully, every gaze measured,some trembled with fear; others carried themselves like predators in disguise. Even in chains, their presence demanded attention.
Beside me, the girl with silver-streaked hair leaned close, her violet eyes sharp. "What's your name?" I whispered.
"Nora," she said, a faint smirk on her lips. "Don't be surprised if my words sound strange, many of us… speak the tongues of others. It's a gift or a curse but it keeps you alive here."
I blinked. "But… how do you know this place? You're… a slave too, aren't you?"
Her eyes swept the square. Sharp, intelligent, not entirely human. "I wasn't born human, taken from a town nearby,low wolves, they called us. They thought I'd be easy to break,but we learn fast, we hear things… understand things… even when others cannot. And if you survived the Oil Squeeze," she said softly, "you already know: this place doesn't forgive mistakes."
I shivered, remembering the chamber;dark, cramped, smelling of sweat, fear ,urine and blood,chains biting into my wrists. "It… it wasn't easy," I whispered.
Nora's chains rattled softly. "Nothing here is easy,that chamber was just the first lesson. Survive there, and maybe you live to learn the rest. Fail, and…"
She flicked her eyes towards a young boy with a frail frame being examined by a trader. He trembled and let out a startled shout. In an instant, the head hunter appeared silent, swift, and impossibly precise ripped off his head . One sharp motion, and the boy froze, his scream cut off by sheer terror. The crowd of slaves gasped, shivering at the sudden demonstration.
"Quiet," the head hunter warned, his voice low and commanding, "or you will meet the same fate." The square fell deathly silent.
"See?" Nora whispered, voice tight. "Even one mistake can cost you your life. Don't scream, don't flinch,don't betray yourself."
The guards eyes roamed the crowd, lingering on some of the female slaves with their sharp, approving glances. "Strong, supple, obedient… the young lord will be pleased," one said, running a finger along the edge of a chain as he assessed posture. Another added, "Notice her posture head high, shoulders straight, she'll fetch a good price if she survives the first round."
Nora leaned closer. "This isn't the main buying chamber," she whispered. "This is just the first display. The traders, the agents of the young lords and ladies … they're only taking note, seeing who has potential, who can survive the pressure, if you make it through this… then comes the real selection."
I could feel the heat in the square not mine, not Nora's but in the way this creatures watched each other, how desire and power twisted together in the market. Every gesture, every subtle sway, every glance was read, calculated, judged. It was a twisted world of dominance and allure.
"If anyone asks your name or where you're from, don't answer. Say the password. 'I belong to Nyxara.' Repeat it in your mind. Remember it. It keeps you alive," Nora whispered.
"I belong to Nyxara," I repeated.
"Good," she said. "Chains aren't just restraints they're displays,every step, posture, and movement is under watch and you, Earth-born, draw attention" She glanced toward the head hunter, prowling like a shadow through the crowd, "…and it can be your end."
The murmurs grew louder. The agents whispered to each other, their voices low but charged with heat. Guards commented on strength, endurance, posture, and presence, checking not just obedience but allure, and weakness under chains.
I swallowed hard. Survival here meant reading the room, understanding its rules, and knowing which eyes would destroy you if you misstepped.Then we were asked to form a queue to be admitted into a second chamber Nora's gaze flicked to me. "Step forward carefully," Use the password, don't say your name until you meet your buyer"
I nodded, repeating silently: I belong to Nyxara… I belong to Nyxara…
The golden eyes of a chained predator flicked across the square. I didn't need to know his name.
The head hunter moved unseen but lethal. Desire, power, fear, overwhelming lust they all blended together in this living market. And I realized: to survive, I would have to learn fast, hide my thoughts, and never show weakness, no matter how the world around me pulsed with heat and tension.