Page 23

They weren’t auctioning off people.

Titus had driven them to another unknown location deep in the heart of a forest on the outskirts of the city.

They’d taken so many twists and turns down narrow roads, there wasn’t a chance of Cal finding his way back on his own.

Especially not with Aodhan seated next to him, distracting him with random conversation the entire time.

The building where the party was being held was different from the last one.

Instead of a home, it appeared to be a large building once used to sell furniture.

The outside hadn’t looked like much, but the inside had been lavishly decorated with rich red carpeting and tan painted walls with gold trim.

Almost immediately, they’d been directed to the main hall where a row of chairs had been set up into three sections. They were close to the front in the middle row, not giving Calix much of a chance of escape should he have to throw up like he did at the last party.

It also didn’t give him much to look at, but he tried to scan the surrounding people, not familiar enough with those in power on the planet any longer. He’d been away too long, and the masks everyone wore did a surprisingly good job of shielding their identities.

“They’re not all from Emergence,” Titus rested a hand on Calix’s upper thigh and leaned in closer to say.

If they weren’t somewhere so public, he would shove the director off.

Probably.

“That’s Experiment.” Titus motioned to the far left with his chin.

A tall man standing off the side of the left row, talking with a redheaded woman, was pointed out.

He was in form-fitting black leather pants and a sleeveless crop top made of silk with small gold embellishments and what appeared to be real diamonds.

The mask he had on was covered in black rhinestones that glimmered every time he moved his head even a centimeter.

“Who?” Calix guessed he was probably relatively attractive beneath the mask. “That’s not a name.”

“He’s a famous model from Usurn.”

“I think he’s friends with Yuze Quint,” Aodhan said.

“Oh, really?” Cal’s interest was somewhat piqued by that, which didn’t go unnoticed. When Aodhan stiffened on his left side, he rolled his eyes. “Relax. I’ve seen some ads and stuff, that’s all. He’s been the cover model of at least one major magazine on pretty much every planet in this galaxy.”

“Yet you haven’t heard of Experient? …Do you have a thing for blondes?”

“You’re not dying your hair,” Titus quipped before the conversation could go any further in that direction.

“I don’t have a preference when it comes to hair color,” Calix answered anyway, hoping to help end this discussion. “It wasn’t even Yuze I was paying attention to the first time I saw him in an ad. It was the watch he was wearing.”

“Watches are incredibly obsolete,” Titus stated. “Everyone has a multi-slate nowadays. What’s the point?”

“Signifying social status and wealth?” Aodhan replied. “Getting to show people less fortunate how much richer I am than they are?”

Cal pursed his lips. “I don’t want a watch anymore.”

“Right?” Aodhan brought his hand up to the front of Cal’s neck. “I think a golden collar would be better. We could put a bell on you, that way you couldn’t take a step without us knowing.”

“I’m pretty sure,” he brushed his hand aside, “that’s already the case.”

“Smart.” Titus smiled and then pointed to the front of the room. “It’s about to start.”

Calix shifted uncomfortably in his seat, taking in the stack of gilded cages set on the far side of the room. It’d been left purposefully darker there, shadows shrouding most of the animals up for auction. He could hear chirping and low growls, the occasional hiss, coming from that area.

The light orbs floating above them flickered, and everyone settled into their chairs, a hush falling over the room when a man dressed in dark blue stepped up to a black podium.

He wasn’t the same person who’d been in charge at the last gathering—the one who’d cut the merman in half.

His hair was copper, and even from the distance between them, his pale blue eyes were noticeable.

“Greetings.” The man smirked at them all. “Let’s skip the boring introductions and begin, shall we?”

Part of Cal wished he wouldn’t, since he didn’t have much experience and wanted to be able to follow along, but the other part was glad.

Maybe they could rush through this and he could feign feeling sick after.

If he could convince Titus and Aodhan to leave before things got… heated, that would be ideal.

For his mental health, that was.

Calix didn’t want to admit that he was sex starved. He’d gone from never-ending orgasms to not even being able to jerk one off on his own without picturing one of the men on either side of him holding him down and forcing him to take it.

If they didn’t leave immediately after the auction, Cal wouldn’t even need Titus’s influence to get hard. He was already so turned on, it was a miracle neither of them had commented on it yet. If they tried anything tonight, there was an incredibly high chance Calix wouldn’t even bother resisting.

“Why are you suddenly so nervous?” Titus asked, but Cal gave a slight shake of his head, denying it.

“I’m trying to pay attention.” Barely. He was listening to the man in blue as he began the auction, two helpers dressed in black lifting a medium-sized cage and setting it on the display table.

Inside, there was a lizard-like creature with a barbed tail and ten eyes. He’d never seen one in person, but he recognized the animal as being on the endangered species list for several galaxies.

Aodhan let out a low whistle. “They’re starting off with a bang.”

“What are they going to do with it?” Calix was almost certain he didn’t want to know but… “Please tell me you didn’t bring me to another horrorfest.”

“Do you have a soft spot for animals?”

If he admitted it, what would they do?

Turned out he didn’t need to, Aodhan could already tell. He snorted and then rested his hand on Calix’s other thigh possessively. “Cute.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he kept his voice down so as not to interrupt the auction, but the glare he sent Aodhan’s way should have spoken volumes.

“I just think it’s adorable how you don’t give two shits about people, but you draw the line at animals.

What’s that about? Is it that they’re all helpless?

Or do you just like the fluffy ones? You seem very into appearance, since you’re a fan of a guy like Yuze.

I can see you only caring about the cuddly ones covered in fur. ”

“If you return my blaster, I’d be happy to show you just how many shits I give about—”

“Me?” the doctor cut him off and fluttered his lashes ridiculously.

“Fuck off.”

“That comes later.”

Calix stiffened, but Titus tsked at his other side.

“Enough, little killer. You’ll frighten him.”

Aodhan pressed his mouth against Cal’s ear, probably so Titus couldn’t hear, and whispered, “Maybe we should put you in the cage. That way you’re locked up with nowhere to run, no matter how frightened of me you get.”

He was about to snap some witty remark back when the next creature was called out and another cage was exchanged for the one that was already on the table. Air got caught in Cal’s lungs the second he saw the animal trapped within the small rectangular prison.

There was barely enough space to fit it, its white bat-like wings tucked tightly against its side, the tip of its left antler poking out from between bars.

There were two atop its head, the other scraping against the bars when it tried shifting.

Its body was feline, with fur the color of freshly fallen snow, and two ruby red eyes peered out at the crowd, a mixture of anxiety and fear glimmering brightly.

Sylars were indigenous to several planets throughout the universe, but they were rare on Emergence and not often taken as pets due to their wild nature and scarcity.

Even shipping one from another planet where they were abundant could cost hundreds of coin, and most people weren’t equipped with enough space or resources to properly care for one.

Calix hadn’t seen one in ages, not since he’d been a kid bumbling through the forest behind the orphanage.

He’d been following two other boys who’d only recently moved in, but they’d purposefully lost him in the woods.

They hadn’t stayed at the orphanage for long, adopted out within that same month they’d arrived, but their impression and influence on Cal had lasted.

The bidding started, and he struggled to focus as his mind pulled him back to memories he wished would remain buried.

Of stumbling on a furry body in the snow.

Hearing laughter and footsteps as they ran away.

Leaving him with a cooling bundle and bloodstained hands.

Had it been Cal’s fault that day? He couldn’t remember.

He didn’t think it was. If he tried really hard, he could picture the older boy lifting the rock while the younger one held the poor creature down. Calix had never harmed an animal before, not then, and not now, but…

His memory couldn’t be trusted, because he couldn’t be trusted.

If you tell yourself a lie long enough, you start to believe it. You forget it was made up in the beginning and buy into the false narrative to make yourself feel better. Cal knew this. Knew that was his expertise.

Whether he’d done it or not, he had been the one to carry the bleeding creature back to the orphanage. He’d been na?ve. Had thought Sister Grace would help him.

Instead, she’d called him a monster.

She’d dragged him inside and tossed him into the tub and rubbed his skin raw with a sponge that had felt like sandpaper.

Those two boys had returned, and they called him a liar when he asked them to confess.

In his memory, Calix had arrived just in time to stand there and watch them deliver the killing blow.

He’d just stood there.

And watched.