"Bring me another round of your slaves. All of them."
The cold authority in her voice sent the merchant into a frenzy.
"R-Right away, Lady Elowynn!"
They scrambled, shouting commands down the rows, chains rattling as the handlers dragged out anyone they deemed worth something—cleaner, younger, quieter.
"These, ma'am!" the merchant said breathlessly. "Our finest stock! Even a rare one—vampiric lineage, if the reports are true!"
Elowynn didn't respond. She didn't even blink.
She simply looked.
Her gaze swept through the slaves like a knife gliding over glass. But then, it kept moving—off the stage.
Across the market.
Scanning faces.
My face.
I don't like where this is going, I thought.
And then it happened.
"Those who can read and write," she said quietly, "step forward."
The crowd shifted, murmurs rippling through the bystanders. A few slaves hesitantly moved. Some didn't understand the language. Others understood all too well.
"Hey, Tharus…" I muttered under my breath. "What do I do?"
"Don't go."
"Okay."
"Wait, no—maybe go."
I shot him a look.
"But make yourself look like the worst of the pack," he added quickly.
"You're serious?"
"Completely." He patted my back. "Act like you ate books and choked on the alphabet."
"That doesn't even—"
"Just trust me, and don't make eye contact with her book."
Tharus gave me a shove forward, and my heart began pounding like it was trying to claw its way out of my chest.
F-fuck. Fuck. What am I supposed to do now?Act like a kid who eats chalk? Drools on paper? Cry on cue?
I barely took a step when I felt a gauntlet clamp down on my arm—cold, tight, final.
"You. Come forward."
A soldier—one of hers—dragged me like a misplaced object straight to the center of the godsdamned stage.Of all places.
My feet stumbled on the wooden planks. I could feel the eyes. Dozens—maybe hundreds—of stares, all pouring into me like boiling water.
Even the slaves looked confused.
Elowynn, however, looked bored.Or maybe that's just what power looks like when it has no need for drama.
"State your name," she said flatly.
I swallowed. "E...Ezekiel."
She tilted her head slightly. Her eyes narrowed—not in suspicion. In recognition.
Serenya's voice whispered in my mind:"Don't lie. But don't tell too much. That book is reading your aura."
A flicker of light pulsed from the Codex again—soft, almost imperceptible unless you were looking directly at it.
Elowynn said nothing for a moment, eyes locked onto me like a puzzle she hadn't decided whether to solve or break.
"You're not from around here."
Not a question.
I tried to say something. Anything. But my throat felt like it was stuffed with gravel.
"He's mute," Tharus said suddenly from the crowd. "Takes commands. Reads a little. Dumb as a barrel of sand, really."
Elowynn's gaze didn't leave mine.
"Is that so?"
"Yes, ma'am. Full rescue case. Found near the Pale March."
She raised a hand—and just like that, the glow from the Codex dimmed. The air eased.
"Take him," she said at last, turning away.
"Pardon?" Tharus squeaked.
"He's mine now."
Tharus, to his credit—or perhaps to my horror—stepped forward and bowed with a merchant's forced elegance.
"But with all due respect, Lady Elowynn... he's not for sale."
Her eyes didn't blink. She just looked at him. The way a storm might look at a tree.
Then, without a word, she gestured.
One of her attendants stepped forward, pulled out a small, tightly-bound parcel, and tossed it onto the dirt at Tharus's feet.It landed with a soft thud—then a metallic clink.
"Amm..." Tharus muttered, his confidence slipping.
"Open it," Elowynn said.
He crouched slowly, fingers trembling more from the tension than excitement, and untied the cloth.Coins spilled out, catching sunlight like they'd been bathed in molten gold.
"Wai—wait. Verdan?"
"Twelve of them," she replied coolly. "Now, excuse me for purchasing this assistant of yours."
"But… okay."
"OKAY?!" I snapped. "What do you mean okay, you bearded—sellout?!"
Tharus gave a sheepish grin and shrugged.
"Well, technically, this could cover the ashes you requested from me... and the book... and, you know—existence fees?"
"YEP. PAYING WITH MY LIFE. FANTASTIC."
"Better than debt," he whispered.
Then he gave me a look. Not one of guilt.
A message.
He blinked twice, slowly—then shifted his eyes in the subtlest of signs.The same kind of look someone gives when they're about to cheat in cards and hope you play along.
Stay here.Learn something.Rotting in the Pale March isn't a future.
This is better for you.
I stared at him, stunned. Words jammed in my throat, tangled between fury and fear.
"Wha…?"
But he was already turning around, pocketing the Verdan coins, bowing again, and pretending like he hadn't just sold me like a basket of stale onions.
Lady Elowynn turned to me. Her expression hadn't changed once this whole time.
"Follow."
And without another word, she walked off.
I didn't even get a chance to spit a final curse at Tharus.
A hand—not rough, not gentle either—gripped my arm and began to guide me after Lady Elowynn, through the parted crowd.
No one spoke. No one dared to whisper.
It was like walking through the jaws of something ancient and waiting.
That's when I heard her voice again—Serenya.
"Be cautious, Ezekiel."
Her tone was different this time.Not her usual ethereal calm.This was... tight. Sharpened by unease.
"You've been marked by something you don't understand. She's not like the others you've met. That woman's spirit... it doesn't shine. It devours."
"So you're saying she's evil?"
"No. I'm saying she's efficient. She doesn't see people—she sees purpose."
Elowynn didn't even look back as we passed through a heavy archway leading into the inner district of the capital—away from the market noise, into polished stone and silence.
"If she knows what I am—" I started.
"She doesn't," Serenya cut in. "Not fully. But that Codex of hers... it's not just an enchanted book. It's bound to a greater spirit. Possibly First Circle."
"So what now?"
"Now you learn. But you watch. You listen. And you do not give her more than she already took."
My throat tightened.
I had escaped the Pale March. Escaped ghosts. Survived falling through the sky.
And now?Now I was walking into a noblewoman's den with a spirit inside me screaming to be cautious.
And somehow…That was scarier than everything else combined.
I was led to a waiting carriage—if you could even call it that.
Two enormous horses stood at the front, sleek black as obsidian, their eyes glowing a pale, unnatural blue like cold flames.Their hooves scraped against the stone like metal.And they were huge—at least nine feet tall, taller than some horses back home.
I had never seen horses like this.Not in real life. Not even in fantasy games.They looked like something bred to carry kings—or tear through battlefields.
The carriage itself was… excessive.And beautiful.
Glossed midnight wood lined with silver inlay formed sweeping arches along its sides.Arcane runes shimmered faintly under the surface, occasionally pulsing like a heartbeat.Each wheel spun with perfect silence, floating just an inch above the cobbled street—hovering, not rolling.
The door opened on its own with a soft click, revealing the interior.
I hesitated. Then stepped inside.
The first thing I noticed was the air—cool, perfumed, clean. Too clean.
Plush, dark-blue velvet lined the seats and walls, embroidered with golden thread that formed constellations I didn't recognize.A crystal orb hovered near the center ceiling, casting soft ambient light—no flame, just a steady magical glow.
The cushions were so soft I nearly sank into them by accident.There was a small shelf near the corner holding a stack of worn books, a vial of dark ink, and a metal quill—still warm as if just used.
Across from me, a seat clearly meant for Elowynn sat empty.Stern, perfectly maintained. Not a wrinkle on the fabric. Not a speck of dust.
I sat, cautiously, letting the hum of the carriage settle around me.
"This is ridiculous," I muttered under my breath.
"This is nobility," Serenya whispered back. "You're not just in her territory now. You're in her domain."
And just as I adjusted my posture—
The door shut.
Without a single word from a driver, the carriage lurched forward—silent, smooth, and fast.
Like something not meant to ride roads at all.
The carriage moved in silence for only a few seconds before the air inside shifted.
A sudden burst of heat swept past me—gentle, but undeniable.
And then—flames.
They curled from the empty seat across mine, elegant tendrils of orange and blue that didn't scorch, didn't burn—just formed.And within seconds, there she was.
Lady Elowynn, now seated cross-legged, her posture perfectly composed, her gaze cast lazily out the window.
No announcement. No reaction.
As if materializing from fire was something people just did around here.
I sat stiff. Awkward. Trying not to breathe too loudly.Trying not to exist too much.
She said nothing.Didn't acknowledge me.Didn't blink.
And so we rode like that—for what felt like forever.
Just the soundless hum of the carriage, the glow of the orb overhead, and the quiet presence of a noblewoman who'd just bought me and appeared from thin air like it was a Tuesday.
My back started to ache from how straight I sat.
Only when we passed through what looked like a border gate, and the cobbled roads shifted into smooth stone inlays, did she finally speak.
"You've never been to the Inner Wall before, have you?"
Her voice was calm, disinterested. Like someone commenting on the weather.
I turned slightly, unsure if she was really talking to me.
"N-no."
She didn't look at me. Just kept staring out the window, her reflection flickering against the glass.
"It shows."
I wonder what is on her mind?