Page 22 of Bloom in Darkness

“I didn’t know you were working tonight.” My voice sounds wrecked, and I hate how relieved I am to see him. “You said you might be at the Forge.”

“Picked up a few hours here first.” His thumb brushes the side of my neck. “Tell me what happened.”

“It’s auction night.” His face changes enough that I know he understands immediately. I swallow and force the rest out. “I forgot, and Silas is here. He always bids on me.”

Bryn’s hand stills at my neck while my fingers tighten in his shirt. “I can’t do it tonight.” “Not after we… I know we didn’t say what any of it meant, and I know it might have been nothing, but I can’t stand up there and let him buy me after being with you. I can’t go into a room with him and act like my body doesn’t know the difference anymore.”

Bryn catches my chin gently and tips my face up. “It wasn’t nothing.”

I stare at him while he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone.

“You don’t want Silas buying your time.”

I shake my head before he finishes. “No.”

“Then he won’t.” He sends a message, waits long enough for the screen to change, then puts the phone back into his pocket. “I’ve got it.”

I blink at him. “What does that mean?”

“It means go get ready for the auction.” He keeps his hand at the back of my neck when I start to protest. “Trust me.”

I should ask more questions, but instead I just nod. Bryn presses his forehead briefly to mine. “If it gets bad again, you come find me. Don’t try to muscle through it because you think you have to.”

“I won’t.” I’m probably lying a little. Bryn’s eyes narrow, but he lets me go after one more squeeze at the back of my neck.

The auction starts less than an hour later. We line up behind the curtain in numbered order while someone from accounting checks names against the board. The dancers around me are still talking about money, regulars, and what they plan to do with their bonuses, and I cling to the normalcy of it because it keeps me from disappearing into my own head again. The Omega beside me leans closer and whispers that if Calhoun gets into another bidding war, he’s buying a new mattress tomorrow. I manage a weak laugh and tell him to aim higher, maybe a mattress and sheets, which gets a grin out of him before he steps forward when his number is called.

I listen to the bids climb while my hands stay clasped in front of me so nobody sees them shake. Then my number comes up.

The stage lights hit hot against my skin as I walk out and take my place. I keep my shoulders back and my face composed while Sabine introduces me with the polished enthusiasm of someone presenting expensive merchandise she already knows will sell. The first bid comes quickly, another follows, and then Silas raises his paddle. My stomach clenches. He meets my eyes across the room and smiles. A second bidder challenges him, and for a few rounds the number climbs enough that the crowd gets interested, but Silas barely reacts. Every time someone raises, he waits a beat and adds more until the other paddle stays down.

Silas raises once more, and Sabine pauses with the microphone lifted. I know exactly what happens next, but then a familiar voice carries from farther back in the room.

“Twenty-five thousand.”

My head snaps toward the sound. Caelan sits at one of the rear tables with one arm stretched along the back of his chair, looking completely at home despite the fact that I never saw him come in. His gaze meets mine before moving toward Sabine. The room reacts before I do. Silas turns slowly, his mouth hardening, while Sabine looks absolutely delighted as the board changes to Caelan’s number.

Silas raises his paddle again. “Thirty.”

Caelan doesn’t look at him when he responds. “Fifty.”

The room explodes into murmurs. Someone behind the curtain curses loudly enough that half the front row probably hears it. I stare at Caelan, trying to process the fact that he just bid fifty thousand dollars for a few hours of my time. Silas sits forward, his paddle already lifting again, but the Valla beside him catches his forearm. Silas turns sharply toward him, and they exchange a few quiet words before Silas looks back at Caelan with open irritation. Caelan finally meets his eyes. He doesn’t smile, and he doesn’t need to. Silas lowers the paddle.

Sabine finishes the count before anyone can reconsider. Applause moves through the room, and her smile looks almost painful when she announces the winning bid. Caelan gives me a small nod, and I step offstage with relief and fear tangled too tightly to separate. Silas didn’t win, but Caelan did, and that truth feels stranger the longer I look at it.

Sabine meets me near the stairs with one hand extended toward my elbow. “Well, Astra. That was unexpected.”

I let her guide me toward the private corridor because refusing now would make no sense. She’s practically glowing with satisfaction, her smile widening every time she glances at the auction total. She tells me she is getting me settled into my room, and Caelan follows several steps behind us. I keep remembering breakfast, the phone call, and his voice continuing while I fell asleep because I didn’t want the room to be quiet. When Sabine opens the private suite, my stomach hurts. She gives Caelan one last polished smile and closes the door behind us.

The lock clicks behind us, and every muscle in my body goes rigid before I can stop it. Caelan notices immediately. “Astra.” He stays near the door while I step backward, leaving enough space between us that I can breathe. “Bryn called me.”

Relief hits so abruptly that I have to sit down on the arm of the couch. “He called you?”

“Yes.” Caelan loosens the cuffs of his shirt but doesn’t come any closer. “He told me what was happening and knew I could get here before your number came up.”

I nod slowly, the pieces finally clicking together. I look at him again. “Did you only come because he asked you to?”

Caelan’s expression changes, the amusement disappearing completely. “No, Astra. I didn’t.” He waits until I meet his eyes before continuing. “Bryn told me you needed help and gave me a reason to get here fast. That doesn’t mean I walked through the door only because he told me to.”