Varik surfaced from unconsciousness like someone pushing through ice.
Slow. Heavy.
Every inch of him protested the attempt.
The first thing he felt was the stiffness of the mat under his back.
The second thing was pain—deep, layered pain—radiating from his shoulders down to his ribs like hot metal cooling too slowly.
He opened his eyes.
Dim light. Flickering torches. Quiet rustling.
The barracks ceiling stared back at him.
He shifted and immediately hissed through his teeth.
Something wrapped his torso—tight, clean, unfamiliar.
Junia's voice floated nearby, low for once.
"He's awake."
Footsteps approached.
Rhem.
Varik turned his head slightly. His neck stung.
"How long?" he rasped.
"A day," Rhem said. "Almost exactly."
A day.
He blinked slowly, trying to piece memory and sensation together.
The whip.
The slaver's arm in his grip.
Elara's stillness.
The visitor's presence.
He pushed himself up.
His entire body screamed against it.
Rhem reached to steady him without asking. "Careful. The bandages will hold, but don't pull them. Elara treated you herself. Used clean cloth."
Varik froze.
Clean?
In this place?
Rhem nodded once, understanding the unspoken question.
"She said you'd scar, but you shouldn't die from it. She stayed until you stopped shaking."
Junia appeared at his side, sitting on her own mat, expression taut—not smug, not teasing, not scolding. Just watching him quietly.
"You woke up fast," she murmured. "People usually stay out for way longer after something like… that."
He didn't respond.
He pressed his palm against the bandaging.
It was tight. Firm. Well-done.
Elara had worked carefully—painstakingly so.
Varik exhaled slowly.
It hurt.
Rhem knelt beside him. "There's more."
Varik raised his eyes.
Rhem hesitated—rare for him.
"The visitor," he said quietly. "The buyer."
Varik's shoulders tensed involuntarily.
Rhem continued, voice low.
"He's from higher up in the city. Not a normal merchant. Not a casual bidder. Someone with authority… and money. Grel's been bowing his head so low it's a wonder his spine didn't snap."
Junia added, equally subdued, "They shut the gates earlier. Held meetings. Slavers running around like ants."
Varik narrowed his eyes. "Why?"
Rhem drew a slow breath.
"Because the visitor wants to buy everyone."
Varik stared.
"Everyone in the barracks?" he said.
"No," Rhem murmured. "Everyone in the entire camp."
Silence pooled between them.
Junia fidgeted with the edge of her sleeve, her eyes darting across the room. "Nobody knows why. Slavers are panicking, pretending not to. People are whispering but no one knows what it means."
Rhem continued, "He told Grel he'd make an offer by tomorrow evening. For the entire workforce."
Varik tried to process it.
Buying a handful of laborers was normal.
Buying a block of ten, rare.
A whole barracks? Unusual.
An entire slave camp?
Insane.
And dangerous.
"Why?" Varik muttered.
Rhem gave the smallest shrug. "Speculation only. But… there's more."
Varik felt a faint prickle of unease.
Rhem leaned in, lowering his voice even further.
"The visitor said he would grant freedom to anyone who can pass a… trial."
Varik's gaze sharpened.
Junia's voice cracked with incredulity. "It sounds fake, right? But I heard it myself. He said it like it was a normal thing—like freedom is something you win if you just try hard enough."
"He said it in front of Grel?" Varik asked.
"Yes," Rhem replied. "Grel hated it. Couldn't show it, but you could see it in his jaw. He basically put him out of business for a while."
Varik absorbed the words slowly.
A trial.
A chance at freedom.
A buyer purchasing an entire camp.
None of it made sense.
He lowered his gaze in thought, breathing shallowly to avoid the pull of pain across his back.
Rhem watched him closely.
"You're thinking of trying."
Varik didn't confirm or deny it.
Junia nudged him lightly. "Don't be stupid. You just got beaten until you passed out. You can barely sit upright. And we don't even know what kind of trial it is. For all we know, it's an execution in disguise."
Varik stared at the floor.
A trial.
Freedom.
Lux's face flashed in his mind.
Junia continued, softer this time. "Just… don't jump at it without thinking. That's all."
He didn't respond.
He didn't need to.
They shared a silence for a moment—one that felt strangely grounding.
Footsteps echoed from the far end of the barracks.
A slaver.
Instant quiet rolled across the room.
Rhem adjusted his posture, eyes down.
Varik followed suit automatically.
The slaver walked past without stopping.
Only when his boots faded down the hall did Junia finally release a tense breath.
She gave him a sidelong glance.
"You scared me, you know. When you grabbed that slaver."
Varik didn't answer.
She clicked her tongue once and leaned back against the wall. "Next time, warn someone before being heroic. Preferably me."
Rhem shot her a look. "Shut up."
"I'm serious—"
"Shut up."
Varik almost smirked.
But then the door opened again.
Every spine straightened.
The visitor walked in.
Fur-lined coat. Silver-streaked hair. Eyes sharp and cold and curious.
And calm—calm in a way that made the slavers skittish.
He scanned the room.
Varik felt the moment the buyer noticed he was awake.
His gaze lingered—just long enough to feel intentional.
Grel followed behind him like a dog on a leash.
"Your injuries have healed quickly," the buyer said, almost idly. "Impressive recovery."
Varik didn't respond.
He wasn't sure if he was allowed to.
Grel cleared his throat. "He woke only today, sir. Strong, but reckless. We keep them productive."
"I imagine you do."
There was something in the man's tone…
Not approval.
Not disapproval.
Interest.
Unsettling interest.
The buyer turned slightly, speaking to Grel as if discussing weather.
"Make sure he is fit for inspection tomorrow."
Varik's stomach tightened again. Junia stiffened nearby.
Grel bowed his head. "Of course."
The visitor gave Varik one last unreadable look before walking out.
The door shut behind him.
Silence stretched.
Junia muttered, barely a whisper, "Why does he keep staring at you?"
Varik lowered his gaze to the floor.
He didn't know.
Rhem sat beside him again. "Rest. I have a feeling tomorrow is gonna be a hectic."
Varik leaned back slowly, staring at the ceiling, letting the pain pulse through him.
The world felt like it was shifting under his feet.
Varik didn't know whether he should brace for danger…
or prepare for opportunity.