Varik sat on the edge of his mat long after the inspection ended, elbows on his knees, head bowed. The bandages underneath his ragged clothes tugged when he breathed, tight and cleaner than anything he'd ever worn.
The barracks murmured around him.
Some whispered in excitement. Others in fear. A few simply slept, because exhaustion didn't care about futures or promises.
Rhem sat cross-legged a few mats away, sharpening a dull scrap of metal against stone. Not a weapon—just habit. Junia lounged backwards on her elbows, staring at the ceiling, lavender hair falling across her cheek.
"So," Rhem said without looking up, "you gonna do it?"
Varik didn't answer.
"You're thinking so hard your expression's actually changing," Junia added. "I was starting to think you could only put on that sour face of yours."
He ignored her. Mostly.
Junia chuckled, "Ha, there it is."
The choice weighed on him heavier than the whip marks.
The buyer's speech replayed in his head—the cold logic, the offer of freedom tied with chains of a different kind.
Freedom through service.
Freedom through survival.
Varik breathed slowly, pressing a palm against his ribs. His dull gray eyes drifted across the barracks—at the sagging beams, at the kids curled together for warmth, at the older captives who stared blankly ahead because they already knew which choice they'd make.
He thought of Lux.
The memory jabbed him sharply in the chest.
Lux crying out before being dragged away.
Him and that man vanishing in the snow.
Then he thought about Gavin.
His body being crushed underneath the pile of debris.
He thought about what Gavin would do in this situation.
Varik's jaw flexed.
If he chose to be resold as a servant, he'd live easier as long as he served the right people. A warm room maybe. Regular food. No slavers screaming in his face. No tunnels. No frost.
But he'd be trapped in a house.
Behind gates.
Under a master's name.
He'd never find Lux like that.
And he'd never stomach bowing to the nobles—not when they let the slave camps operate in plain sight. Not when they were most likely the reason behind him being in situation in the first place.
He rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a slow exhale.
Rhem looked over finally. "Hard choice?"
Varik nodded once. "Yeah."
Junia rolled onto her side, red eyes glinting. "I honestly don't think so. From what I've seen, you don't seem like the type to lick some spoiled boots. You can also take quite the beating so in my honest opinion you'd fare pretty well on the test or whatever it is."
"Do you even know what the trial is?" Varik muttered.
"Nope."
"Exactly."
"But I'm sure you can pass it, and if you can pass it then so can I," she said confidently.
He gave her a look.
She gave him a smug smile.
Across the room, Elara checked over a child's bandages, careful and precise. Her scarred eyebrow furrowed when she noticed Varik watching.
She approached quietly.
"Don't move around too much."
"Does it matter, my body is close to being healed actually."
"Wow, another freak of nature."
He glanced down at the bandages. "Thanks."
She didn't answer. Just followed his gaze around the room—at the restless movements, the low whispers. She exhaled softly.
"They're all talking about tomorrow."
"What about you?" Junia asked. "You going for the freedom fight?"
Elara shook her head. "No."
Rhem paused his sharpening. "You sure?"
"I've seen enough dying." Her tone wasn't emotional. Just final. "If I get sold to a household, I can make myself useful. Treat wounds. Keep people alive. Maybe that's better than dying to fight in a war I have no business being apart of ."
Varik frowned slightly. "You trust them more?"
"No," she said simply. "But I know my skills. And I've been around them enough to prevent any problems."
Varik gave her a look that said he was curious to know what she meant by that but he didn't try to pry any further.
Junia looked conflicted for a moment, fingers tapping her knee. "You'll be alright?"
"I'll manage." Elara glanced at the three of them. "You all should choose whatever makes you sleep comfortably tonight. It's the first time a lot of the people here have had the privilege of choice so it's best to make one and have no regrets."
Something about the way she said it—the detachment, the steadiness—made Varik feel like she'd already accepted a fate the rest of them couldn't stomach.
When she walked away, Junia muttered, "I kinda wanted her to come with us."
"What do you mean 'us'?" Them asked. "Weren't you against taking the trial this morning?"
"I wasn't against it per say." Junia replied, "I was just a bit weary, besides you know I'm not the type to suck up to rich people."
Rhem sighed through his nose. "I guess, you really are so indecisive."
Varik leaned back on his palms, staring at the lantern swaying overhead.
The idea of the preliminary test…
The danger.
The chance of death.
None of that scared him as much as the thought of having no chance at finding Lux.
At being powerless again.
He swallowed.
This is the only path forward.
Even if it's a bad one.
He rubbed his face with both hands, pushing away lingering doubts.
Finally, he lowered his hands and spoke.
"I'm taking the trial too."
Junia grinned. "Obviously."
Rhem nodded once. "Well then, it's no suprise that I'll also be participating."
Junia's grin widened.
Around them, others whispered similar decisions.
Fear mixed with hope.
Hope mixed with desperation.
A few whispered the opposite—choosing resale. Choosing safety over risk.
Elara didn't add her voice to either side. She'd already made her choice.
As night settled, the atmosphere felt heavier, thicker. Like the air itself understood the shift about to happen.
Some slept quickly.
Some didn't sleep at all.
Varik lay awake long after Junia stopped moving beside him and Rhem's breathing went deep and steady.
He stared at the ceiling, gray eyes half-lidded, mind turning over the same thought again and again.
If this trial leads me closer to Lux…
I'll take it.
He didn't know if it was courage
or desperation
or something else entirely.
But the decision sat solid in his chest.
When dawn finally brushed the walls with faint light, the alarm blew sharply across the barracks.
"Wake up! You rags are gonna get bought today!"
Voices stirred.
Feet shuffled.
Bodies lifted.
Varik sat up, tightening the worn cloth around his ribs, wincing when the clean bandages beneath pulled slightly.
Today would decide everything.
He didn't need anyone to tell him that.
He felt it.
Everyone did.