"They sold me for ten coins," a woman spat as men hoisted the bundle. "Keep your voice down," Annalise snapped, shoving the sealed cloth toward Camden. "It's wrapped. Don't break it." "Ten coins," someone laughed. "Worth less than a pig." Camden's fingers closed around the coins. He didn't look at the crowd. He looked at the wrapped bundle Annalise shoved into his arms. "Take her," Annalise said. "She's hers now. Hundred Blossoms won't take the shame back." A boy behind me jeered. "She'll rot on their doorstep. Or run. Or flit off with a sailor." "You're buying trouble," another voice shouted. "You'll ruin the Robinson name." Camden's answer came low and steady. "She's not trouble. She's company for our table." Silence hit the doorway like a hand. Bystanders blinked, then shouted again, angrier this time. "Company? You bought a woman as if she were meat!" "Ten coins, and that's being generous," the man who spat first called. "Why not toss her into the river?" A hand landed on my shoulder. My body swung as men carried me, canvas creaking. My face was buried in cloth. A smell of oil and incense hit the back of my throat. People yelled. Someone laughed. I breathed; the sound was muffled. My eyes twitched under the cloth. A flash of metal. A lab room with stainless trays. A name stenciled on a crate: AURORA. Then darkness closed again. I wasn't