Tarpia’s Market

“What are we going to do? He keeps killing the ones we bring.”

The High Adviser, a stout man draped in flowing purple robes, spoke as he watched two men drag the lifeless body of a young omega out of the steel chamber. The room, carved into the depths beneath the Empire, looked more like a cave than a prison.

That was where they were kept, the mad, mindless beast.

No one dared step inside the dark, ominous steel cavern that reeked of poisonous pheromones. Even the men retrieving the body never needed to enter. The corpse had been near the steel doors; all it took was the slight pull of a lever, and they could drag it out.

Alpha King Myrah sighed, running a hand down his face. His gaze drifted to the omega's body, split open, entrails spilling onto the cold stone. The stench of the underground cave and the suffocating pheromones pressed against his skull like a vice. He turned to his adviser.

“No one must know about this.”

The adviser looked at him in disbelief. “My king, it has been centuries now.”

Alpha King Myrah averted his gaze. “I will destroy it, even if it's the last thing I do.”

At the Port of Kadar, Adele and the other slaves, bought, captured, or stolen, were hauled out of the shipping container. Their wrists were bound with thick ropes, each of them tethered to the one in front, forming a straight, unbroken line.

The iron collar around Adele’s neck was heavy, pressing down on her shoulders. The midday sun burned her skin, forcing her to squint. She closed her eyes for a moment, then blinked against the harsh light, waiting for her vision to adjust.

Around her, more slaves were dragged from other containers, stumbling onto the dock.

“Walk faster, slave.”

A gruff, impatient voice snapped. A hard shove sent Adele tumbling to the ground. Pain jolted through her body, her weakened limbs trembling from days spent locked in the ship’s hold, surviving on scraps of food and barely enough water.

The slave in front of her turned, lifting their rope to help Adele to her feet.

“Thank you,” Adele whispered. Her lips cracked, blood seeping from the wounds.

The girl only nodded before facing forward again.

They kept walking, pulled along like cattle.

The streets bustled with life, slaves, traders, and masters moving in every direction. The air was thick with sweat, dirt, and the scent of roasting meat from nearby stalls.

Guards stood at every corner, watching with cold, indifferent eyes.

In the distance, beyond the market and its worn-down buildings, the empire’s dark walls loomed. Far away, yet impossible to ignore.

Their march continued until they reached a large gate.

Matteo, the slave trader, stepped forward, his dark robes trailing behind him. The guards flanking the gate straightened, scrolls in hand. Their sharp gazes flickered over the line of slaves, counting, assessing.

One of the guards unrolled a scroll. "Names and origins," he demanded.

Matteo smirked. "These ones? Strays from the borderlands. No names worth remembering."

The guard grunted but waved them forward. The gates groaned open, revealing the streets beyond.

Inside, the city pulsed with life. Towering stone buildings loomed over narrow alleys, their balconies crowded with silk-draped figures watching from above. Merchants bellowed their wares, spices, fabrics, exotic beasts. Slaves moved through the square, some carrying goods, others standing naked on auction blocks, their bodies displayed like cattle. Children ran between stalls, shrieking with laughter, wooden swords clashing in play.

Adele swallowed hard, her gaze shifting. She had heard of Kadar, the largest empire in the region. And this, the beating heart of its trade, was Tarpia.

A bitter taste rose in her throat.

She quickly turned away from the sight of a man rutting against a slave, her body pinned to a stone wall, her collar scraping against the rough surface. No one looked. No one cared.

The heat pressed down, thick with the stench of sweat, spices, and filth. Adele’s knees buckled, but she forced herself forward.

At the center of the street stood a raised platform, a place for selling, for bidding.

Matteo led them straight toward it.

A few feet ahead, another man stood on the auction block, slaves lined beside him. Their heads bowed, chains tight around their feet and necks. Naked.

"Fifty denarii for the omega. Just look at her..."

The man's voice rang out, his fingers hooking into the collar of a dark-skinned omega. Her head had been shaved unevenly, as though hacked at with an axe. Her eyes were vacant, the light long gone.

The man grinned, scanning the crowd, relishing their attention as buyers began to gather.

The omega’s breathing was shallow, almost nonexistent. She barely flinched when the man grabbed her breast roughly, yanking her forward.

She did not react.

Her eyes remained dull. Lifeless.

"Take a good look. Firm breasts, strong hips, good for fucking," he continued, patting her stomach like she was livestock. "If not an omega, then I have fighters. Strong alphas from the border wars, built for the pits."

The crowd leaned in, murmuring, their whispers thick with hunger.

"She is a fine one. Willing or not, she’ll serve."

Bile burned the back of Adele’s throat. Her stomach clenched. She had seen horrors in Pelugia, but this….this was worse.

She turned her head away, fists clenching at her sides.

Her heart slammed against her ribs. The thought of being auctioned, of being dragged into such a life, sickened her. But weakness was death. She would not break. She swallowed hard, eyes fixed on the ground, though fear coiled beneath her skin like a viper.

The crowd grew rowdy, bidders shouting numbers. One by one, the slaves were sold.

Adele felt a sharp pang of sorrow for them.

They no longer fought. Their minds had been shattered, their spirits stripped bare.

A rough tug on the chains at her feet snapped her back.

Her head lifted.

They were being dragged forward, taken up the platform.

Eyes pressed into her, hungry, assessing. She bit back the urge to snarl.

Matteo stepped forward, smirking. "We start the bidding at one hundred denarii."

The crowd surged closer.

Adele closed her eyes.

"Gods, you have forsaken me."