Avery met Zehra halfway across the ballroom and gripped her by the arm. She flinched, not from pain, but from the memory of the night the auctioneer had grabbed her the same way. Not as a person, but as a thing.

"Avery, you cannot do this!" Lawrence said, his tone full of fury and panic. "If you send her back, Zehra will face slavery again."

Avery shook his head. "I assure you, the slavers are dealt with, both here and abroad. And I warned you this had to be ...