The night of the event, Valeria descended from her penthouse in a gown of liquid mercury—backless, slit to the hip, her spine painted with phosphorescent jaguar spots that flickered in the UV light. The collar was already locked around her throat. It hummed a low, subsonic thrum that vibrated through her collarbones.
The second bid: 50,000 credits – Temperature drop, -5°C. The night of the event, Valeria descended from