December 15th excerpt:

What little breath Sam had left, he called up to grit out “Terrible. Crowd… to work with… Why talk?”

Euan’s face twisted with irritation. He was sick and tired of this Sam’s backtalk, but as much as he wanted to silence the little pest for good, he was valuable merchandise.

“You need to learn your place, boy,” he seethed through clenched teeth.