Chapter 29 · Her Name in Blood

Vivian pointed at Serah's second mark.

The skin over Serah's ribs had split open in thin lines, spelling something out in scar tissue that looked weeks old. Evira could read it from where she stood. Her own name. Not Evan. Evira.

"Your blood doesn't just summon," Vivian said. "It writes contracts. You marked her the moment you tried to pull her back."

Serah was still on her knees, breathing hard. The thing inside her had gone quiet, but Evira could see it waiting. The edges of Serah's outline flickered. Sometimes she looked solid. Sometimes she looked like she was made of smoke and old meat.

"That's not possible," Marcus said. He was still on the floor where the blast had thrown him. Blood ran down his temple. "Summoning doesn't work that way."

"It does if the summoner's bloodline goes back far enough." Vivian crouched next to Serah and traced the letters with one finger. Serah flinched but didn't pull away. "Evira's family didn't just call things through the veil. They bound them. Owned them. Made them into tools."

Evira felt sick. She thought about the rift she'd opened on her first job. The things that had come through.