Chapter 12 · The Name Under Her Skin

"You lied to me."

Iris didn't look up. She was kneeling on the floor of her apartment, chalk in one hand, blood smeared across the other. The summoning circle wasn't complete yet. The lines were shaking.

"I didn't lie," she said. Her voice was flat. "I just didn't tell you everything."

I stepped inside and kicked the door shut behind me. The wound in my side was still leaking. Milo's sister had put the knife in deep, right under the ribs, and she'd screamed a name I'd never heard before. A name that wasn't Iris Thorne.

"What's Vesper?" I asked.

Her hand stopped. Just for a second. Then she kept drawing.

"A name I don't use anymore."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one you're getting."

I crossed the room in three steps and grabbed her wrist. The chalk snapped. She looked up at me, and her eyes were colder than I'd ever seen them.

"Let go."

"No." I pulled her to her feet. She didn't fight it. She just stood there, close enough that I could feel the heat coming off her skin. "You cursed me. You've been using me for six loops.