Chapter 11 · The Third Name Underwater

"Give me the seal."

Daniel stood between me and the door, water pooling around his boots. The basement was flooding faster than either of us expected. Black water crawled up the walls, cold enough to sting.

"You don't know what you're asking for," he said.

"I know exactly what I'm asking for." I held out my hand. "The contract's down there. You saw it. My mother's name, Mara's name, and whoever came before her. I need that seal to break it."

"You need it to sign yourself into their place." His voice dropped, tight and low. "That's what it does, Leah. It doesn't break contracts. It transfers them."

The water reached my ankles. I didn't move.

"Then why do you still have it?"

He didn't answer. The silence between us felt heavier than the water rising in the room.

"Because you've used it before," I said. "Haven't you."

His jaw tightened. That was answer enough.

"How many?" I asked.

"Leah—"

"How many people have you moved into this contract to save someone else?"

"Three." The word came out flat, like he'd carried it so long it didn't weigh anything anymore. "Three people who were already dying.