Chapter 16 · Someone Under the River

"You're not going."

Daniel said it the second I came through the kitchen door, like he'd been standing there rehearsing.

I dropped my bag on the counter. "You don't get to decide that."

"Leah." He moved between me and the hallway. "She wants a body. You show up, she takes you."

"She wants my mom's debt paid." I pushed past him. "That's not the same thing."

He caught my wrist. Not hard. Just enough to stop me.

"Let go," I said.

"Not until you hear me."

I yanked free and turned on him. "What's there to hear? Mara's been trapped three years. My mom got out and someone else paid for it. Now she wants me to settle the account."

"Your mom didn't escape," Daniel said quietly. "She was let go."

That stopped me cold.

"What?"

"The house doesn't lose people by accident." He leaned against the counter, arms crossed. "Your mom walked out because someone took her place. Mara's right about that part."

I felt the floor tilt under me. "Who?"

"I don't know." His jaw tightened. "But I know how it works. The contract needs a name. A living name. Your mom gave one up, Leah.