Chapter 23 · Somebody Has to Volunteer

"Give it back," Mara said from the alley mouth, "and I'll tell you what your mother promised him."

I closed my fist around the tooth. It was small and sharp against my palm, warm like it had just fallen out of a living mouth.

"Don't listen to her," Daniel said. His hand was still on my wrist from when he'd tried to stop me from opening the ring. "She's lying."

"Am I?" Mara stepped closer. She looked solid now, not flickering. The streetlight behind her made her shadow stretch all the way to my feet. "Ask him why he kept it. Ask him why he carved the date."

I turned to Daniel. "You said you didn't know it was in there."

"I didn't."

"But you knew about the tooth."

He didn't answer. Just looked at me with those dark eyes like he was waiting for me to figure it out myself.

"Leah," Mara said, softer now. She sounded like my mother. Exactly like her. Same pitch, same way she used to say my name when she wanted me to put down the remote and listen. "He took it the night you were born.