Chapter 11 · The Name Underwater

"Don't you dare let go!" I spat, my fingers digging into the rough fabric of Dax's sleeve.

I was halfway submerged in the black, oily water of the Drowned Archive. The cold didn't just chill—it bit. It ate through my boots, soaking into my skin like a slow poison. In my pocket, the silver heart hammered against my thigh. A frantic, metallic pulse. I was close. Too close.

"I'm not letting go, Mara," Dax gasped. He was slipping, his boots sliding on the slime-covered stone of the walkway. He had one arm locked around my waist, hauling me away from a sinkhole that looked like a throat waiting to swallow me whole.

"Liar!" I twisted in his grip, fighting the current. "You handed me to the gallows in another life. Why should I trust you now? Waiting for the right moment to tie the noose again?"

He jerked me closer. Hard. My back slammed into his chest. He didn't let go; he tightened the grip, his breath hot against my ear.

"I did it to keep you alive," he hissed. "The law was the only place they couldn't touch you.