Chapter 24 · Contract in His Hand

The contract burned in Marek's palm like it belonged there.

I stood three feet away, wrist still smoking where the ink had ripped free. The red marks didn't fade. They just sat there on my skin, raw and empty, like something had been torn out by the roots.

Marek smiled. Not the polite corporate smile Lucien used in meetings. This one showed teeth.

"You have no idea what you just gave me," he said.

I did, actually. I gave him exactly what Lucien had. A leash. A claim. Whatever the hell vampires called it when they owned someone's blood on paper.

The gallery was empty now. Everyone who'd been at the opening had cleared out the second the contract started moving on its own. Smart people. I should've run too.

"The release word was supposed to free me," I said.

Marek folded the contract once, twice, tucked it into his jacket pocket like it was a business card. "It freed you from him. Not from the terms. Contract doesn't care who holds it. Just that someone does."

I felt cold. The kind that starts in your chest and spreads.

"Give it back."

He laughed. Actually laughed.