Chapter 27 · Midnight. Contract Dead.

The hall smells like burnt paper and old blood. I'm still holding Lucien's hand when the doors at the far end crack open.

Marek steps through first. Three others behind him, faces I don't know. They stop when they see us. See the ash on the floor where the contract used to be.

"You actually did it." Marek's voice is flat. He's looking at Lucien, not me. "You let her burn it."

Lucien doesn't let go of my hand. "She didn't need my permission."

"That's not how this works." Marek moves closer. The three behind him spread out, slow, like they're surrounding something that might run. "You signed her. You bound her. You don't just—"

"I don't own her," Lucien says.

The room goes quiet.

Marek laughs. It's not a nice sound. "You're the one who wrote the damn rules. Contracted blood stays contracted until the signer releases it or the human dies. That's it. That's the law."

"Then I'm releasing her."

"In front of the council? In front of everyone?" Marek stops three feet away. His eyes flick to me, then back to Lucien. "You know what that looks like."

"I know exactly what it looks like.