Page 123 of Blood Curse

The woman gave a brief smile. She set the tray down. “I’m Nessa. I was part of Mara’s outer guard. The court is gathering again. Nobody knows whether they’re expected to stand when you enter.”

“They can sit, stand or leave the room. I won’t judge any of it.”

“And if they call you queen?”

“I’ll remind them of my name.”

Nessa rubbed one stiff hand with the other. “Some of them won’t mean obedience. Queen was the title beside Stellan for longer than any of us have been alive.”

“I understand habit. I won’t punish anyone for getting it wrong, but I’m still going to correct them.”

“They may think you’re refusing the court.”

“I’m refusing a job I didn’t apply for. I can help people find dry beds without becoming their queen.”

Nessa looked at my phone, my jeans and the untouched dress. “You don’t look like anyone who sat beside the Blood King before.”

“Excellent. That should help them remember my name.”

Nessa left me with tea, toast and an egg. I ate everything because Elias would notice if I didn’t. Then I carried the tea with me to the Night Hall.

The lower court had changed again. Doors stood open. Voices came from bedrooms, passages and the old kitchen. Somebody had left a pair of muddy boots outside a room with a fresh roof leak. A blanket hung over a rail to dry. Harrowmere looked less like a sealed royal court and more like a crowded house with poor organisation.

I preferred it.

Stellan stood inside the Night Hall with Mara on one side and Elias on the other. His silver hair remained loose, and a clean dark shirt stretched across his broad shoulders. He was listening to an elderly vampire complain about blankets with the same attention he’d given the open gate.

He saw me enter.

His gaze moved over my jeans, jumper and boots. Heat warmed his grey-blue eyes.

“Problem?” I asked.

“Several. None involve your clothes.”

Mara glanced at my cup. “You found tea.”

“Nessa brought it.”

“Then you’re fortunate. Someone broke the kettle in the main kitchen.”

“How?”

A man near the long table looked down at his hands.

“He tried to remove the lid,” Mara said.

“It was stuck,” the man replied.

“It isn’t now.”

The handle and lid lay beside each other on the table. The kettle itself had a dent shaped like a thumb.

“Does being a vampire make normal appliances difficult?” I asked.

“We usually own several,” Stellan said.

The man by the table lifted his head. “I can replace it.”