Page 126 of Blood Curse

Elias pressed two fingers to Bryony’s throat. His face emptied.

One second.

Two.

The silence inside her body was louder than the court.

The Crown stayed cold against her red hair. Its black points looked like dead metal, as if none of this concerned it.

Three seconds.

Four.

I put my mouth close to Bryony’s ear. “Come back.”

Five.

Her heart struck once.

The beat was weak enough that a human wouldn’t have heard it. I did.

Another followed. Bryony dragged in a breath and grabbed the front of my shirt.

“Fuck,” she whispered.

“An accurate diagnosis,” Elias said, though relief broke through his voice.

The room started breathing again around us.

Nobody moved closer. Nessa had one hand over her mouth. Colin stood near the broken kettle with a cloth he had found for the spill, staring at Bryony as if the wrong movement might stop her heart again. The small pieces of ordinary life she had protected minutes earlier remained scattered around the hall. Tea. Toast. Damp blankets. A list of rooms with leaking roofs.

Bryony blinked at my face. “Did I drop the tea?”

The cup had landed on its side without breaking. Tea spread across the flagstones.

“You did.”

“Wasteful.”

I slid one arm under her knees. “Can I carry you upstairs?”

“Yes. Just don’t turn it into a royal procession.”

Mara looked over her shoulder at the crowded hall. “Nobody follow them. Find a cloth and deal with the tea.”

I carried Bryony to the King’s rooms with Elias beside us and Mara clearing the stairs. Bryony’s heart beat against my chest. Each pause between beats lasted too long.

I kept my pace even. Running would save seconds we didn’t need and tell Bryony I had lost control. The court pulled back into doorways as we passed. Nobody bowed or used a title. They watched her face and listened to the thin rhythm in her chest.

At the top of the stairs, Bryony shifted closer. The movement was small, but she had chosen it. I held her more securely and kept walking.

I laid her on the bed. She caught my wrist before I could move away.

“Stay.”

“I’m here.”

Elias shut the door and pulled a chair closer. He checked her pulse again, listened to her chest and pressed his fingers under the edge of the Crown. It didn’t react to him.