Page 167 of Blood Curse

“Ask me again tomorrow,” I said. “You may get a worse answer.”

“That sounds almost democratic,” Bryony said.

“It’s honest.”

The laugh that followed was tired but real. The Crown’s red light brightened as attention settled on the dais.

It wanted the laughter to become praise. It wanted my seat to become a throne and every raised face to become an offering.

Nothing changed.

Mara picked up the silver cup with a cloth and dropped it into an empty bucket. “The gathering is technically still in progress.”

She looked at the grey-braided woman and the man in brown. “Do either of you want to continue?”

The woman wiped the last blood from her fingers with a cloth. “I’m still hungry.”

Elias watched her eyes. “Your hunger or the Crown’s?”

“Mine.” She looked towards the sealed bottles. “I’d like to remember the difference.”

The man in brown pulled the torn halves of his coat together. “So would I.”

“Then choose a bottle,” I said. “Drink here, take it to another room or wait until tomorrow. Elias stays with you if you want him.”

Elias nodded. “I’ll stay close.”

“Thank you,” the woman said.

She walked to the table. The man went with her. They selected separate sealed bottles, checked the wax and carried them to the seats nearest the fire.

The court watched them make the choice.

Then a woman near the windows opened another bottle. Someone fetched two clean glasses. Mara kicked a broken table leg out of the walkway and nearly hit Elias.

The blood gathering resumed around the damage.

That meant more than any applause could have.

The grey-braided woman kept her bottle sealed. “What do you expect from us?”

“Honesty when you bring danger into this house. Help when you choose to give it. Restraint when hunger makes everyone else look edible.”

“And obedience?”

“Enough to question what you’re being asked to do.”

She gave a brief smile. “That I can manage.”

“Good. I don’t want obedience. If I ask for something stupid, refuse me.”

The woman tested her balance, then let go of the chair beside her. “And blood?”

“It’s bought, offered or kept inside the person it belongs to. Rank doesn’t change that.”

The Crown heated.

Bryony lifted two fingers at her side.