Page 185 of Blood Curse

“Take your time,” he said.

I wanted to swear at him for sounding so calm. I wanted to cross the hall, put both hands on his face and make him stop kneeling in front of something wearing my skin.

The wanting belonged to me.

I held onto it.

The Crown turned my head towards the rest of the court.

“The Blood King will remain at Harrowmere. His strength will guard you. His heart will feed the spring. Every vampire who accepts the Crown will have a place here.”

The dagger pressed under Stellan’s coat as the words left my mouth. I saw the slight movement of the wrapping against the dark fabric.

So did Elias.

His gaze shifted from the blade to the red chains around Stellan’s chest. Mara caught the look. The three of them said nothing.

Good.

The Crown wanted panic. It wanted somebody to lunge for the dagger, somebody else to defend Stellan and the entire court to turn on itself while they were forced to kneel.

Instead, the man in the borrowed coat laughed once.

It was a rough, breathless sound.

“Full cellars,” he said. “You tried to make me eat my neighbour half an hour ago.”

The pale band across his shoulders tightened. His fist slipped, but he caught himself before his face hit the floor.

The Crown didn’t understand why the offer failed.

The grey-braided woman did.

“A locked gate kept enemies out last time,” she said. “It kept us out too.”

Her voice shook. The pressure had bent her nearly double, but she got the words out.

Another vampire spoke from near the fire. “I came back because the gate opened.”

“So did I.”

“I chose the room I’m sleeping in.”

“The bath is still a fucking disaster.”

The last complaint earned a strained sound that might be laughter.

The Crown drove heat into my scalp. The control over my mouth stayed perfect, but my right hand loosened by the smallest amount.

Every resisting body was costing it something.

The crowd command stretched across the whole room. It held Stellan’s chains, the pale bands, my body and every locked door at once. When one vampire pushed, the Crown tightened. When three pushed, its grip on my fingers flickered.

It had power.

It didn’t have endless power.

I pressed my fingertip into the silver until pain gathered under the nail. The movement was tiny enough to hide from anyone who wasn’t watching for it.