Page 229 of Blood Curse

The words carried, clear and free of magic.

Nessa smiled. “My king.”

Stellan inclined his head. This time, he accepted the title without flinching from what it used to mean.

The covered throne waited behind him.

He returned to his chair at the table.

The grey-braided woman looked at me. “And Bryony?”

Stellan stayed silent.

He didn’t name me for them.

“Bryony,” I said. “His partner, if you need to describe the relationship. I won’t be queen.”

“Even now the Crown is gone?”

“Especially now. I keep my name, my work and my flat. I’ll help here because I want to, but the court doesn’t own my time or decide my life.”

My phone still carried messages from colleagues who knew nothing about crowns or blood courts. My tenancy agreement had my name on it. My clothes were in drawers Stellan had already tried to negotiate his way into, and my life in Leeds didn’t stop belonging to me because Harrowmere nearly killed me.

I could add this place without letting it swallow everything else.

The woman glanced at Stellan. “A king without a queen.”

“A king with Bryony,” he said. “That isn’t a lesser thing.”

Heat caught low in my stomach. His tone was calm, but his eyes had moved to my mouth.

I curled my fingers around his under the table.

“If you need my help, ask,” I said to the room. “Sometimes I’ll say yes. Sometimes I’ll be in Leeds doing the work that paid my bills before a cursed piece of metal tried to reorganise my life.”

“Will you live here?” Nessa asked.

“Part of the time. I’ll also live in my flat.”

Her attention shifted to Stellan. “And the king?”

He addressed me rather than the room. “The king can travel.”

The answer was simple. It still sent heat through my chest. A week ago, Harrowmere could drag him back from its gate. Now he planned a life that included my narrow kitchen, my neighbours and a front door he already disliked.

A few smiles appeared. The woman in front of me considered that, then said, “Bryony.”

It was acceptance, not surrender.

The rest happened without ceremony. People collected keys and added their names to work lists. Mara found volunteers for the night watch. Elias answered questions about blood deliveries. Lenora assigned herself tomorrow afternoon away from Harrowmere and wrote it down where everyone could see.

Stellan remained at the table until the last person had spoken to him.

By the time the hall emptied, the biscuit tin was almost bare. The covered throne hadn’t moved. The old wards sat quietly in the stone, guarding open doors.

I leaned back in my chair. “King again.”

“Still king,” he said. “The difference is that they were finally able to mean it.”