Page 26 of Blood Curse

“You’re annoyingly attractive when you’re being king.”

His smile came slowly. “Only when I’m being king?”

“Don’t become unbearable. You still have blood on your shirt.”

“You were staring at me before the blood dried.”

I caught the front of that ruined shirt and pulled him closer. “I’ve had a difficult night.”

“Then I’m happy to be useful.”

His mouth brushed mine. It was only one kiss, warm and restrained because a dozen vampires were pretending not to watch us from the next room.

I let him go. “We should return to our guests.”

“Our court,” he said.

The word should have felt absurd. Instead, the Night Hall opened around us, full of voices Harrowmere hadn’t heard for a century.

Inside my head, the Crown purred.

A queen finally has her court.

6

STELLAN

The last bedroom door closed a little after midnight.

“Twenty-three vampires in twelve rooms,” Bryony said. “Mara threatened the rest with sofas, Lenora found more blood and Harrowmere supplied enough hot water to make the pipes complain.”

“Everyone’s warm, fed and behind a door.”

“For the moment.”

“Good. I want you alone.”

She stood at the end of the Night Hall while the final lamps dimmed, one hand resting on the back of a chair. Exhaustion softened her posture. It did nothing to lessen the effect of her red hair, green eyes and the dark Crown that made every vampire watch her when they thought she wouldn’t notice.

She noticed.

“They’re staring again,” she said.

“You’re wearing the cursed symbol of royal authority.”

“I’d forgotten.”

“It’s surprisingly discreet.”

Her gaze found mine. “You’re staring too.”

“For a different reason.”

“You’ve been looking at me like that since the arrivals started.”

“You told a room of vampires to stop kneeling. It was attractive.”

“You organised them in under ten minutes. That was irritatingly attractive.”