Page 5 of Blood Curse

“More than one.”

Stellan went very still. “How many?”

“Enough that I stopped counting.”

“Then we move you somewhere defensible,” Lenora said. “Now.”

I forced my legs straight. They shook, but they held with Stellan’s arm around my waist.

“I can walk.”

“You can attempt walking while I continue holding you.”

“That sounds suspiciously like carrying me with extra steps.”

“I’m a king. I’m allowed to rename things.”

“You don’t have a court.”

The words left my mouth just as the house answered the summons.

Silence followed.

Then, deep inside Harrowmere, a lock snapped open.

Another answered it.

And another.

Every lock in the long-shuttered Night Hall clicked open at once.

2

STELLAN

The last lock clicked open somewhere inside Harrowmere.

Bryony was still braced against me, one arm around my waist and the Crown bleeding into her long red hair. Her green eyes tracked the sound towards the corridor.

Lenora looked in the same direction. “The Night Hall.”

“I thought Adrian sealed it.”

“He did.”

“Then why is it opening?” Bryony asked.

Her voice was rough, but it was hers. Thank fuck. Relief hit so hard that I had to stop myself dragging her against my chest.

Lenora glanced at the Crown. “Because whatever just left this room had royal authority.”

Bryony tried to straighten. Her knees shook.

I kept my arm firm around her without lifting her feet from the floor. “The Night Hall can wait until you’re not using stubbornness as a skeleton.”

“It’s working.”

“Badly.”