Page 73 of Blood Curse

“Don’t push your luck.”

He buttered another piece of toast and put it on my plate. “Do you regret kissing me?”

“No. I resent the Crown joining in.”

“Could you tell when it did?”

“At first. Then everything blurred.” I broke the toast in half. “The beginning belonged to me. Stopping belonged to me too. The part between them got crowded.”

“Then we don’t rely on the part in the middle.”

“Meaning?”

“We keep asking. We stop early if either of us is unsure.”

“That sounds painfully sensible.”

“Toast has changed me.”

The door opened.

Mara stood there with three vampires behind her. A tall woman wore a travelling coat dusted white at the shoulders. The two men beside her looked as if they’d dressed for a ceremonial audience before running through half the country.

All three stared at me eating toast in Stellan’s clothes.

I swallowed.

Mara looked tired. “They refused to believe the king was unavailable.”

The woman dropped to one knee.

The two men followed.

The Crown hummed with pleasure.

“Please stand,” I said.

Nobody moved.

Stellan set down the teapot. “She asked you to stand.”

They rose together.

I took another bite of toast and made myself chew before speaking. “If you’ve come to swear an oath, don’t. We aren’t taking any tonight.”

The taller man glanced at the Crown. “Your Majesty, the summons⁠—”

“Wasn’t an order,” Mara said. “You chose to answer it.”

“And I’m glad you’re safe,” I added. “But the Crown is dangerous, we’re exhausted and I haven’t finished breakfast. Those are the important facts.”

The woman’s gaze moved to the dark window. “It’s nearly dawn.”

“Then breakfast is correctly timed.”

Stellan’s knee touched mine under the table. The contact helped more than the humour.

“What would you have us do?” the woman asked.