Page 103 of Blood Ties

We repeated the process with the second man. I held the woman’s wrist while Stellan cut her mark because her claws returned when the blade touched her skin. She fought the command, turned her hand away from me and let the garden pin her safely until the red light died.

Lenora stood near the gate with the final bottle in one hand and her sword in the other. Her face had regained its usual colour, although she kept most of her weight off the injured leg.

“Harrowmere,” I said, placing my palm on the low wall. “Hold the memory of Adrian’s blood and the attack he forced into these guards. Keep it for the court.”

White light moved under the blood on the path. It touched each survivor, passed over Stellan and gathered around the dead guard. Images flashed across the spring. Adrian cut his palm, guards struggled against his hands and Lenora was struck from behind.

Then the water cleared.

The marked blood was gone from the stones. A red line appeared inside the garden wall and sealed itself under the surface.

Lenora looked at it. “That will hold.”

The guards rose slowly. None reached for the weapons Harrowmere had pushed into a pile beside the roses.

The swordsman touched his broken ribs and faced Stellan. “You kept us alive after we attacked the heir.”

“You fought Adrian wherever you could,” Stellan said. “Remember that when he tells you obedience is the same as loyalty.”

Lenora moved to the service gate. The repaired iron remained bent, and light shone through the cuts around its frame.

“Once I open this, Adrian may try to mark us again,” she said. “Give me the blade. We’ll cut each other free if he reaches anyone.”

I passed it to her hilt first. “Take them to the witness room. Don’t stop to argue with Adrian, and don’t come back alone.”

“I’ll return when the outer court is ready to see what Harrowmere recorded. Keep him away from the Crown until then.”

“That was already the plan.”

Lenora pressed the blade into the damaged seal. The gate opened just wide enough for one person at a time. She led the four surviving guards into the passage, and the final man pulled the dead vampire through after them.

Stellan followed as far as the white line.

The red bands flared, and he stopped so quickly that I struck his back. The restraints had locked his feet to the path.

Lenora looked over her shoulder. “The boundary recognises the blood cuffs. Adrian can’t pull you out, and you can’t cross by choice.”

She closed the gate from the other side. White light sealed the opening.

I touched one glowing band. “We’ll get these off too.”

“I believe you.” His hand closed around mine. “For tonight, I can go anywhere inside the lower court without dragging half the throne behind me.”

A heavy door opened across the garden.

Dark wood replaced the blank stone between two rose bushes. The raven carved into it spread its wings, and a warm room waited beyond.

Stellan stared through the doorway. His grip tightened around my hand.

“Your room?” I asked.

“The Blood King’s rooms.”

I looked at his bare throat, the torn shirt and the door Harrowmere had kept closed for over a hundred years. “Apparently, the house thinks you need a bed.”

His eyes dropped to my mouth. “For once, the house and I agree.”

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