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I fastened my trousers without sitting up, then put the water in her hand. She drank it all while I kept my fingers over her pulse.

When she finished, I checked the bite again. Only two pale crescents remained on her thigh. Her skin stayed warm, and the bond carried no dizziness.

I drew the sheet over her and lay on my uninjured side. She fitted herself against me, naked, warm and alert rather than weakened.

For several breaths, neither of us spoke. Her fingers traced the edge of the bandage without touching the cut. My hand rested at the back of her neck, holding her because she’d chosen closeness and not because I needed it to mean more than she’d offered.

The room smelled of blood, dust and her. Beyond the walls, Harrowmere continued to strain against Adrian’s dagger. The quiet between us couldn’t last, but it belonged to us while it did.

“When we leave, I’m seeing where you live,” I said.

“My flat is tiny.”

“I’ve lived in a prison for over a century.”

“You’ll still complain about the locks.”

“They let you reach Harrowmere. They deserve criticism.”

Her laugh warmed my throat. “When we leave.”

“When.”

The word tightened the bond. I wouldn’t soften it with promises neither of us could guarantee. Adrian would enter sooner or later, and the Crown would keep reaching for her. We would face both and leave together.

Bryony put her palm against my chest. “Neither of us decides alone when it’s time to sacrifice ourselves.”

I covered her hand. “Then we keep interfering with each other’s terrible plans.”

“For a very long time,” she said.

A crack split the air beyond the bedroom.

The wall shook hard enough to rattle the bed frame. Dust fell over the headboard, and every ward under my skin flared at once.

Lenora shouted from the throne room.

The barrier shattered while Bryony was still in my arms.

38

BRYONY

Stone crashed in the throne room. The impact shook the walls and sent another cloud of dust through the open bedroom door.

Stellan was already moving. He shoved himself upright, grabbed the sword beside the bed and put himself between me and the corridor.

I snatched my skirt from the floor and pulled it on. My black top had lost most of its hem to Stellan’s bandage, so I took his torn shirt from the chair and shoved my arms through it.

“If Adrian sees me dressed like this, I’m killing him twice.”

Stellan glanced back at me without lowering his sword. Blood marked the cloth around his side, although he stood straight and the bond carried his restored strength. “Get behind the inner door and control the room from there.”

“We agreed to interfere with each other’s terrible plans.” I picked up the short sword. “You aren’t fighting alone.”

Another crash came from the throne room, followed by Lenora swearing.

We ran into the corridor together.