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“Stellan, I’m all right.”

“You can complain while I check.”

I checked her pulse, her pupils and the cut across one palm. Her blood scented the air when I opened her fingers. Hunger tightened my jaw, but I ignored it. I had already taken enough from her while Harrowmere was under attack.

Bryony studied my face. “You need blood.”

“I need to know the Crown hasn’t injured you.”

“And I need you upright.”

She moved closer. I kept hold of her hand and stopped her from touching the wound in my side.

“You aren’t feeding me while you’re hurt,” I said.

“I wasn’t offering. I was only thinking about it.”

“The bond gives you away.”

Her eyes narrowed. “That’s becoming very annoying.”

The side door opened, and Lenora entered with a folded cloth and a dark bottle. She looked from Bryony’s throat to my side, then held the bottle out to me.

“Drink,” she said. “The stores survived.”

I took it and pulled the stopper free. Human blood had been sealed inside with a preserving ward. It was cold and several years old, but it eased the hunger as soon as I swallowed.

Bryony watched until I finished half the bottle. “All of it.”

I finished the blood while Lenora handed her the cloth.

The wound in my side began to close. It would take longer to heal completely, but the pain eased enough for me to stand without using Bryony for support.

Lenora moved around us and studied the Crown. “Has it spoken?”

“No,” Bryony said. “It won’t come off.”

Lenora’s expression tightened as she studied the white metal. “Cecily couldn’t remove it either.”

“Did it start controlling her as soon as she put it on?”

“No. She wore it safely for years.”

Bryony looked at me. I remembered Cecily closing doors that had always stood open and waking at every noise. The Crown had changed her in small steps while I explained each one away.

“It began with sleeplessness,” I said. “Then she heard the Crown when she was alone. She started seeing threats in ordinary conversations and used the court to protect herself from people who weren’t dangerous.”

“I know what to watch for,” Bryony said.

“So do I. This time, I won’t wait and hope it passes.”

Her fear moved through the bond, followed by trust that hurt more than the wound Adrian had given me.

Lenora glanced towards the side door. “The guards have checked the court. Adrian left no one inside, and his men have cleared the road.”

“What about his body?” Bryony asked.

“It will still be dead when I come back.” Lenora turned to me. “The King’s rooms have medical supplies. Use them before you bleed on anything else.”