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He hadn’t taken as much as he wanted or turned the pleasure into permission for more.

I wrapped the abandoned bandage loosely around my wrist. “You look pleased with yourself.”

“A beautiful woman fed me willingly after threatening me with my own restraints. It has been an excellent ten minutes.”

Heat returned to my face. I turned towards the royal suite before he could enjoy it too much.

Metal cracked behind me.

I spun around.

A single link in the chain at Stellan’s waist split open. It struck the dais, bounced once and landed at his feet.

The remaining chain slid through the throne with a hard scrape, leaving a new length of iron loose across the stone.

Stellan rose as far as the restraints allowed. This time, when he stepped from the dais, the chain followed.

He stopped at the entrance to the royal suite.

Close enough to touch me again.

11

STELLAN

Bryony hadn’t moved away. The broken link lay behind me, and the remaining chain stretched across the throne room.

Her pulse still carried the faster beat left by feeding. The two marks on her wrist were fading, but I could smell the blood under her skin.

I kept my hands to myself.

“Well?” she asked.

“The chain has given me another three metres.” I looked past her into the sitting room. “Enough to reach the fire. Possibly one chair. The bedroom remains safe from me, which Harrowmere may consider thoughtful.”

“I’m sure the house is delighted by your approval.”

“It has waited a century for it.”

Bryony stepped aside and left the doorway clear.

I tested the new length slowly.

The chain followed me into the passage with a scrape. Red light ran over the first few links, then faded when I stopped. I took another step. The iron tightened around my waist but didn’t drag me back.

“Stay where you are. I need to know whether the boundary reacts to you, me or the distance between us.”

Bryony folded her arms. “That sounded like an ordinary order.”

“It was a request wearing a poor disguise. Please stay there until I know the chain won’t change.”

Her eyebrows rose at the word please. She stayed in place, and I crossed the threshold.

Nothing attacked either of us.

The lack of pain felt strange after so long at the throne. I waited for the waist chain to close around my ribs or the cuff to burn. The iron remained heavy without tightening.

I put my full weight on both feet. The extra length held.