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He covered my hand with his. “You came back when the way was clear. Good. The garden released you, which means it isn’t a trap yet.”

“Yet isn’t my favourite word today.”

“It has competition.”

His mouth almost curved. The brief warmth disappeared when he studied the doorway again.

“The ward still recognises me as the bound king,” he said. “It was designed to keep the garden separate from the throne. I can’t cross alone while the chains hold me to it.”

“Then I’m going in alone.”

“Only if you choose to. We know you can come back, and I can see most of the path from here. You don’t owe Harrowmere courage simply because it opened a door.”

The answer didn’t change the locked gate behind us or the man waiting outside it.

“I’m going in,” I said. “The path released me once, and I know what to watch. I’ll keep the knife, stay where you can see me and come back if any line closes behind me. If Adrian gets through, we’ll need every advantage the house will give us. Tell me about the middle stone.”

Stellan kept hold of my hand for another second, then let it go. “It should be a waist-high basin with a crown carved into the rim. Walk around it once and let the garden see you. If the path stays clear, touch the crown. That was enough when the wards were healthy.”

“And if they aren’t?”

“Come back. Don’t stay because you think reaching the stone proves anything. I want the room, but I want you more. If the garden changes, tell me what moves first. I can help you find the clean route even if I can’t cross the threshold.”

My stomach tightened. He’d said the words without a smile and without looking away.

I turned to the garden before my face told him too much.

The first step accepted me again. I moved slowly along the path, watching the vines instead of the roses. They tracked me with small shifts of leaf and thorn but didn’t reach across the stone.

“The silver line is staying behind my heels,” I said. “The vines are moving with me, although none has crossed the path. I can still see the sitting room, and the way back is clear.”

“Good. Keep your left side towards me when the path bends. If I tell you to stop, plant both feet and look for movement before you choose where to go.”

His voice carried clearly through the doorway and gave me something concrete to watch.

I reached the low wall. Beyond it stood a round stone basin with a shallow pool at its middle. A silver crown had been cut into the rim. The water looked black until a rose petal landed on it and sent red light over the surface.

Farther back, an iron gate filled an arch in the outer wall. The bars were wrapped in dead grey vines. No passage or person waited on the other side.

“I can see the basin and the outer gate,” I said. “The gate looks sealed. The vines on it are dead.”

Stellan moved as close to the garden as the ward allowed. “Leave the gate alone. Walk around the basin and watch the crown. If the carving turns black, don’t touch it.”

I kept to the path around the stone. The roses followed my movement. One brushed another, filling the garden with a dry whisper.

The crown stayed silver.

I completed the circle and stopped where I could still see Stellan. He stood framed by the doorway with one hand braced against the stone. The burn across his chest had faded. His eyes hadn’t left me.

“It’s clear,” I said.

“Touch it with two fingers. You can pull away faster if the ward reacts.”

I reached for the carving.

Something hit the outer gate.

The crash shook water from the basin and sent every rose snapping shut. Black light spread across the iron bars.