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A sharp breath left her. She glanced at the marks on her wrist, then felt the bite on her throat. I knew which memories I’d just damaged.

Her blood had to be freely offered. Force would strengthen the Crown’s hold and ruin my chance of escape, so restraint had served me from the start. I’d known feeding could give her pleasure and counted on it making the next offer easier.

During her first visit, I’d watched every reaction. She feared my fangs and came close anyway, questioned Adrian’s story and noticed my partial answers. I adjusted the plan while we spoke. Bryony would need facts and choices that felt like hers, and I’d been arrogant enough to believe I could control where they led.

“So every time you stopped when I pulled away, you were building trust.”

“Yes. I kept you safe from my hunger, but your safety wasn’t the reason I began. I measured the trust I earned until I had enough blood to reach the old service passage.”

Bryony stared at me. I could feel the court listening around us. Red light appeared in the cut lines of Cecily’s childish carving, then travelled down the wall to the floor.

“Once the chain opened, you’d have used that passage while I believed we were still working together.” Her mouth tightened. “I’d have been trapped here with Adrian.”

“Yes.”

The word landed between us. I let it stand without asking her to make it easier for me.

Bryony walked to the small window overlooking the underground garden. She folded her arms and looked out at the red roses. The chain gave me room to follow her. I remained by the fireplace.

“You fucking knew what he wanted from me,” she said. “You knew about the Crown.”

I’d used Adrian’s need to keep her alive as an excuse. He would have confined her and worked on her until she accepted the Crown, and I had planned to run while he did it.

“I knew he wanted to force you into the succession rite.”

She turned. “You’re still making it sound cleaner than it was. What would the rite have done to me if you were gone?”

She’d found the part I had refused to examine.

“The first command opens a channel for the Blood King’s heartblood. If I’d escaped, the rite would have searched for the nearest source of royal blood. That would have been you. It could have killed you.”

Colour drained from her face. “You knew that?”

“I knew it was possible.” My throat tightened, but my voice stayed clear. “I decided my freedom mattered more than the life of a woman I hadn’t met. Then I met you and kept the plan.”

“Fucking hell, Stellan.”

“I know.”

“Do you?” She left the window and stopped outside my reach. “Because I walked into that throne room believing you were dangerous. I still gave you my wrist. I kept choosing to come back because you gave me limits I could trust. Now you’re telling me those limits were part of the trap.”

“At first, they were.”

She shook her head. “Don’t give me those words and wait for the anger to pass. Explain it.”

I nodded once. She was owed more than bare facts. “The control was real. I didn’t pretend to stop when you pulled away. My concern for whether I hurt you was real too. I still used every decent choice to make myself useful and desirable. You couldn’t consent to the plan because I hid it. That made your decisions easier for me to shape.”

The red line crossed the floor and curved around my boots. Harrowmere had recorded royal confessions for centuries. It didn’t punish a lie or reward the truth. It kept the words so neither ruler could change them later.

Bryony watched the light. “When did you stop planning to leave me?”

“Here, when you refused the Crown.” Her gaze came back to mine.

The Crown had offered her control of my body and the power to open every door. It used her fear, my blood and the promise of my freedom to make the choice feel necessary. She still walked away while the collar cut into my throat.

She hadn’t excused my danger or handed her judgement to Harrowmere. She refused to own me even when the court made ownership look like safety.

That choice forced me to see how neatly I’d placed her beside every heir who’d abused Harrowmere. She hadn’t earned my suspicion. I’d assigned it to her so I could take what I needed without thinking about who would pay.