Page 2 of Blood Curse

“You bit through your own tongue to stop the order. Then you released me before the Crown could finish. If you want to feel guilty about something, choose your terrible taste in vampires. This isn’t yours.”

I lifted one finger, lowered it, then lifted it again. His mouth almost smiled. “Was that agreement?” I lifted two.

“Insult?”

One.

“Good. I was worried the Crown had damaged the important parts.”

I wanted to tell him I heard his knees strike the floor. I wanted to tell him I would hear it every time I closed my eyes. The Crown pushed Cecily’s memory over him instead: his silver hair wet with her blood, his fangs at her throat, shock emptying those pale eyes. My stomach turned. Stellan saw the change. “Cecily?” I lifted one finger.

Pain moved across his face, quick and real. “Those are her memories. They aren’t your future.” The image bore down harder. I looked at the man in front of me. His fangs had dropped, but hunger wasn’t driving him. Blood marked one sharp cheekbone. His shoulders stayed controlled even while anger burned in his eyes. He heard my revocation and trusted it.

I held on to that until the false memory thinned. A blow struck the sealed door.

“Stellan!” Lenora’s voice cut through the stone. “Bryony!”

He turned his head. “We’re alive. The Crown has her body.” Metal rang against the ward. “Then get her off the bloody throne.”

“Excellent idea. The chair disagrees.”

“Hit it.”

“With Bryony still attached?”

A beat of silence.

“Fine. Don’t hit it.”

It was such a Lenora answer that a laugh caught uselessly in my chest. Stellan looked back at me. “Was that almost a laugh?” I managed one finger.

“Good. Your judgement remains questionable, but intact.”

The Crown tightened my throat. Apparently it didn’t enjoy him either. Another strike hit the door. White fire ran around its frame. Stellan crouched so his face was level with mine. His silver hair fell over one shoulder, close enough for me to touch if the Crown would give back my hand.

“Can you feel Harrowmere?”

I lifted one finger.

“Can you open the door?”

My hand jerked towards the carved arm of the throne. The Crown slammed it back onto my thigh.

“I’ll take that as a maybe.”

He leaned closer. “Don’t try to take all of yourself back at once. Steal one thing. A finger. A breath. The door. Whatever it isn’t watching.” I lifted one finger.

“Exactly. You’re better at this than it is.”

The Crown drove ice through my jaw.

“And now it’s offended,” he said. “Excellent. Angry creatures make mistakes.”

“Move,” Lenora called.

Stellan shifted to the side without releasing my hand. “Do whatever you’re doing.” The next blow cracked the white ward. The Crown’s attention snapped towards it. I drove my palm onto the throne. Harrowmere opened around me. Doors, wards and old stone recognised my blood. The Crown sat between us like a blade, forcing every path through cold metal, but the house was still mine.

I pushed at the side door. The Crown pushed back. The throne shook under me. A split raced through the white light around the door.