Page 200 of Blood Curse

I let go and turned my back to the court.

The table drove into my spine.

Bryony kept the dagger.

Metal scraped inside the wall to our right.

The Crown felt it. Red light jumped from Bryony’s hair and raced across the stone. A narrow panel hidden behind a wall hanging tore open before the magic could seal it.

Lenora stood on the other side with an ordinary iron key in her hand.

Cold passage air moved around her.

“The lower court is clear,” she called. “Get them out.”

The Crown threw red light at the opening. It could shut doors through Harrowmere, but it couldn’t command the human holding this one. Lenora braced her boot against the frame and kept the key turned while the old lock ground.

The distraction cost it.

Elias tore one arm free of the pale band. Mara dropped the chair leg and stamped on it before the command could make her pick it up again. The vampires behind the table stopped pushing in the same instant.

Bryony cut her palm.

The sound she made was small and vicious.

Red light broke around her throat.

“This Crown used my authority to command this court.” Her voice shook, but every word landed. “I revoke every active order it has given through me.”

The pale bands vanished.

Weight disappeared from the table.

For half a heartbeat, the room was still.

Then everyone moved by choice.

The court dragged the table away from me. Elias released the chair and crossed to the two vampires bleeding near the fire. Mara kicked the broken chair leg out of reach and turned towards the open service door.

The throne stood untouched.

The court left the Crown alone and turned towards the garden.

The grey-braided woman got one arm around the young vampire. The man in the borrowed coat lifted the other side. Together they carried him towards Lenora.

Others followed, opening a route through the wrecked hall instead of crowding it. The court that tried to seize me seconds ago gave me a clear path to Bryony.

Vampires passed through the service door one by one, then in pairs. Mara stayed beside the opening, pushing the injured ahead of her and watching the ceiling each time the stone groaned.

Bryony rose before I reached her.

Her legs buckled once. I caught her around the waist. She kept the dagger in her hand and used my shoulder to steady herself.

We didn’t stop.

I took the first step. She took the next with me.

The Crown tightened across her scalp. Her face drained of colour, but her boots kept striking stone.