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That explained Adrian’s confidence. Harrowmere would trap Bryony for him. He only needed her to choose the Crown.

“And you intend to help her make that choice,” I said.

“I intend to explain the position clearly. The Crown will give her authority over Harrowmere and its bound king. Without it, she is a human woman caught inside a vampire court she cannot control.”

He made coercion sound like sensible advice. Edith would have recognised the technique. I hoped Bryony had inherited her suspicion.

“You can’t force the Crown onto her,” I said. “Harrowmere would reject the coronation, and you’d lose the authority you need. Bryony has to lift it herself while understanding that it will bind her to this court. You need a frightened woman to call captivity a choice.”

Adrian’s jaw tightened. It was a small reaction, which made it useful.

“Bryony will accept it,” he said. “She will see the locked gates, the court waking around her and a starving vampire chained under the throne. Then I will show her the one object capable of controlling all three. She is practical. Once she understands the danger, she will choose authority over helplessness.”

His attention settled on me.

I laughed once. “Your plan depends on me looking frightening.”

Adrian looked over the chains, my bare skin and the dried blood under one manacle. “That part requires no effort.”

“Good. I was worried captivity had softened me.”

The guard holding the flask almost looked up. Adrian didn’t give him the chance.

“Put it inside.”

The guard approached the narrow hatch at the bottom of the gate. His hand shook as he unlocked it. He placed the flask on the stone and shoved it towards me with the baton rather than risk his fingers.

It stopped beyond the reach of my hand.

Adrian never missed a chance to make hunger part of the conversation.

“What do you want from her?” I asked.

“Her cooperation. She must take the Crown freely, speak one command and remain still while the court recognises the change. I have no interest in harming her. Bryony can return to her human life once Harrowmere accepts a new king.”

“You poisoned me, chained me to a wall and starved me for longer than that boy’s grandfather has been alive. Cooperation seems unlikely to be your real ambition.”

The young guard glanced at Adrian before staring at the floor again.

Adrian stepped nearer to the carved line. “Once Bryony wears the Crown, she can command the Blood King. She will order you to surrender your heartblood. The Crown will hold you still while I take what the court requires. Your power will pass with the blood, and Harrowmere will recognise me in your place. Bryony needs to understand only that the command secures her position and ends the danger.”

The hunger stopped mattering.

I knew the kind of blade he would need. It had to enter under my ribs and remain there while the blood was drawn. A small amount would weaken me. Enough of it would carry the power Harrowmere had bound to me.

“You mean to replace me,” I said.

“The court needs a king who can rule it.”

“You mean a king who isn’t chained out of reach of the throne.”

“I mean one who understands that power is wasted when nobody uses it.” Adrian’s voice stayed level. “Bryony will command you, and the bond will make you obey her. You won’t be able to twist the wording or refuse. When your heartblood is mine, Harrowmere will recognise the transfer and release her from the duty Edith forced upon her.”

At last, I understood. He needed Bryony crowned because the court wouldn’t accept him without the order of its rightful heir. He needed me alive because dead blood carried nothing.

For now, he needed all three of us in the same room.

“Does Bryony know how you’ll take it?” I asked. “Will you tell her where the blade goes, how long the Crown will hold me or how little heartblood a vampire can lose before his body stops repairing itself?”