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“How long?” I asked.
“Long enough for you to answer him where everyone can hear.”
Adrian had made the bargain public because he expected fear to push me towards the Crown. I would refuse him just as publicly.
Harrowmere opened a narrow path across the dais. I moved onto it with Stellan beside me. He didn’t lead or follow. We reached the edge of the barrier together.
Adrian pulled the dagger free and waited.
The court’s white light gathered around my feet. It didn’t offer me the Crown or ask for blood. It carried my voice into the witness room and the halls outside.
“I won’t wear the Crown for you or command Stellan to surrender his heartblood,” I said. “Edith kept this court from you, and I’m doing the same.”
The red fracture stopped growing.
Adrian’s face emptied of every trace of charm. “You’re choosing a condemned vampire over your own freedom.”
“I’m choosing the vampire who returned when he could’ve left. You murdered the woman who raised me. This was never a fucking hard decision.”
Stellan’s fingers closed around mine. He kept his attention on Adrian, but warmth pressed into my palm.
The witness seal burned brighter. Every word Adrian had said remained visible in the wall behind him.
A murmur rose in the upper passage. The vampires gathered there had heard my answer.
Adrian turned on the nearest guard. “Seal the main hall. Anyone trying to reach the witness room is detained.”
The guard hesitated and glanced towards the main hall. “The outer houses answered a lawful call.”
“And I’m still regent.” Adrian caught the guard by the throat and threw him against the wall. “Obey me.”
The other guards moved at once. Boots struck stone as they spread through the passage, and the murmur beyond them rose into angry voices.
Lenora came to stand on my other side. “He’s losing them.”
“He still has the dagger,” Stellan said. “Fear will keep enough of them with him.”
Adrian heard him through the clear stone. “Fear has kept this court alive longer than either of you understands.”
“You mean it kept you in charge,” I said.
He wiped the blade across his sleeve. The blood on it belonged to the guard who’d reached for the gate.
“Enjoy the rooms while you can,” Adrian said. “The barrier is weaker every time Harrowmere protects you. Eventually, the house will have nothing left to give.”
White light covered the clear section, cutting his voice for a moment. He pushed the dagger back into the fracture and forced the connection open again.
Stellan bared his fangs. “Come through now and test that theory.”
Adrian’s gaze moved between us. “You want another fight because violence is the only decision you’ve ever made without a queen giving the order.”
I felt Stellan’s anger rise and squeezed his hand. He stayed beside me.
Adrian wanted him to lunge and prove every story about the Blood King. Stellan stayed beside me.
“You offered your bargain,” I said. “You have my answer. Get away from the gate.”
The command in my voice made the throne seal flash, although I wasn’t wearing the Crown.
