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Bryony touched the case at her side. “Edith left instructions telling me to trust him far enough to get out. She told me never to let you put the Crown on my head. So far, he’s followed her instructions. You’ve fucking ignored them.”

Lenora looked towards the main gate. Red light had begun closing over the arch behind her.

“The Claiming is moving,” she said. “The wards are closing the gate around us. Once the floor turns white, anyone who isn’t part of the Claiming will be expelled. If Bryony won’t take the Crown, we need to leave now.”

Adrian didn’t look at her. “The court cannot claim an heir who hasn’t touched the royal seal.”

“Her blood woke it. The rest has already started.” Lenora kept one hand near her sword, but she didn’t draw it. “Forcing her will make the ward choose sides.”

Bryony shifted towards the service door. “Excellent. It can choose after I’ve had food, a locked room and several hours to read what Edith left me.”

The case moved with her.

Adrian stepped into her path.

I pulled against the chain at my waist. The iron stopped me just short of him, but my free hand reached farther than he expected.

“Move,” I said.

He glanced at my wrist and smiled. “One hand doesn’t make you king again.”

“It’s enough to remove yours.”

Bryony’s fear reached me, followed by a quick spark of amusement she smothered almost immediately. Adrian felt neither. He remained focused on Edith’s case.

“Give me the documents,” he said. “I’ll have copies brought to your rooms after they’ve been checked for dangerous blood magic.”

“No.” Bryony kept the case tight against her side. “You can explain yourself from the other side of the gate. Right now, I’m going through that door.”

Adrian treated the answer like the start of an argument.

He caught her injured wrist.

Fury hit the bond hard enough to drown the hunger. I surged forwards, caught the front of Adrian’s coat and dragged him against the edge of the dais.

The remaining chains tore into me. My left cuff split the skin, and the waist restraint locked around my ribs.

“Get your fucking hands off her.”

The old authority in my voice struck the room. Red light flashed across the floor. Adrian’s fingers opened before he could stop them.

Bryony twisted free and drove her boot into his shin.

He stumbled. I released his coat before the chains could pull him on top of me.

Lenora moved between Adrian and Bryony. “The ward took forced contact as a challenge. Don’t touch her again.”

For the first time, anger showed plainly on Adrian’s face. “Stand aside, Captain.”

She obeyed, but slowly. The delay gave Bryony time to back around the throne with the case still secure.

Adrian followed her.

“I’m trying to keep you alive,” he said. “Stellan can feel what you feel. He can feed desire and fear through the bond until you mistake them for your own. Every minute you spend alone with him makes it harder to leave.”

Bryony’s pulse jumped. She didn’t look at me. “Can he create either feeling?”

“No,” I said. “The bond passes what already exists. It can’t create consent, and it can’t make either of us act.”