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“Walk beside me,” I said. “If the chain anchors again, I need warning before it closes.”
She moved to my left and kept one hand near the collar without touching it. We crossed the garden together while the roses held Adrian’s guards on the ground.
He remained in the passage beyond the broken gate. “You traded your only chance at freedom for two women who still don’t trust you.”
I looked back at him. “I can earn trust. You’ll never earn another chance to put your blood in my court.”
Bryony raised the black blade. “And now we know how to cut it out.”
Adrian retreated as white light returned around the damaged frame. The gate pulled itself closed one bent inch at a time. His face disappeared first, followed by the guards waiting behind him.
The final gap sealed.
My chain snapped tight.
I planted my feet and kept Lenora level as the collar dragged against my throat. The anchor had returned at the throne, and I’d used most of its length reaching the royal rooms.
Bryony caught the chain with both hands. “Don’t fight it while you’re carrying her. We’re close.”
We moved together. The pressure eased at the bedroom door, and I laid Lenora on top of the covers. Bryony cut the damaged straps from her armour while I pulled a folded sheet from the wardrobe and tore it into bandages.
Lenora pushed our hands away long enough to press her own palm over the wound. “It missed my heart. The leg is worse than the side, and I need blood when the court stops trying to kill us.”
“Harrowmere was protecting us,” Bryony said. “Adrian forced the guards to kill.”
“Then make the court remember who caused it.” Lenora looked at the black blade on the mattress. “His blood is in the garden and inside every guard he marked. Tell Harrowmere to hold what happened here.”
“How long do the marks last?” Bryony asked.
“Until Adrian releases them, the marked vampire dies or someone cuts the command out at the heart. He’ll try to recall those guards before Harrowmere finishes reading their blood. Don’t let them reach the service passage. Once the court holds the memory, Adrian can’t blame the deaths on Stellan or claim the Blood King attacked you. The surviving guards can speak in front of the court, and Harrowmere can show Adrian’s blood moving inside them. He used his regency to attack the heir he was meant to protect.”
I tightened the folded sheet over Lenora’s leg. “Then Adrian has destroyed the lie keeping him in power. We keep the guards alive and let Harrowmere hold the proof. He’ll have to answer for his own attack.”
Bryony reached for another bandage. “Good. We’ll do that after we stop your collar dragging you back to the throne.”
Bryony tied the new bandage around Lenora’s side. “You’re staying here until you can stand without lying about it. Close your eyes and save your strength.”
Lenora’s eyes closed. “That may take several minutes.”
The collar tightened again. I gripped the doorframe as it pulled towards the throne.
Bryony saw my hand close around the wood. Her expression lost the small trace of humour.
“Go with it,” she said. “I’ll finish this and follow you.”
“Stay with Lenora. The marked guards can’t leave the garden while the court holds them.”
“I’m not letting you walk back into that prison alone after you chose to return.” She tied off the bandage and placed Lenora’s hand over it. “We’re taking off the collar.”
I looked at the open bedroom, the wounded commander on Bryony’s bed and the damaged gate beyond the garden. The route out was closed, and the collar had me again.
Bryony picked up the black seal blade and came to my side.
“Show me the final anchor,” she said. “This time, we open it together.”
26
BRYONY
