Page 97 of Blood Curse
“What should we do if it takes you?”
“Watch my right little finger. Two taps means I’m conscious and my words or actions aren’t mine. Don’t touch the Crown. Don’t hurt anyone it commands unless a life depends on it.”
The man holding her glass shifted closer. “Can it command all of us at once?”
“We haven’t seen it try.”
“Comforting.”
“I could lie, but you’d still be sitting under the same roof with it.”
He gave a tired nod. “Truth, then.”
Stellan rested a hand at my back. “If the Crown gives an order, I’ll repeat the exact words so nobody has to guess. Mara and Elias know the safeguards. Listen to them, but keep using your own judgement.”
“And if it takes you too?” the injured woman asked.
“Bryony revokes the command.”
“You make that sound settled.”
“It is.”
I looked up at him. “You could pretend to worry a little.”
“I worry constantly. I simply have excellent posture.”
The woman laughed and winced when the movement pulled her stitches.
An older vampire across the table lifted his bottle. “What about titles? Half the room says Your Majesty, and the other half looks ready to choke on it.”
“Use Stellan,” Stellan said.
“You were always terrible at ceremony.”
“A century hasn’t improved me.”
The man’s attention moved to me. “And you?”
The Crown sat heavy against my scalp. I answered anyway. “Bryony is fine.”
“You are the queen.”
“That’s what Harrowmere and the Crown recognised. Stellan uses the title because he believes it. Nobody else has to prove anything by saying it.”
The silver-haired guard leaned forwards. “Would it offend you if we didn’t?”
“It might offend the Crown. That’s a point in your favour.”
“And if someone wants to use it?”
“Then I want it to be their choice.”
Stellan’s fingers pressed warmly against my back. “As do I.”
Mara carried a crate of sealed bottles between the tables. “If anyone asks for warmed blood, they can hold the glass near the fire and practise patience.”
“Do we get plates?” someone called.
