Chapter 8 · Blood Court

"Strip."

The word hit me before the scent did. Blood and iron and something sharper, like ozone before lightning.

I didn't move.

The woman in the white coat stepped closer. Behind her, the stone chamber stretched back into shadows that moved wrong. Too liquid. Too interested.

"Ms. Vale." Her voice stayed polite. Her smile didn't reach the needle in her hand. "The moon court requires a sample. You signed the contract. That means you comply."

"I signed a marriage deal," I said. "Not a blood drive."

"Same thing." She angled the syringe toward the light. "In this house."

Two guards flanked the door. Both wolves. Both watching me like I might bolt.

I wanted to.

But Kael's voice from this morning still sat in my ear. *Stay in the east wing. Don't go near the archives. Don't answer anyone but me.*

He didn't say what happened if I did.

The woman reached for my wrist.

I jerked back. "Where's Kael."