Page 36

GIFTS THAT brEATHE FIRE (USUALLY WORK)

ARABELLA

I wrapped my cloak tighter around my shoulders just as the sun slid behind the walls.

The east courtyard wasn’t much more than an alcove tucked against the fortress, a smaller offshoot of the main courtyard with the obscene pentagram.

But I supposed the staff had to label each portal-to-possible-doom somehow, so “east courtyard” it was.

At first, I figured I was alone, but then I spotted Kazimir, his back turned toward me. He stood near the far wall, posture unusually rigid, almost as if he were… nervous? I almost laughed. The famed Dark Lord, nervous? Unthinkable. Yet something about the set of his shoulders gave him away.

He glanced over when he heard my footsteps, and summoned me closer. “Try not to startle anything.”

Naturally, I froze. “Should I expect something toothy?”

He angled his chin toward the corner. “Potentially. Best not to agitate it.”

Definitely toothy, then. I approached carefully. Against the stone wall crouched a large shape. At first, it reminded me of a coiled shadow. Except shadows didn’t typically have ridged spines and leathery wings.

My pulse knotted. “Is that?—?”

“A juvenile shadow dragon,” Kazimir murmured, gaze flicking from the creature to me. “My beastmaster found her.”

The dragon’s eyes snapped open to reveal shining silver irises. Thin smoke curled from her nostrils, stirring the crisp evening air.

“She’s…” I couldn’t form any other word. “Beautiful.”

Kazimir sounded almost self-conscious as he spoke. “She’s yours. A late wedding present.”

I stared at him. “You’re giving me a dragon?”

He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “You’re the Dark Lord’s wife. It felt... fitting.”

I’d half-expected him to produce a cursed tiara or maybe brand-new shackles. But a living dragon? She was downright mesmerizing, her obsidian scales gleaming with each shift of her body.

I cautiously edged forward. “I’m clueless about dragon care.”

“Fortunately, my beastmaster isn’t.” His voice found that usual note of haughtiness. “She’s young enough to bond. Especially since you’ve got unusual magic.”

I hardly heard him. “Can I get closer?”

“Carefully. Hand out, palm up. Let her decide.”

He also mentioned the creature’s name—Nyx—and told me I could rename her if I wanted. I didn’t think I would. “Nyx,” I murmured. “Hello there, magnificent girl.”

Her nostrils flared, sampling the breeze around me. Then, with a sleek, serpentine movement, she slithered across the flagstones. My entire body braced in terror, but my heart pounded with something like wild, irrepressible joy.

Nyx paused inches from my hand, her breath hot against my skin.

The shadow dragon’s black scales rippled, creating an illusion of constant movement across her sleek form.

Her nostrils flared, sampling my scent with interest, while those unsettling silver eyes—intelligent, ancient despite her youth—locked onto mine with unnerving focus.

She smelled of lightning storms and charred sugar.

I swallowed nervously, waiting. Finally, after a few moments of steady puffing against my hand, she pressed her snout into my palm.

A shock fired through my bones. In a sudden rush, I saw fleeting memories: webs of midnight clouds, the thrill of plunging through darkness, the thunderous echo of wings.

The sensation stole my breath. When it passed, I realized I’d sunk to my knees, hand still cupped around Nyx’s muzzle.

Kazimir cleared his throat. “Looks like she’s taken to you.”

My vision blurred. I shook off the haze, blinking up at him. “I—I don’t have words for this.”

His expression flickered, something vulnerable there, gone in an instant. “Consider her yours. Regardless.”

Nyx rumbled deep in her throat, practically purring. I stroked her warm scales, a little awed she wasn’t just a coiled shadow that could vanish any second. “Is it right?” I asked softly. “Binding a wild creature like her?”

He crossed his arms, black coat catching the breeze. “She chooses, actually. From what I heard, she nearly perched on my beastmaster’s back to come here. And possibly tried to eat him. That bit is somewhat unclear.”

“Thank you,” I managed, looking him in the eye. “I never thought…”

He shifted his weight. “It’s only natural you have an impressive mount. Part of the villainess starter kit, if you will.”

“Is that covered in your personal handbook?” I teased.

“A whole chapter,” he deadpanned.

Nyx snuffled at my shoulder, her impatience booming through our tenuous new bond. “She’s starving,” I said.

Kazimir nodded. “They’ve prepared a meal for her in the stables on Menagerie Island. Let me show you.”

We started across the courtyard, stepping over cracks in the stones that the fortress’s wards had fused long ago. I glanced at him. “Shadow dragons can slip through realms, right? If she grows big enough, she could carry me away. Past your wards. Past you.”

He held my gaze. “She won’t be large enough to carry you for a year at least. And then yes, you could leave.”

I studied his expression. “That’s a hell of a gamble.”

He tried for a cocky grin. “I imagine you’d appreciate some freedom eventually, if you wanted it.”

Something inside me twisted. The simplest possibility for bringing me such a gift was that he needed me to remain compliant. And yet, the look on his face said there might be more to it than a tactical bribe.

Nyx butted my side, projecting a hungry whine that fluttered in my mind with pictures of raw meat. “All right,” I said, offering her a scratch. “Dinner’s coming.”

Kazimir gestured toward the walkway, and we crossed over toward the stable area. But I paused before we reached the volatile lightning bridge. “You know, it’s strange—someone like you, giving a gift that literally hands me a way out. Almost like... trust.”

“Don’t read too deeply into it,” he said, but the facade of arrogance wavered.

I curled my fingers lightly around his forearm for just a moment. “She’s the most incredible present I’ve ever received,” I said. “Truly.”

He dipped his gaze, then gave a playful grin. “All right, don’t get sappy. We villains prefer ominous declarations and chaos.”

We crossed the bridge to the stables, where an attendant was already gaping at Nyx.

Kazimir launched into a lecture about keeping the dragon from demolishing the walls, directed mostly at the attendant, and maybe a little at me.

I feigned attention while trying to figure out the contradictions of a man who would force me to marry him, then present me with an escape plan.

Nyx stretched and flexed her claws impatiently like a cat. Kazimir sighed at the fresh gouges in the stone, while I stifled a laugh. “Yes,” I said, “feeding time. Let’s get to it.”