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DANGLE A SPY (FOR INFORMATION AND AMUSEMENT)

KAZIMIR

“Please! I’ll tell you anything else you want to know!”

I dangled the spy upside down over the lightning bridge, his body swaying in the bitter wind that whipped around Skyspire.

My shadows were wrapped tightly around his ankles as he hung suspended over certain death.

Below, energy crackled across the magical bridge with enough voltage to reduce a man to ash in seconds.

His face had turned an interesting shade of purple, possibly from the blood rushing to his head or from sheer terror. Perhaps both.

I loosened my shadowy grip just enough to drop him a few inches closer to that crackling death. His eyes bulged, and a pitiful whimper tore from his throat.

“I understand the king sent you to assess our defenses,” I said, leaning against the stone parapet while feigning interest in my fingernails. “What else do you know?”

The spy hiccupped out a sob. “Nothing! I swear on my mother’s grave!”

I tapped my fingers against the cold stone. “You expect me to believe King Auremar sent you on a suicide mission without explaining his motivations? How disappointingly predictable.”

I cracked my neck and let out a small sigh. This was taking far too long. Time for a more direct approach. I activated the rune over my throat.

“ Tell me what you know about King Auremar’s plans for Lady Blackrose ,” I commanded, lacing my voice with dominion magic. The words thrummed with power, clamping down on the spy’s mind just like the shadows around his ankles.

His eyes glazed over, pupils dilating as my magic took hold. When he spoke again, his voice was flat, compelled by my will.

“The king arranged with Lord Evenfall to take Lady Arabella as his bride. Forty thousand gold crowns and a seat on the royal council in exchange,” he droned. “We were sent to assess if extraction was possible. Lord Evenfall claims she was taken against her will.”

The king? And Evenfall had demanded fifty thousand from me, so the greedy bastard was negotiating from both ends.

I tightened my grip on the parapet. “And when was this arrangement made?”

“Before her abduction. Lord Evenfall was finalizing terms when you took her.”

“Was Lady Evenfall aware of these plans?”

“No. She was to be informed only after everything was arranged. No option for refusal.”

The shadows around his ankles pulsed with my anger, turning black and violet in time with my heartbeat. Evenfall had been mere days away from selling his daughter off to Auremar, without even giving her the courtesy of a choice.

As my dominion magic receded, clarity returned to the spy’s eyes. He blinked and then scowled when he realized what had happened. “If you could just force me to speak, why go through this dramatic display?”

I flashed him a cold smile. “Because dangling spies over energy bridges is one of the few pleasures in a Dark Lord’s day.”

Movement in my periphery caught my attention. Vex appeared at the doorway, arms crossed, one eyebrow raised. Her slight tilt of the head indicated mild interest in the spectacle.

“Interrogation going well?” she asked drily.

“Splendidly,” I replied, sweeping a hand toward our guest. “Our friend was just explaining how King Auremar and Lord Evenfall arranged Arabella’s marriage before I kidnapped her.”

Vex stepped closer and peered down at the spy with open disgust. “The king is three times her age.”

“Yes.” My hands balled into fists. “The only thing more pathetic than an old man buying a bride is a father willing to sell her.”

The spy immediately started babbling. “I have a family… children?—”

“You should’ve thought about them before working for men who trade women like livestock.” I released the shadow bonds.

His scream lasted three seconds at most before the lightning bridge’s energy consumed him in a flash. Not even ash remained.

“Was that strictly necessary?” Vex asked, though she didn’t look particularly upset.

I brushed imaginary dust from my sleeves. “I was feeling dramatic.”

“You’re always feeling dramatic.” She kicked a loose stone over the edge, watching it vanish into the clouds below.

My shoulders tensed as the runes under my skin flared with leftover aggression. “So the king wants his bride back.”

“And Lord Evenfall wants his gold,” Vex added, coming to stand beside me. “You inadvertently rescued Lady Blackrose from a fate that makes your abduction appear downright chivalrous.”

I snorted. “I doubt she’d agree.” I dragged a hand through my hair.

“Queen Arabella of Solandris,” I muttered, the words tasting sour.

I pictured Auremar’s withered hands anywhere near her, and my shadows flickered furiously across the stones.

Would she have preferred a crown and kingdom over this fortress and a Dark Lord?

The question lit a fresh surge of rage in my veins.

“She’d have had power,” I said to Vex. “Resources. Royal guards instead of my shadows. An adoring court instead of terrified servants.”

“And a husband who bought her,” Vex said softly.

“As opposed to one who simply took her.” A humorless laugh escaped me. “No wonder she despises us all.”

“Maybe she wouldn’t, if you told her the truth.” Vex eyed me. “No leveraging, no threats. Just honesty. Stop treating her like a prize and treat her like a partner.”

I glared at her. “You make it sound so simple.”

“It is simple,” she corrected, undaunted by my scowl. “Just not easy.”

I turned back toward the parapet, staring down at the crackling bridge.

Arabella was far from a simple captive. She’d fought, argued, defied me at every turn.

After a lifetime of having her choices ripped from her by her father, she now clung to whatever autonomy she could grasp.

And I’d approached her as just another conquest. How arrogant that now seemed.

I’d realized my error the night I returned from Evenfall’s estate, blood-soaked and raw with anger. I hadn’t told her what I’d seen yet, though I’d planned to soon.

“You’re overthinking this, Kazimir.”

I turned. Vex had only used my given name once before. “I’ll consider it,” I said at last.

She nodded, then melted into the shadows, leaving me with the wind and the echo of thunder below.

I remained at the parapet long after she was gone, watching storm clouds churn until the sky fused with the abyss.

I supposed I should feel guilty for depriving Arabella of her chance to be a queen. But I didn’t. Not even a little bit.

The wind dragged at my coat. I forced myself to turn for the stairwell, intending to return to my chambers, where she waited, still unaware of what I’d learned or what I had done.

Tomorrow, I might take Vex’s advice and try honesty for once. What was the worst that could happen?

Well, besides Arabella trying to kill me again.