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TEACH DEADLY MAGIC (AND WIN A PRIZE)

KAZIMIR

The mouse skittered across the table, its whiskers twitching frantically. Arabella’s shoulders were rigid, her jaw set with clear reluctance. Her moral compass was so godsdamn inconvenient sometimes.

“Focus,” I commanded evenly. “Feel the life force within it. Then pull.”

“This is wrong,” she whispered, her fingers trembling slightly above the table.

“It’s necessary,” I insisted, despite my growing impatience. After learning about the king’s plans yesterday, I could no longer allow Arabella to be selective about what she learned. “You need to understand the full spectrum of your abilities.”

The mouse darted for the table’s edge, so I flicked a tendril of shadow to herd it back to the center. It squeaked in helpless protest.

“I can’t,” she muttered, her voice tight.

“You can,” I countered, more harshly than I intended. Memories of her father’s twisted schemes still clung to my mind. “You already proved that with the flowers. This is just the next step.”

She turned to face me, hazel eyes sparking with defiance. “Flowers don’t have heartbeats. They don’t feel fear.”

I studied her face, the stubborn set of her jaw. That conviction was wrapped in a deceptively delicate package. “The world won’t always give you flowers to practice on,” I pointed out, trying to soften my tone. “Enemies come with teeth and claws.”

Her arms folded over her chest. “So this is about preparing me to face enemies?”

“Among other things,” I said.

She narrowed her eyes. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Many things,” I admitted, noticing the mouse making another bid for freedom. A flick of my hand dragged it squeaking back toward Arabella. “But right now, we’re focusing on your training. Try again. Don’t hesitate.”

I’d been driving her hard since returning from the Evenfall estate.

Three hours in this chamber today alone, but she hadn’t complained.

She exhaled a shaky breath and closed her eyes.

A faint shimmer of golden light illuminated her skin, signaling the stir of her magic.

My own power answered, reaching for hers in a way I still couldn’t fully control.

The mouse gave a final squeak, then went limp. A warm orb of pure, throbbing energy hovered above Arabella’s palm, pulsing with stolen life force.

“Good,” I murmured, stepping closer. “Now mold the energy.”

A crease formed on her forehead as she concentrated. Gradually, the shimmering ball took shape. Wings, a beak, tiny feet. Until it coalesced into a small bird of light. It fluttered around the chamber in a trail of radiant sparks.

“Beautiful,” she whispered.

“And deadly,” I reminded her, tracking the bird’s path. “That construct could blind an opponent, poison them, or explode on impact.”

She shot me a glare. “That’s not why I created it.”

“You’ve made something extraordinary. What you do with it is your choice,” I said briskly. “I’m only giving you options.”

Arabella’s concentration wavered, and the bird dissolved into a shower of sparks. She wobbled on her feet, and I lunged to catch her shoulders before she fell. Her skin burned hot beneath the enchanted leathers.

“You’ve done enough for now,” I managed, my voice rough.

She pulled away, bracing her hand on the table. “I’m fine. What’s next?”

I almost told her all of it. Her father’s betrayal, the Heirloom’s requirement, everything I truly needed. Instead, I swallowed the truth. “We’ll start something different. A test of your defense.”

Without warning, I pulled a bolt of shadow magic from the rune carved along my forearm and hurled it at her chest. She reacted instantly, forming a glowing, golden barrier that absorbed the hit.

“Not bad,” I said, allowing approval into my tone. “But that was a warning shot.”

I struck again, multiple tendrils arcing around her from every angle. She spun with impressive agility, extending the shield until it enclosed her in a radiant dome. My shadows hammered at it, searching for weaknesses and finding none.

“You’re still thinking like a healer,” I called, circling her as black power battered the edges of her barrier. “Defense isn’t merely blocking. It’s redirecting.”

She adjusted, letting the shadow energy flow along her shield instead of resisting the impact head-on.

“Better,” I noted. “Now send it back.”

She drew on my own dark force and hurled it at me. I deflected with practiced ease.

“You’re a quick study, Lady Blackrose.”

She gave me a brief, amused glance. “I have a good teacher.”

Our eyes locked, and tension flared between us again, bright and undeniable. My next breath caught in my throat, so I turned and snatched a small vial from a nearby shelf. Thick, black liquid swirled inside.

“This is alchemically stabilized shadow essence,” I explained. “Think of it as a smaller, manageable sliver of pure shadow magic. I want you to manipulate it without actually touching the vial.”

She eyed the container warily. “And if I fail?”

“The essence will explode and consume everything within several yards,” I said lightly, though it wasn’t an exaggeration.

Her gaze flicked from me to the vial. “You’d risk that here?”

“I have faith in your potential,” I replied.

Cautiously, she extended a golden tendril of magic toward the vial. I watched every twitch of her face, her wary curiosity, the tension in her parted lips.

“It’s alive,” she breathed, sounding startled.

“To an extent,” I said. “Shadow essence is semi-sentient. It responds to will and intent.”

She reached out again, allowing the darkness to curl toward her magic. I saw the moment she nearly withdrew, but she held firm.

“Don’t retreat,” I urged, my voice dropping. “Control it.”

She maintained the eerie connection, drawing some of the shadow essence into herself. The vial trembled ominously, the black fluid straining against the glass.

“Careful,” I started. “Too much, too?—”

A crack, and the vial shattered in a razor hiss.

The freed essence exploded, expanding into an inky cloud that swirled toward her.

Arabella let out a frightened gasp as she tried to form a barrier.

But instead of blocking the blackness, her magic pulled it in.

My eyes widened in raw fascination as she absorbed it into her very skin, an otherworldly glow rippling across her body.

It was too much. I moved on reflex, grabbing her hands. My energy surged over hers, helping stabilize the flood of swirling darkness. Our connection flared hot and intimate, more personal than I’d ever intended.

“Breathe,” I rasped, forcing my voice steady. “Use my energy to balance out the shadows.”

Arabella drew on me just as she’d drawn on the shadow essence, forging a conduit I felt in every cell. Gradually, the swirling darkness settled inside her instead of splintering her from within.

When the danger finally passed, sound rushed back into the room—the ragged cadence of our shared breathing, the faint crackle of errant magic fizzling across the floor.

Shadows and golden motes drifted around us.

I was holding her protectively against me, and she was holding me back.

Her fingers clutched my shoulders, the molten heat of her body flush against mine.

I didn’t let go. Couldn’t. The raw power still throbbed between us, a thread tugging me closer with each heartbeat.

“That,” I said, breathing hard, “was not what I expected.”

Arabella remained within the circle of my arms, her eyes dark with a mixture of shock and desire. “What did you expect?” she asked softly, her gaze flicking to my mouth.

“I assumed you’d repel it,” I said, forcing my focus to her eyes even as my gaze kept drifting lower. “Not absorb and integrate it.”

“Is that… bad?”

“No,” I admitted, my thumb brushing a slow circle along her hip, feeling the shiver that chased my touch. “It’s astonishing. You continue to surprise me, Arabella.”

A smudge of shadow clung to her cheek. I lifted my hand, intending only to wipe it away, but the moment my thumb grazed her, the world narrowed to that single point of contact. She leaned in ever so slightly. When my thumb moved to the corner of her mouth, she parted her lips.

I don’t know who moved first. Maybe we both did. One moment we hovered on a knife’s edge. The next, my mouth crashed onto hers.

Her lips yielded, soft heat melting into mine before pressing back with a desperate, answering hunger.

I ran my tongue along her bottom lip, and she opened her mouth in a breathy moan that went straight to my groin.

She arched against me, and every rune carved into my bones sparked alive, singing at the feel of her.

My hand slid from her cheek to her neck, then lower, tracing the curve of her waist through the training leathers, memorizing the shape I’d already dreamed about.

Arabella’s fingers threaded into my hair, a fierce tug that sent lightning down my spine and ripped a low growl from my throat.

I backed her into the table and lifted her onto it.

She seized my collar, dragging me closer until her thighs wrapped around my hips and the last sliver of distance died between us.

I ran my hand along her leg, savoring the impossible contrast of hard muscle beneath supple leather.

The damned material was in the way now, and I wanted to rip it off her.

I palmed her breast, relishing her sharp inhale, then dipped to taste the faint salt at her collarbone, branding the spot with my tongue.

She tugged me up again, devouring my smirk in a kiss so scorching it threatened to unravel every scrap of control I had.

My hand slipped beneath the loose edge of her jacket, tracing the seam where leather met hot skin. She gasped into my mouth. This was the prize I had sought through every lesson, every taunt, every sleepless night.

Tell her the truth , a traitorous voice hissed.

I answered with a deeper kiss, plunging my tongue savagely into her mouth.

Truth could wait. Her hands found the edge of my shirt and ran under it to caress my abdomen.

I cupped her ass and ground my arousal into her, letting her feel me through our clothing.

She arched into me. Desire roared, yet even as it devoured me, I slowed.

My hands moved to her waist, and I tore my mouth from hers long enough to find air.

“Wait,” I forced out, my voice ragged.

She let out a husky noise of protest. “What?”

I caught one of her wrists and pressed a kiss to her racing pulse. “You don’t know what you’re agreeing to.”

“I’m not agreeing to anything but this,” she said, fierce and breathless, leaning in as though proximity alone could restart the kiss. “Right now.”

Her jacket hung off one shoulder, her lips swollen, eyes bright with need. It was everything I craved. Still, I somehow mustered the will to step back, my body screaming in frustration.

“This isn’t…” I raked a hand through my hair, trying to tamp down my own desire. “There are things you don’t know about me—about us—before we?—”

A sharp chime rang through the training chamber, a magical alarm announcing someone’s urgent request. The door flew open and slammed against the wall. Sims stood on the threshold, wide-eyed.

“My lord, there’s an incident at the—” He froze, noticing Arabella’s disheveled state and my half-undone shirt. “I apologize for interrupting.”

My teeth ground together. “What incident?”

Sims was either brave or foolish enough to meet my gaze. “A breach in our defenses near Arvoryn. Immediate attention required.”

“Understood,” I muttered, barely disguising my fury. “I’ll be there shortly.”

Sims bowed so fast he nearly toppled over, then backed out of the room. I slammed the door shut behind him with a wave of shadow. The echo died away, leaving a silence heavy with everything left unsaid.

Arabella slid off the table, straightening her clothes with almost regal composure, though her cheeks still burned.

“Arabell—”

“Don’t,” she snapped. “Just don’t.”

I reached for her, but let my hand fall uselessly to my side. “We should talk about what just happened.”

“What’s to say?” She avoided my eyes. “You got carried away. It happens.”

“That’s not?—”

“It doesn’t matter,” she said icily. “Deal with your breach, Dark Lord.”

She pivoted and walked out, not once looking back.

The door slammed behind her, leaving me standing alone in a swirl of frustration and unslaked desire.

My breathing was still ragged and my mind buzzed with the memory of her taste, the way she felt in my arms. She deserved the truth. Soon, I told myself.

But first, I needed to murder whoever caused that damn breach. And possibly Sims, for his supremely shitty timing.