Page 45

CLAIM YOUR POWER (AND THE DARK LORD)

ARABELLA

After waiting most of the night for Kazimir to return, I’d finally collapsed into sleep surrounded by my dragon and shredded pillows.

“Bastard,” I muttered, plucking a stray feather from my hair.

I’d scrubbed myself nearly raw to rid my skin of that blasted blue tint from the bath salts, then spent hours practicing magic alone (since Kazimir missed our scheduled training), and I still hadn’t received a single message from him.

A soft knock on the door cut through my brooding.

“Come in,” I called, cinching the silk robe tighter around my waist.

A serving girl peeked in, carefully balancing a tea tray. “Afternoon tea, my lady.” She took one startled look at the mess in the room but, with creditable restraint, stayed silent.

“Thank you,” I said, forcing a small smile. “Any word from Lord Blackrose?”

Her brow furrowed. “My lord returned hours ago, my lady. Just after dawn.”

I froze with a teacup halfway to my lips. “Hours?”

“Yes, m’lady,” she confirmed.

Hours. And hadn’t bothered to let me know. Betrayal and wounded pride flamed inside me, igniting into white-hot anger.

“Where is he now?” I asked, each syllable clipped.

“He’s in the war room, m’lady. He’s been in there with his advisors since his return.”

“And he left word that he’s not to be disturbed, no doubt.”

She chewed her lip nervously. “He might have said he’d feed anyone who interrupts him to the void beasts…”

I set the teacup down with a sharp click. “Where is the war room located?”

“M’lady, I don’t think?—”

“Where?” I cut her off, letting my voice and the magic pulsing in my veins warn her I wasn’t playing.

She sighed. “East wing, second floor. The large chamber with the double doors and the guards.”

“Thank you,” I said pointedly. “You may go.”

“But the void beasts?—”

“They’ll have to find something else to eat,” I snapped, already marching for the door.

I had a good, long walk to build my fury into something like a wildfire. By the time I reached the double doors, guarded by two burly men in black livery, magic crackled around my fingertips. They straightened, exchanging an uneasy glance.

“Lady Blackrose,” the taller one said with a bow. “I must inform you, Lord Blackrose?—”

“Ordered you to feed anyone who disturbs him to the void beasts,” I finished for him. My voice vibrated with power. “Now step aside.”

They shifted uncomfortably, but I lifted my hand, letting sparks loose to show I meant business. One guard swung the door open, and I strode past him.

The war room was enormous, dominated by a black stone table inlaid with an intricately carved map. Tiny runes glowed across contested territories. At the far end, bent over stacks of parchment, stood Kazimir, flanked by Vex, Sims, and Thorne. Four heads snapped up when I entered.

Kazimir straightened. His gaze swept over me, taking in the silk robe, the determined set of my jaw.

“Everyone out,” I commanded, not taking my eyes off him. “Except Kazimir.”

He glared at me. I glared right back. Thorne, Sims, and Vex practically tripped over themselves getting out, leaving me alone with him in the echoing silence.

Kazimir crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the table. “ Now you use my name?”

He looked exhausted—dangerously so—but there was a coiled tension about him that felt electric. Stubble graced his jawline. His hair was mussed, as if he’d been running his hands through it. I wanted to hate him for looking far too good even in that disheveled state.

I folded my arms and let him see the anger in my eyes. “So. You’ve been back. For hours.”

“Yes.” He just waited, daring me to say what I wanted to say.

I forced a laugh. “You ran off right when we were—preoccupied—yesterday. Then you sneak back in without the courtesy of letting me know you’re alive.”

His gaze tracked the stray motes of magic sparking around my fingers. The air snapped with an energy that matched the wild twist in my chest.

Kazimir turned away and reached for a decanter of amber liquor at a sideboard. He poured two glasses, extending one toward me. “I suspect we both could use a drink.”

I accepted out of reflex. It gave me something to do with my hands besides setting the war room on fire. “You’re stalling.”

“And you’re itching for a fight.” He raised an eyebrow. “Are you angry that I’m still alive? Or that I left you alone after we began something you wanted to finish?”

I thought about tossing the brandy in his face, but it would only make him happy to have elicited such a reaction from me. Instead, I took a sip and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, watching how his eyes tracked the movement.

I smiled. “Both.”

A knowing smirk replaced his momentary surprise. “You wouldn’t like the outcome if I’d died. Your safety is too entangled with mine.” His voice softened. “Or maybe you would. Maybe you lie awake imagining my demise right after you finish imagining my touch.”

My throat tightened. “What happened in Arvoryn?” I asked, deliberately ignoring his attempt to unbalance me.

He paused, brandy sloshing in his glass. Finally, he set it aside, suddenly too preoccupied to drink. “It’s done,” he said at last. “We’re at war with Solandris.”

I gave a small nod. “Because of me.”

“In part, yes,” he admitted. “But it would have happened sooner or later.”

“Because that’s been your goal all along.”

He nodded.

I set my glass down on the table. “You didn’t make me wait until afternoon just to tell me we’re at war. There’s something else.”

He held my gaze for a long moment, as if debating whether to continue the charade. “Your father sold you to King Auremar.”

I blinked, certain I’d misheard. “What?”

“Forty thousand gold crowns and a seat on the royal council. Your father made the deal months ago.” His eyes watched me carefully. “You were to be the king’s bride. My... intervention upset their plans.”

The room seemed to tilt. I gripped the edge of the table to steady myself. My entire life had been a transaction waiting to happen. But knowing it and hearing it were very different things. “And you’ve known this for how long?”

He shifted his weight. “Three days.”

Three days. He’d known for three days and hadn’t told me. And there I’d been, in the training room, practically ripping off his clothes… And then waiting like an idiot for him to return.

“When were you going to tell me?” I asked, my voice barely audible. “You’ve had plenty of opportunities.”

Kazimir took a step toward me, then stopped when I glared at him. “Tonight. I wanted to confirm the information first, to be certain.”

“And are you? Certain?”

“Yes.” He didn’t elaborate, but the grim set of his mouth told me this confirmation had been thorough. And probably bloody.

I reached for the brandy and drank deeply.

“So,” I said when I could trust my voice again, “my options were to be sold to the king or kidnapped by you.”

“I was trying to protect?—”

“Don’t you dare pretend you held back for my peace of mind,” I snapped.

Kazimir picked up his drink and moved to the other side of the table before turning to glare at me. “I’m the reason you’re not rotting in Solandris’s palace right now.” He paused. “Unless that’s what you want?”

“All those times I asked for honesty, and you just withheld what mattered most.”

His temper flared in response to mine. The runic figurines on the map rattled. “I told you. I needed confirmation.”

“You needed control,” I shot back. “And the only reason you’re telling me now is because it’s convenient. Because you’ve set the stage for war, and you need me to hold still while you wave your sword at the king.”

“It isn’t just about war, damn it.” His gaze swept over me, and for an instant I saw raw desire blazing there. “And it stopped being convenient the second I started wanting you for more than your bloodline.”

My pulse fluttered. It took everything in me not to melt.

For a moment, his eyes shone with something like regret. “At least answer one question,” he pressed. “If you truly had the choice between the king’s bed or mine, what would you choose?”

I shook my head, anger and hurt warring inside me. “You’re missing the point.”

“I’m not.” He moved closer. “The question is simple. Do you want to be the Queen of Solandris, or my Dark Lady?”

“Auremar would expect me to birth heirs until my body gave out, and then he’d replace me with someone younger.” I shook my head. “Being queen is the last thing I’d ever want.”

“Is that a concession that I’m the better option?” A hint of his usual arrogance crept back into his tone.

“Neither is freedom.”

Kazimir raked a hand through his hair, making him look uncharacteristically unhinged. “Tell me what you want, then. I’m trying to find a middle ground with you, but you keep pulling away. What are you afraid of?”

My magic flared again. “I’m not afraid.”

“Good,” Kazimir said, studying me with unsettling intensity. “Because there’s something else you need to know.”

Something in his tone made my skin prickle. “What now?”

He moved to where he’d left his glass and downed it all in one gulp. When he finished, he braced his hands on the table. “The Heirloom of Dominion requires more than just our bloodlines to activate it. It requires...” He paused. “It requires the consummation of our marriage.”

I stared at him, certain I’d misheard. “Consummation,” I repeated flatly. “As in sex.”

“Yes,” he confirmed, watching me closely. “The binding of our bloodlines in the most literal sense.”

A startled laugh escaped me. “Is that what this has been about? The dragon, the training, the unexpected kindnesses? You’ve been trying to seduce me to activate your precious artifact?”

Kazimir’s jaw tightened. “It’s more complicated than that.”

“Is it?” I rounded the table. “You need me to spread my legs so you can gain the power you’ve been chasing for a decade. Seems straightforward enough to me.”