Page 67

REJECT UNWANTED RESCUE ATTEMPTS (AND MAKE YOUR VILLAIN PROUD)

KAZIMIR

I lounged in my seat, watching as the Great Hall filled with courtiers and nobles, all eager to witness the Hero’s Guild emissary.

Arabella took her place on my right, looking suitably menacing draped in a black-and-silver gown stitched with roses along the hem.

The sight of her tugged at the runes carved into my bones, a jolt of attraction I felt through muscle and marrow.

It still surprised me how, after everything that had happened, she now sat beside me of her own will.

If that wasn’t proof I could bend fate, I didn’t know what was.

The massive black doors groaned open. A broad-shouldered man in gleaming armor stepped in, his retinue at his back.

Their polished silver plate bore the Hero’s Guild emblem, a sword wreathed in golden flames.

My shadow warriors escorted them. One flickered at the edges like it strained to maintain solidity, a side effect of Solandris’s wretched golden rose magic.

Irritation prickled in my ribs. I clenched my fist, forced the warrior to hold its shape, and felt a faint twinge for my trouble.

A herald bellowed, “Announcing Sir Darian Lightbringer, Knight-Commander of the Hero’s Guild and Royal Emissary of His Majesty, King Auremar of Solandris!”

Sir Darian strode forward, ignoring Arabella completely, as if I were the only threat. Once, that might have been true. He halted at the foot of the dais, puffing up his chest.

“Lord Blackrose,” he said, voice taut, “I come bearing a message from His Majesty, King Auremar.”

I splayed my fingers on the throne’s arm, feigning boredom. “Congratulations, Sir Darian. Let’s have it. I’m a busy man.”

He looked ready to grind his teeth to powder. “His Majesty demands the immediate return of Lady Arabella Evenfall. Her abduction was a grave act of war, and our king will respond with force if she is not released.”

I flicked my gaze toward Arabella. “Abduction? There’s some confusion. Lady Arabella Evenfall is Lady Arabella Blackrose, and she’s here of her own free will. Right, my dear?”

Pride colored my voice, even as my nearest shadow construct glittered with new fractures. I willed it solid again.

Arabella gave an imperious nod. “Indeed, dear husband.”

Sir Darian blinked, finally noticing her. “Lady Evenfall, whatever enchantment or coercion this villain has placed on you, the Guild can break it. Come with me, and you’ll be safe, restored to your father and King Auremar’s care.”

His arrogance stoked my anger, though I kept my tone smooth. “Mind your tongue, Commander.”

Arabella spoke before he could respond. “My name is Lady Arabella Blackrose. I’m here by choice… and I have no interest in returning to that father you speak of.”

He refused to meet her eye. Instead, he withdrew a glowing golden rose from his armor. One of Solandris’s cursed blooms. My runes heated in protest. He held it out as though presenting a peace offering. One of my shadow warriors shifted menacingly at his bold step forward.

Sir Darian noticed the movement and halted. “From home, my lady,” he said, voice thin. “A small reminder of your rightful place.”

I tensed at the bright hum of the rose’s magic. It prickled at my domain, stirring every old grudge I harbored against Solandris. Arabella moved gracefully to the front of the dais, curiosity flickering across her face. That expression shifted as she extended her hand.

The rose began to wilt. The gentle glow guttered out, petals shriveling to dust that fell at the Commander’s feet. A hush smothered the hall.

Sir Darian jerked back a step. “What have you done?”

“I don’t need your token of Solandris,” Arabella said coldly, “nor my father’s machinations. I am not anyone’s property.”

Sir Darian’s hand drifted to his sword hilt. I felt a twisted thrill, eager to see him try. “You threaten a royal emissary,” he accused, voice shaking.

I couldn’t hold back a soft, cruel laugh. “I’d heed her, Commander. Lady Blackrose is quite capable of defending herself, and I do love a good demonstration.”

He glared, but stepped back from the mound of rose dust. “King Auremar insists Lady Evenfall?—”

“It’s Lady Blackrose,” Arabella snapped. Every hair on my body pricked with admiration. “Tell your king I decline his rescue.”

His expression twisted, equal parts anger and disbelief. “Your father and the entire realm think you’ve been kidnapped. The Guild is authorized to reclaim you by force.”

I sensed Arabella’s power coil beneath her composure. My own runes vibrated in response. “Then go ahead and try.” She lifted her hand, letting golden light bloom across her fingertips, bright and deadly. My heart pounded with vicious pride. The shadows behind me roiled, stirred to join in.

Sir Darian paled, stepping back. “This is corruption… black magic. He’s twisted you!”

“Spare us the moral lecture,” I cut in, voice dropping to a threat.

“His Majesty—the champion of Solandris, your glorious, pompous king—worked with Lord Evenfall to sacrifice her future. And you come here calling me the villain?” I tossed a glance at Arabella’s glowing hand, imagining what it would do to the Knight-Commander’s smug face.

“Now, I suggest you leave, emissary . Unless you’re eager to see Lady Blackrose’s new talents firsthand. ”

He darted a wild look at the ashen remnants on the floor.

Arabella flexed her magic once more. “Go back to Auremar. Tell him I said no.”

Sir Darian looked ready to argue, but my fracturing shadow warrior lifted a blade close to his throat, an unsubtle warning.

With a final, outraged glare, he spun on his heel and stormed out, his men behind him.

The rumble of the great doors slamming shut chased them away.

With a wave of my hand, I dismissed the court.

They scattered, probably craving the safety of distant corridors to gossip.

Soon enough, only Arabella and I remained in the cavernous hall.

My shoulders sagged as the tension slipped free. I turned to regard her, perched on the dais with regal confidence. “You,” I murmured, letting my voice echo in the hush, “were extraordinary.”

She looked at the spot where the rose had disintegrated, then at me. Power glimmered around her, magnetic and sharp. “I only told him the truth.”

I rose from the throne and moved closer, letting her see the desire in my eyes.

“And you did it in a way that made me want to pin you on that throne. Rarely do people stand beside me so boldly—especially when it comes to defiling Solandris’s beloved flowers.

” My pulse thudded at the memory of that golden rose turning to dust in her hand. “Magnificent.”

Her cheeks warmed, though her tone remained steady. “I’m not a damsel, Kazimir.”

I shook my head, voice low. “No. You’re a nightmare descending on them all, and they’ll never see it coming.”

A faint smile tugged at her lips. “Speaking of nightmares… I believe Vex and the others have some wager on how soon you and I might tear the realm apart, or each other.”

I flared my shadows ever so slightly. “We still remember our rules, Lady Blackrose. But there are plenty of other ways to indulge ourselves, as we proved earlier. My knees still bear the imprint of my study floor.”

She brushed a hand over the throne’s arm and then stood. “The mighty Dark Lord, brought to his knees by a taste. It’s a good look on you. Almost as satisfying as seeing a Hero’s Guild knight tremble at my feet. Maybe I should make both happen more often.”

Her grin sent a current of longing through me. She turned away, gown sweeping dramatically behind her, and I admired each smooth line of her body. That lethal potential belonged at my side.

I’d never wanted a single person more.

“Dinner here, in an hour. To celebrate,” I said. “Don’t be late, Lady Blackrose.”

She glanced over her shoulder, face composed but eyes dancing. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

With that, she left, and I finally let out a long, steady breath.

My runes still vibrated with the remnants of the rose’s interference, a reminder that Solandris’s hold over me wasn’t fully gone.

But I felt a savage spark in my chest as well.

Arabella was with me by choice—something neither the king’s demands nor a gilded flower could break—and part of me craved the war that would follow.

Let them try to take her back. The world would learn exactly what it meant to face me… and my wife.