Page 134 of The Dark Lord's Guide to Dating

“This bizarre purgatory is making us both reckless.”

He exhaled, stepping closer, voice dropping. “We agreed to abstain. We have to protect the Heirloom.”

I threw up my hands. “Yes, we did. And I get it. But you’re not taking care of yourself. And it’s affecting me, our training… everything.”

Griffin cleared his throat nervously. “Um, I should?—”

“Stay here,” Kazimir ordered.

I folded my arms, livid. “I’m not going to be dismissed like one of your minions.”

He leveled a delicate, dangerous look at me. “I wasn’t dismissing you. But I don’t think this is the place for our little... conversation.”

“No,” I agreed, “it’s not. But I’m done pretending you’re fine. I have a literal headache from your lies.” I tapped my temple. “My truth-sense doesn’t just vanish, you know.”

“The pain is manageable. That’s not a lie.”

I felt the slightest hum of truth, warring with half-truth. “It’s not enough to just manage things, Kazimir.”

He didn’t respond. Instead, his gaze slipped to Griffin and Nyx before returning to me.

My anger still hadn’t cooled, but I lowered my voice. “Let me help. Like I did before.”

He stiffened, looking ready to fire back, but he only said, “Not now.”

I sighed in frustration. “These accidents are just going to keep happening.”

“Not if you work on your control,” he spat back.

I shook off the lingering tremor in my arms. “If my ‘lack of control’ is such an issue,” I said, voice pinched with anger, “maybe the best solution is for me to train without your grim”—I gestured at his entire, tense villain persona—”brooding.”

Kazimir’s eyes narrowed, and for once, he didn’t respond with his usual retorts. I gulped down the urge to soften, and fury propelled me forward. “You’re my biggest distraction. Every grimace of pain, every glare you shoot my way—it breaks my focus. So, how about you give me space instead of demanding perfection?”

Silence stretched between us, taut as a bowstring. Part of me wanted him to fight back. Instead, he inclined his head in a curt, cold agreement. “Very well,” he said, each syllable laced with biting frost. Then he turned sharply on his heel and strode away.

I stood there feeling hollow. My shadow magic had almost killed us, and Kazimir wouldn’t let me help him. We were a pair of fools.

“Well,” Griffin said softly once the tension had diffused a bit, “that was… intense.”

Ignoring the hammer of my heart, I sank onto a stone bench. “I damn near murdered us both with that explosion,” I said, staring at the cracks I’d inflicted on the stones.

Griffin offered a tentative shrug. “That’s how things go with dangerous magic. People blow up once in a while.” He chuckled nervously. “Or more often than not.”

A faint, miserable laugh escaped me. “It’s not just the near-death stuff. Everything’s complicated. And Kazimir’s lying to himself about his own pain.”

“I suspect he’s done that most of his life,” Griffin said, smoothing the wrinkles on his robe. His hairy calves stuck out beneath the short hem. “He’s a brilliant orchestrator of illusions, especially the ones he tells himself.” He paused, glancing at me. “But you, on the other hand, are a terrifyingly accurate lie detector. I suppose that’s bound to cause friction.”

I slumped with a sigh, letting the events swirl in my mind. My father’s cruelty, Kazimir’s infiltration of my life, the fact that half his staff seemed to quietly root for him to let me in… “Does he ever accept advice from any of you?”

“Rarely,” Griffin admitted. “He hates looking weak in front of others, even when those ‘others’ have seen all his weaknesses anyway.” He fiddled with a loose thread. “If it helps… I’ve never seen him like this.”

“Is that good or bad?” I asked quietly, rubbing my arms.

He gave me a measuring look. “Maybe both.” Standing, he grabbed his bloody satchel. “I should get back to my research. I’m working on an enchantment that would prevent further degradation to the Heirloom, possibly even allow limited use of its power.”

I wanted to hug him, but thought better of it. “That’s amazing, Griffin.”

He grinned sheepishly. “It won’t address the underlying fracture, but maybe… ah… it’ll let everyone breathe a little easier.”

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