Page 59 of The Dark Lord's Guide to Dating

I complied with a sharp exhale, half-suspicious, half-eager.

“Now, tell me what happens when you heal.”

“I reach out,” I said slowly, “find the injured parts, and give them what they need to mend.”

“Excellent.” A hint of approval colored his tone. “But you’re forgetting that you’re a conduit, not the source. The energy isn’t strictly yours. It’s drawn from the life force around you.”

I felt his fingertips shift closer; the air between our hands crackled.

“When you heal, you channel energy toward the target. This time, I want you to do the opposite—pull itout.”

I stiffened. It sounded so simple, but it went against everything I’d ever associated with magic. Still, I remembered dark moments: guards doubling over after touching my bedroom door, or one of Kazimir’s henchmen collapsing the dayhe kidnapped me. My power had lashed out reflexively, draining them.

“That’s it,” Kazimir encouraged, his voice quiet. “You’ve done this before.”

His lingering presence sent my heart hammering, but I focused on the lily. I pictured reclaiming its life instead of gifting it. A tug, an inversion, the same gentle push I used for healing, but in reverse. Warmth buzzed up my arms. Then, the lily shriveled before me, its petals blackening, stem drooping. Within seconds, it was dust.

I jerked away from Kazimir, my breath stuttering. “I didn’t— I?—”

“Yes, youdid,” he said flatly, but I detected satisfaction in his voice. “And beautifully.”

Staring at the scorched remnants, I felt a swirl of horror and exhilaration. That surge of power coiled inside me, potent as good wine.

“How does it feel?” he asked, his gaze boring into me.

I swallowed. “Terrible,” I lied, before admitting, “and... amazing.”

He actually chuckled, and the sound held no mocking edge, just genuine pride. “The duality of power. Creation and destruction.”

I wanted to argue that simply because it was easy didn’t make it right. But my pulse, still high from the taste of that stolen vitality, contradicted me.

Kazimir moved away and rummaged through a shelf, returning with a small cage that held a white mouse. My stomach sank.

“No,” I hissed. “Absolutely not.”

“It’s a logical next step,” he said. “Same principle, more complexity.”

I stepped back, crossing my arms. “I’m not killing an innocent creature just to show off.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You eat meat, don’t you? This mouse was bred for magical use and destined to be fed to Griffin’s familiars.”

I pressed my lips into a tight line. “I’m not doing it,” I repeated.

“Fine.” With a shrug, he replaced the cage. “We can revisit that lesson another day.”

Relief flooded me as he set the mouse aside. Even with my newfound destructive power thrumming, I was grateful I wasn’t forced to kill it.

“Let’s try something else.” He gestured to the arcane circle. “Join me.”

I followed him slowly, still tingling with leftover adrenaline.

“You saw what that inverted healing did to a flower,” he said once we stood inside. “Now watch what dominion magic can achieve.”

Shadows gathered around his boots, swirling upward like living smoke. He lifted his hands. Black tendrils wove themselves into the shapes of wolves, their eyes shining that stormy gray that matched Kazimir’s own. They prowled the perimeter of the circle, appearing unnervingly real.

I’d seen him use dominion magic in patches before, but never like this. My chest tightened. He truly looked like a villain from a fever-dream story, except I was uncomfortably aware of how enticing I found the command in his posture, the way raw power seemed to vibrate around him.

“Dominion is about control,” he said, voice taut. “Bending the world to your purpose. It demands certainty, and the boldness to shape reality as you see fit.”

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