Page 64 of The Dark Lord's Guide to Dating

“No,” I said. “It’s ‘Lord Blackrose’ this, ‘Lord Blackrose’ that.” I placed my glass on the table with deliberate care. “And I’m curious why.”

A slight flush rose up her neck before she bit into another piece of venison. “Force of habit, maybe.”

“You’re on a first-name basis with Vex and Griffin.” I drummed my fingers on the cloth. “But you persist in calling me Lord Blackrose.”

She set her silverware down, tilting her chin up with a quiet challenge. “Would you rather I call you something else? I’ve got a few ideas?—”

“‘Kazimir’ works,” I said, noticing how her eyes narrowed. “As I’ve suggested more than once.”

She hesitated, gaze locked on mine. “Names imply a certain closeness,” she said finally. “It would suggest... something else.”

“That we’re more than just captor and captive, perhaps?”

She inclined her head, eyes serious. “I’m not ready to admit that. Not yet.”

Her honesty caught me unaware. I leaned back, sizing her up by the light of the fire. After a moment, I nodded. “Point taken,” I said. “Though I hope someday you’ll change your mind.”

She studied me with that same thoughtful intensity. “Why does it matter to you so much?”

I turned my wine goblet between my fingers. I hadn’t planned on being this candid, but the answer slipped out. “As you said, names imply different things. When you call me ‘Lord Blackrose,’ you’re acknowledging the villain, the warlord. But if you said ‘Kazimir’... it might be directed at the man, not just the darkness.”

I rolled my shoulders to shake off the strange twist in my chest. My strategy tonight involved carefully orchestrated chemistry, not confessions.

“At least I don’t address you as ‘Your Darkness,’ or something equally ridiculous,” she teased, a sly spark lighting her eyes. “I assume that would roll right off you, anyway.”

“‘Your Darkness’?” I repeated. “Not a bad ring to it. Maybe I’ll add that to the ever-growing list of my exalted titles.”

She snorted softly. “Given your minions’ flair for drama, I figured it was only a matter of time.”

I topped up my wine. “My staff calls me everything from ‘sir’ to the more extravagant ‘Scourge of Azroth.’ Hardly essential, but I let it slide.”

“Quite the brand you’re building,” she quipped. “Supreme Darkness, Terror of the Western Realms... I’m surprised they haven’t tried ‘Supreme Overlord of Doom’ yet.”

I couldn’t resist a smile. “That’s a good one. I’ll have Vex send a memo.”

We continued to chat over the remnants of our meal, drifting from flirtatious banter to the political webs woven aroundSolandris and Evenfall. I found myself surprisingly drawn to how her mind worked. She possessed a cunning that belied her father’s attempts to stifle her.

Eventually, Arabella tilted her head, studying me intently. “You’re distracted tonight. Is my father’s letter that worrisome?”

I grimaced slightly. “There are details I can’t reconcile.”

Arabella sighed, pushing her plate away. “He’s always got layers. If he’s involved in negotiations while pressing you for ransom, something else bigger is in motion.”

“What do you suspect?”

Her lips pursed, and she tapped the table as though she wanted to stab it. “The Royal Envoy to the Eastern Kingdoms is up for appointment soon. My father’s coveted it forever. He’s likely bartering me away—or was, before you abducted me—to seal that deal.”

It made perfect sense. “He’d have used your marriage to secure that post. No wonder you became so adept at driving suitors away.”

She shrugged, a wry bitterness flashing in her gaze. “I discovered if I humiliated them thoroughly enough, they’d run.”

I allowed a hint of admiration into my tone. “I’m shocked.”

She laughed, bright and genuinely amused. I liked that I could pry laughter from her. The moment flickered by, then Arabella sighed again. “My father’s last letter threatened ‘severe consequences’ if I refused to play his perfect daughter. I guess you saved me from that, in a twisted sense.”

Hearing that subtle quiver in her normally fierce voice made my fingers tighten around my wine glass. I felt a sudden urge to track down her father and ensure he never had the chance to manipulate her again. “Would you like me to kill him? I’d even make it look like an accident.”

Her eyes widened, but then her look turned suspicious. “You’ve been... different tonight. The wine, the candlelight, the compliments… Are you trying to seduce me, Lord Blackrose?”

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