Page 80 of The Dark Lord's Guide to Dating

She set the eyeball on the tee, eyes flicking across the fortress before gesturing at the far eastern spire. “That gazebo.”

Griffin let out an incredulous laugh. “That’s a bit bold for a first attempt.”

“Go big or go home,” she said, glancing at me over her shoulder. “Isn’t that the villain way?”

I huffed. “Something like that. But don’t be offended if you miss. It takes pract?—”

She swung with lethal precision, and my jaw dropped when the eyeball sailed in a neat arc and landed dead-center on the gazebo’s rooftop. Griffin sputtered. Sims nearly swallowed his tongue. Vex just grinned.

“Impossible,” Griffin breathed.

Arabella handed me the club with a smug grin. “Apparently not.”

“You’ve done this before.” I scowled. “Did you use magic?”

Arabella shook her head. “At court, I was good at a version of this game. But they used little wooden balls, not… body parts.” A flicker of old resentment shadowed her face. “People thought I cheated then, too. But I just have good aim.”

“There you have it,” Vex said brightly. “The new champion, humiliating you on her first try, my lord.”

Ignoring Vex’s glee, I tilted my head in grudging respect. “Well played, Lady Blackrose. I’d invite you to join our gruesome little tournaments more often, unless you’re too busy with that dragon.”

Arabella’s expression softened. “I might take you up on that. Although I should probably keep Nyx from devouring more unsuspecting creatures.” She glanced over her shoulder at the broodling, who was sniffing our eyeball supply.

Sims ruined the moment by clearing his throat. “About Lord Evenfall… We were in the middle of strategy?”

Arabella’s smile faded. “What about my father?”

Her gaze locked on me, as if we were the only two there. Now, after six weeks of dancing around each other, I was starting to realize how satisfying it was that she sought answers from me, not from anyone else.

“We have reason to believe,” I began, beckoning her over to the small table where Sims’s map was spread, “that your father’s meeting with mercenary companies, to mount some ‘rescue.’ If so, it could lead to open conflict.”

She crossed her arms. “My father is unscrupulous and manipulative, but he’s not a tactician. If he’s planning something, he’s allied with someone who is.” She traced a finger over the Solandris capital, scowling. “Like King Auremar. If he believes I’m an unwilling captive… my father might persuade him to intervene.”

Griffin exhaled. “That’d pit us against the might of Solandris.”

For an instant, my frustration flared. Arabella was supposed to be the key to bridging my vulnerability there, but our marriage remained unconsummated, while my enemies circled like vultures. “We must keep one step ahead, then, and send in more spies. I want to know if Auremar is mobilizing.”

Griffin set aside the map. “Now, if that’s settled… I do believe it’s my turn again?”

I waved him forward, letting him amuse himself. My focus snagged on Arabella, who stood mere inches away.

She murmured, half to herself, “This is going to be bad. If my father’s threatened, he’ll lash out in some cunning, despicable way.”

“We’ll be prepared.” A prickle of protectiveness thrummed in my chest.

Nyx was drooling over the eyeballs. Arabella attempted to corral her. “You, stop. Please. We’ll find you something else to chew.”

She was about to slip away, presumably to drag the dragon downstairs, but I caught her wrist. “Stay.” I wasn’t sure whether it was an order or a plea. Arabella met my gaze—surprised, uncertain. I seized on the first reason that sprang to mind. “You bested me at my own game. Surely you’d enjoy seeing Griffin flounder as well?”

Her features softened by a fraction. “One more round,” she allowed. “But then I really do have to take Nyx before?—”

I interrupted with a half-smile. “One more round,” I echoed, pressing an eyeball into her hand. My eyes dropped to her lips against my will, and I crushed the flicker of desire that stirred. She’d be mine in earnest eventually. I just hadn’t found the perfect strategy yet.

For now, I’d relish what little victory I could take: Arabella’s presence at my side, even if we were lobbing bloody eyeballs at random landmasses.

All I knew was that I wasn’t letting her go, even if I had to go to war to keep her.

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