Page 95 of The Dark Lord's Guide to Dating

I slipped through the forest with my warriors fanned out in a silent arc behind me. Twigs snapped softly under our boots, but otherwise, not a sound rose amid the pre-dawn gloom. We’d followed the spy straight through Arvoryn territory, where Auremar’s elite guards waited on Solandris’s nebulous border. The camp held twelve men in shining royal livery that glowed faintly from the enchantments woven into their blades. They had no idea how close death crawled beneath the trees.

When I caught Thorne’s eye, I flicked two fingers toward the nearest sentry. Thorne obeyed without hesitation, disappearing into the folds of night. A single slice, and the guard dropped with barely a gurgle. Another crumpled so fast he never even finished gasping.

“Ambush!” someone finally roared, but it was far too late. Four lay dead in a matter of breaths.

I stepped out of the shadows, letting supremacy radiate from me in dark waves. A guard whirled around, fear stark on his face. “The Dark Lord,” he stammered, lifting his enchanted sword as if that would impress me. I flicked my wrist, and shadows whipped around the blade, ripping it from his grip. A faint grin tugged at my lips. There was a certain pleasure in showing them how pointless their efforts were.

“Your king sent his dogs to spy on me,” I announced, loud enough for the rest to hear. “He should know better than to reach for what’s mine.”

Shadow-woven steel clashed against royal blades, snarls and screams wrecking the night’s hush. I was only interested in their captain, who I spied across the clearing. A broad-shouldered man wearing a commander’s insignia. He fought with aremarkably steady hand, keeping two of my warriors at bay with precise, brutal strikes, not an ounce of fear in his eyes.

Excellent, I thought. Someone with a bit of backbone.

I released the guard I’d been toying with. I heard his neck snap when he hit the ground. Then I strode forward, lifting my voice over the clamoring chaos. “Captain,” I called out. “A word.”

He didn’t miss a beat. He shoved a sword through one of my warriors’ throats, eyes never leaving mine. “I’ve nothing to say to you, Blackrose,” he spat, brandishing his weapon with confidence. “You kidnapped Lady Evenfall in violation of our peace accords. An act of war. Return her, and perhaps the King will show mercy.”

I laughed, letting the mocking sound echo through the slaughter. “You assume I ever agreed to his wretched peace in the first place.”

The captain’s gaze hardened. “What would you call what you’ve done, then?”

I stepped over a fallen body, my shadows curling higher around my hands. “My reasons are my own, Captain. But rest assured, Lady Arabella is now Lady Blackrose. She remains so by choice.”

A small part of me might have felt a twinge of guilt for that half-truth, but I buried it under the certainty that I would make it true eventually.

He adjusted his stance, sword steady. “The King won’t stand for it.”

I tilted my head, letting shadows riot around my body. “He’ll stand for it once he gets my next message.”

A surge of dark magic smashed into his ribs. He staggered. Another lash of power knocked him onto his back, and I pressed my boot into his throat, pinning him to the dirt. Around us, the battle died away. Eleven of Auremar’s guards now lay crumpled, while their cursed spy observed everything with unblinking eyes.

I crouched, eyes mere inches from the captain’s. “You will be that message,” I murmured, then lifted my voice to deliver the terms. “Tell your King that Lady Arabella Blackrose belongs to me. Any attempt to take her again will be met with force far greater than this.” I pushed harder, hearing him choke. “Next time, I won’t let even a single man walk away.”

He glared, fury blazing in his gaze despite his predicament. “He’ll come—” he rasped. “With an army.”

“Let him try,” I said, relaxing the pressure so he could suck in a ragged breath. “But first, you’ll carry my warning.”

I motioned to Thorne. He approached with a small, ornate box inlaid with silver runes. “Hold him,” I commanded. Two of my warriors clamped onto the captain’s arms, pulling him into a kneel.

Drawing the slender, rune-etched blade from my belt, I leaned close to the captain’s ear. “This won’t hurt much,” I said, letting amusement edge my tone.

His scream ripped the air when I carved my sigil into his forehead. Dark lines dripped blood across his face, soaking his uniform. I admired my handiwork, then opened the box.

“Now, for the closing remarks,” I said softly, pressing the blade beneath his jaw. In one swift cut, I sliced open his throat. Blood pumped in a red arc. His eyes went dim as the light left them.

Shadow-tendrils slithered at my command, wrenching off his head with a neat separation. I held it by the hair, inspected the rune carved into his brow, then slipped the head into the box. The box would only open for Auremar, and then the head of his captain would deliver my message.

The spy stepped forward under my compulsion, and I handed him the grisly package. “Deliver this to your King. Tell him Kazimir Blackrose sends his regards.”

The spy turned and walked toward the path, presumably heading straight for Solandris.

At my sign, my warriors began gathering the bodies into a pile. “Keep the captain’s corpse visible, as a warning to trespassers. Burn the rest.”

Thorne’s expression remained impassive, though I sensed his grim satisfaction. He wiped the blood from his blades, then inclined his head. “We also found a chest of coins,” he rumbled. “Could be payments to the local bandits.”

I nodded. “It seems the Viscountess was right about a secret outpost here.”

Dawn flickered across the eastern horizon, painting the sky in pale fire as smoke curled from the burning bodies. I stood there for another long moment, inhaling the metallic sting of blood on the breeze. I’d stayed out all night, leaving Arabella waiting. She expected the answers I’d been dancing around. My chest gave an uncomfortable pang, something that felt suspiciously like guilt.

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