Page 167 of The Dark Lord’s Guide to Honeymooning (and Other Acts of Tyranny)

The demon’s words hit me like ice water, then immediately boiled into rage. Magic crackled around my hands.

“Your liege?” The word tasted like poison. “The demon who bought him? Who enslaved a seventeen-year-old?” My voice rose to a near shriek. “Who did gods-know-what to him while he was chained and powerless?”

The doppelganger’s form flickered with rage. “He tore Malphas apart from the inside out. Then burned half the demon realm on his way out.” His hands clenched. “I spent years rebuilding what he destroyed. Years plotting the perfect revenge.”

I laughed, sharp and bitter. “Your precious Malphas got exactly what he deserved. Actually, no—he got off easy. If I’d been there, I would have made it last weeks.”

“You dare—” The doppelganger’s features twisted, cycling through faces I didn’t recognize, each one contorted with fury. “Malphas was royalty! A prince of the demon realm! And your husband seduced him, made him believe—” He choked on his own rage. “Then ripped him apart while he was vulnerable, while he thought they were—”

“Good!” I snarled, my magic flaring brighter. “I hope it hurt. I hope he died knowing exactly how it felt to be powerless and used. Just like he did to Kaz.”

The doppelganger took a step forward, his form rippling with barely contained violence. “You weren’t there. You didn’t see what he became. The thing that walked out of that realm wasn’t human anymore. Your precious Dark Lord is more than man.”

“And every twisted, broken piece of him belongs to me now,” I spat back. “Every scar, every shadow, every bit of darkness your master carved into him—they’re mine to protect. Mine to defend. And I’ll destroy anyone who thinks they have a claim on him.”

Zaraiah stepped closer to the barrier as if unwilling to be left out of the equation. “Such passion.” Her voice dripped false sweetness. “And how convenient for me. You see, after Kazimir spurned me, I went digging for information about our dear Dark Lord. Imagine my delight when I found someone”—she gestured to the doppelganger—“with both the means and motivation to help bring him down.”

I remembered that conversation with Pip—or what I’d thought was Pip—about the “Incident That Shall Not Be Named.” He’d mentioned a demon. It was hardly outside the realm of kitchen gossip, so I hadn’t thought much about it. But it hadn’t been gossip, had it? It was inside information.

“You were trying to drive a wedge between us,” I said to him.

The doppelganger’s lips pulled back in half snarl, half smile. “It should have worked. Most women would run screaming if they knew the details of what he did to Malphas. The way he laughed as my master died.” His fingers twitched, as if imagining wrapping them around my throat. “I figured you’d ask the Dark Lord about it and stir up trouble.”

“Yeah, well.” I flexed my fingers, light magic sparking. And I realized that when I moved, the magical barrier didn’t move with me. Interesting. “I’m not most women.”

“No,” Zaraiah agreed. “You’re the key to something much greater. Auremar is building a new world order. One where creatures like Kazimir—and you—will be properly leashed. We’ve chosen the winning side.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. The irony was just too perfect.

“What?” Zaraiah demanded.

“You think Auremar is the power you’re aligning with?” I shook my head. “You have no idea what’s really happening, do you? What’s actually pulling his strings?”

“Enlighten us,” she said coldly.

I could have told them about the Shadow King. About him spreading through the ley lines. About how their grand alliance was really just feeding an ancient evil that would devour them all.

Instead, I smiled. “No. I don’t think I will.”

Zaraiah’s face flushed. “Fine. Your secrets won’t matter once Auremar has you.”

A shadow fell across us.

She didn’t even look up. “I was wondering when your pet would arrive.”

Nyx dropped from the sky like vengeance incarnate, all teeth and claws and fury.

Zaraiah raised her hand, and a shimmer erupted around the dragon—another barrier, similar to mine but crackling with different energy. Nyx slammed into the barrier. She rebounded, wings flailing, then dove again—claws raking uselessly against the shimmer. A keening wail tore from her throat as she thrashed, her massive body contorting in midair. Then she crashed into the ground.

“No!” I yelled.

“Did you think I wouldn’t prepare for her after seeing her at the Spire? A shadow dragon will fetch an excellent price from the black market.”

Zaraiah turned back to Nyx, gesturing with both hands. The barrier around the dragon contracted, shimmering walls closing in like a fist. The doppelganger circled closer, watching with clinical interest as Nyx’s struggles grew more frantic.

“Careful,” he warned. “Shadow dragons can phase when cornered.”

“Not through this spell.” Zaraiah’s smile was vicious. “I accounted for that. She’s locked in both this realm and the shadow—”