Page 222 of The Dark Lord’s Guide to Honeymooning (and Other Acts of Tyranny)

I had always been the Shadow King.

Welcome back, the voice said, and I realized it had never been separate from me at all. It was me—the part of myself I’d been denying, fighting, trying to forget.

The Bone Behemoth roared, and I roared with it, the sound shaking the very foundations of the earth. Power, true power, flooded through me. Not just the magic I’d cultivated as Kazimir Blackrose, but the ancient strength of the Shadow King himself.

I could feel it all—every ley line in the realm, every pulse of magic, every living thing connected by threads of power I could manipulate with a thought. The Heirloom on Arabella’s head sang to me, recognizing its true master.

Take it all, I thought. Reclaim what was stolen.

The battlefield transformed as my power manifested fully. Shadows rose from the earth itself, taking shape as warriors, beasts, monstrosities beyond mortal comprehension. The sky darkened, stars vanishing as if consumed by an endless hunger.

This was what I was meant to be. Not just a Dark Lord playing at conquest, but a force of nature, inevitable and unstoppable.

Through it all, one small part of me—the part that was still Kazimir, still the man who loved Arabella—screamed in horror. But that voice grew fainter with each passing second, drowned out by the roar of ancient power reclaiming its throne.

The Shadow King had returned.

And the world would tremble.

64 Stop a King’s Madness

(While Your Husband Embraces His Own)

Arabella

The tunnel smelled like death and old magic, a combination that made my nose wrinkle as we descended into darkness.

“I’m starting to think Auremar has a thing for underground chambers,” I muttered, conjuring a ball of light to hover above my palm. “First the wine cellar, now this. What’s wrong with a nice, well-ventilated throne room?”

Thorne’s gravelly chuckle echoed off the stone walls. “Easier to hide the screams underground, my lady.”

I sent the light ahead, illuminating rough-hewn walls that glistened with moisture. The stairs seemed to go on forever, spiraling down into the earth like a stone throat ready to swallow us whole.

Through my bond with Kazimir, I felt another surge of triumph, fierce and wild. Whatever he was doing up there, it was working. But there was also darkness threading through our connection, more than usual. I pushed the worry aside. One crisis at a time.

The tunnel curved sharply, and Thorne raised a fist. I extinguished my light, plunging us into darkness. Ahead, I could hear voices—guards, from the sound of it.

“—that chanting is just fuckin’ eerie,” one was saying.

“Shut up and do your job,” another snapped. “We can’t afford for the ritual to be interrupted, or Amaryska will have our heads.”

I felt cold at the mention of Kaz’s mother, wishing she were here for me to confront her. But the way the guards continued talking suggested she wasn’t present. That would make our mission easier, but I wondered why she wasn’t overseeing the ritual herself.

Then I felt a surge of anger and complex emotional pain from Kaz, and knew. She was on the battlefield. His distraction had drawn her away from the Chamber of Petals. I hoped he killed her even as I wished I was there to help him.

But the ritual had already started, and that left no time for further distraction. I touched Thorne’s shoulder in a silent question. How many?

He held up four fingers. I nodded, shadows already gathering around my hands.

Thorne moved first, melting into the darkness. I heard a soft gurgle, then the sound of a body hitting stone. The second guard had just enough time to turn before my shadow blade took him in the throat.

We rounded the corner to find the other two guards already reaching for their weapons. Sebastian reacted faster than I’d ever seen him move, vines erupting from cracks in the floor to wrap around their legs. They toppled forward, and Thorne was on them before they could cry out.

“Getting good at this,” I said to Sebastian as we stepped over the bodies.

He grimaced. “Not sure that’s something to be proud of.”

“It is when it keeps us alive.”