Page 224 of The Dark Lord’s Guide to Honeymooning (and Other Acts of Tyranny)

“You cannot stop this,” she hissed.

I snarled back something unintelligible because at the same time, I felt Kazimir’s mind fracture. Something terrible was happening to him, and for the first time that day, I was truly afraid.

The Heirloom burned against my scalp, sending visions flashing through my mind—darkness spreading across a battlefield, shadows rising from the earth, and Kazimir at the center of it all, but not Kazimir. Something wearing his face.

The distraction nearly killed me. The silver-haired mage’s spell caught me in the chest, sending me flying into the wall. I hit hard, tasting blood.

“Arabella!” Sebastian called out, starting toward me.

“No!” I forced out, pushing myself up. Every captive saved weakened the ritual.

The chanting reached a fever pitch. Purple light began to emanate from the runes beneath the prisoners, and I realized with horror that the ritual was about to complete.

That’s when Auremar arrived.

He didn’t enter through the doorway. He simply appeared, materializing from shadow itself in the center of the dais. And he was wrong. Oh so wrong.

His golden hair had streaks of black running through it, his skin had taken on a grayish pallor shot through with veins of darkness. But it was his eyes that made my blood run cold—they glowed with sickly yellow light, and when he smiled, his teeth had grown sharp.

“Lady Arabella,” he said, his voice carrying harmonics that shouldn’t exist in a human throat. “How good of you to join us. And Lord Sebastian, too. Perfect. Two more bloodlines for the harvest.”

“The only thing being harvested here is your head from your shoulders,” I spat, shadows coiling around me despite my exhaustion.

Auremar laughed, the sound echoing strangely. “Such fire. I can see why Blackrose wanted you. But you’re too late. The ritual is nearly complete. In minutes, the prison will crack, and I will claim the Shadow King’s power for myself.”

“You’re insane,” Sebastian said, horror clear in his voice. “You can’t control something like that!”

Auremar gestured, and Sebastian suddenly convulsed, purple energy crackling over his skin. “I’ve been feeding on his power for years, learning his secrets, his techniques. I am no longer merely human.”

Sebastian dropped to one knee, face contorted in pain. Without thinking, I sent a wave of shadow toward Auremar. He deflected it with ease, but it forced him to release Sebastian.

“Continue the ritual!” Auremar commanded the masked mages. “I’ll deal with our guests.”

He moved faster than any human should be able to, suddenly right in front of me. His hand closed around my throat, lifting me off the ground. His corrupted face was inches from mine.

“You were always meant to be mine, Arabella. Your bloodline, your power—wasted on that upstart Blackrose.”

“I was never meant to be anyone’s,” I croaked. My hands were wrapped around his, holding on. I forced golden magic into his fingers, but his grip only tightened. Every breath and word was a struggle. “I… chose Kaz. I choose him every day.”

As stars swam through my vision, I let go of Auremar’s hands and formed shadow blades. In the same motion, I drove those blades into his sides. He dropped me with a roar of pain, and I gasped for breath.

Through our bond, I felt Kazimir’s desperate struggle. He was losing, drowning in memories and power that threatened to erase everything he was.

Everything we were.

“No!” The word tore from my throat, and I attacked Auremar with everything I had left.

Shadow and light merged in my assault. It struck Auremar in the chest, sending him crashing onto the dais.

“My lady!” Thorne called. “We’ve got half of them through!”

Only half. The masked mages were still chanting, the ritual still building. I had to choose—stop the ritual or save the prisoners.

Through our bond, I felt the moment Kazimir’s defenses shattered completely.

Auremar rose, laughing despite the blood running from his mouth.

Through our bond, I felt Kazimir scream.