Page 262 of The Dark Lord’s Guide to Honeymooning (and Other Acts of Tyranny)

“The Alchemist’s debt was clear.” He gestured at the letter. “This is something else. Someone wanted you to have those memories. Someone with enough power to create an entire shop that doesn’t exist, to pose as a century-dead mage, to brew a potion that actually worked.”

The wind picked up, sending my hair whipping across my face. I pushed it back impatiently. “But why help me? What’s the gain?”

“That’s what worries me.” Kazimir turned to face me fully, and I could see the genuine concern beneath his usual paranoia. “Every gift has strings. Every kindness has a cost. And we don’t know what this one is yet.”

I wanted to dismiss his fears. Wanted to believe that sometimes people just helped because it was right. But I’d learned too much about the world to be that naive.

“So what do we do?”

“We wait.” He pulled me against him, and I could feel the heat of his runes through the thin silk. “We watch. And we prepare for whatever bill comes due.”

I pressed my face against his chest, breathing in the scent of storms and dark magic that always clung to him. “I hate this.”

“Which part? The mysterious benefactor with unknown motives? The fortress full of nobles we’re apparently adopting? Or the ancient evil running loose in the world?”

“Yes.” I felt him chuckle, the vibration running through his chest and into me. “All of it. Can’t we just have five minutes of peace?”

“Where’s the fun in that?” But his arms tightened around me. “Besides, you’d be bored within three.”

He was probably right. Still…

“The memories helped,” I said quietly. “Even if someone gave them to me for their own reasons, they helped. I understand things now that I didn’t before.”

“I know.” He pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

We stood there as the wind howled around us, holding each other against the growing storm. Somewhere in the fortress below, nobles argued about accommodations, and Griffin probably set something on fire. Somewhere beyond our walls, the Shadow King plotted our destruction.

And somewhere, maybe, a mysterious benefactor waited to collect on a debt I didn’t even know I owed.

The wind howled louder, and somewhere in the distance, thunder rolled through the clouds, shaking the foundations of the citadel.

78 Check Your Basement

(for Ancient Horrors, Probably)

Kazimir

The morning reports were already giving me a headache, and I hadn’t even finished my second cup of coffee.

“—and Lord Brightwater insists the latrines near his quarters are inadequate,” Vex continued, reading from her list. “He’s threatening to write a formal complaint to ‘the powers that be’—whatever that means—about ‘substandard accommodations.’ ”

I set down my cup so hard it cracked the saucer beneath. “Tell him he’s welcome to shit off the side of the fortress if he finds our facilities lacking.”

“I’ll phrase it more diplomatically.” Vex made a note. “The kitchen staff also needs approval for expanded storage. With all the new residents our current supplies won’t last through winter.”

“Approved.” I waved a hand. “What else?”

“Construction on the east wing is ahead of schedule. Griffin only set two things on fire yesterday, which is practically a record.” She paused, frowning at her notes. “Though there is one issue.”

I leaned back and arched an eyebrow. “Only one?”

“The workers repairing the wall near the Observation Tower found something.” Vex’s expression shifted to something between concern and curiosity. “An opening behind the stones.”

I straightened in my chair. Skyspire had been my fortress for over a decade. I knew every room, every passage, every secret corridor. Or so I’d thought. “An opening?”

“Leading down into the rock itself. The workers…” She hesitated. “They were terrified. Practically begged to be reassigned. Said they heard strange noises coming from below.”

“Strange noises.” I stood, already reaching for my coat. “Did they describe these noises?”