Page 45 of The Dark Lord’s Guide to Honeymooning (and Other Acts of Tyranny)

The runes in my bones began to burn, responding to my rising fury. “Define ‘cascaded.’ ”

Griffin opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again. No sound emerged.

With a sigh that suggested she’d rather be literally anywhere else, Vex stepped forward. “Sir Darian Lightbringer escaped his cell, my lord.”

The silence that followed could have frozen hell.

“I assume,” I said, each word precise and lethal, “that you immediately recaptured him and returned him to his cell.”

Griffin squeaked like a dying mouse.

“No, my lord,” Vex said, meeting my gaze steadily. “The spell somehow created a connection between two separate parts of the prison system. Lightbringer, who has apparently gone quite mad from his withdrawal, managed to grab Lord Evenfall during the chaos.”

Arabella gasped.

“They both escaped through one of the Tempest Cages,” Vex continued.

The Tempest Cages—those delightful iron spheres suspended beneath the floating isle that housed the dungeons, dangling over the void on enchanted chains. They swayed perpetually in the storms below, a special torment for prisoners I particularly despised.

Arabella shook her head. “I don’t even understand how that happened. How did they get from their respective cells down to the Tempest Cages?”

“The magical specifics are still unclear,” Vex admitted, her jaw tight. “But the general sequence is this: Griffin’s spell created a feedback loop through the containment runes. The Silent Sentinels glitched—their animation briefly confused by conflicting signals. The cells opened themselves, and there was a few minutes of chaos. But most of the prisoners headed upward to escape, and we apprehended them without any trouble.”

Vex sighed. “But in his addled state, Lightbringer stumbled through the corridors during the chaos and encountered Lord Evenfall. They headed for what they thought was an exit—the chain-hauled lift.”

“But the lift took them down,” I said slowly, understanding dawning.

“The undead operator was glitching from the necromantic surge,” Vex confirmed. “By the time they realized their error, they’d reached the Tempest Cage platform. When they tried to retreat, the cascading spell hit the enchanted chains. The nearest cage released and plummeted with them inside.”

“Then they should be very dead,” I said, grasping for that one silver lining.

“They should be,” Vex agreed. “But as you know, some of the defensive wards have been temperamental since the Guild’s attack. Instead of falling to their deaths, they sort of…” She made a floating gesture with her hand. “Bounced. Downward. Slowly.”

“Are you saying they floated?” Arabella’s voice rose an octave.

“Like dandelion seeds on a breeze,” Sebastian offered helpfully, then immediately looked like he regretted speaking.

My gaze snapped to him. Of course. The mysterious Lord Sebastian, who just happened to arrive seeking sanctuary, who just happened to be touring the dungeons, who just happened to be present when my prisoners escaped.

“You,” I snarled, shadows coiling around my feet. “You’re a spy.”

“Kaz—” Arabella started, but I was already moving.

“First you show up at precisely the right moment, then you ingratiate yourself with my staff, and now—coincidentally—two valuable prisoners escape while you’re touring the fucking dungeons?”

Sebastian backed up, hands raised, and he almost fell out the door. “Lord Blackrose, I assure you—”

“Your assurances mean nothing.” My shadows reached for him, ready to pin him to the wall and extract the truth.

Arabella stepped between us, her hand on my chest. “Let me.”

She turned to Sebastian, her hazel eyes sharp. “Did you have anything to do with their escape?”

“No, my lady,” Sebastian said immediately. “I had no notion this would happen—not even a fraction.” He winced.

Arabella studied him for a long moment, that subtle tension around her eyes that meant she was using her truth-sense. Then she nodded. “He’s telling the truth.”

“Actually,” Vex interjected, “Lord Sebastian prevented it from being worse. When Griffin’s spell began cascading through the other wings, Sebastian used his magic to seal them.”