Kazimir, Dark Lord by title and trade, has a problem. In order to secure his kingdom and keep his flying fortress on the correct side of the clouds, he has obtained a powerful magical artifact that requires marriage to one who carries the First Hero in order to activate it. So he kidnaps a noble’s daughter who is powerful in that bloodline to marry.
Now he has two problems, because Arabella isn’t about to let herself be a pawn in Kazimir’s dark schemes. Why be a pawn, when you can be a queen instead? Everyone has a dark side, after all.
I haven’t read any decent fantasy romances since I finished Rebecca Yarros’ “Empyrean” books (three and counting!). Given the title, I halfway expected this to edge into the “LitRPG” genre, but nothing of the sort.
Right from the start, Arabella exacts promises from the Dark Lord that she will not be forced to do anything she does not want to do. But given the chance to learn to harness her powerful First Hero magic under the tutelage of the premier (dark) mage of their time, she’ll offer up quite a lot.
But she won’t do that. No sex. No consummation of the marriage. Even though Kazimir has found out that the magical artifact won’t truly power up until … that happens.
Thus begins a careful dance of companionship and seduction as both Arabella and Kazimir explore the boundaries of their unusual marriage and learn the depths of each other’s powers.
What a bad time for the Hero’s Guild to come by to rescue their missing princess…
It’s a really fun book, darkly funny. The chapters alternate between Kazimir and Arabella as both navigate their way through hilarious castle servants and an unusual world where nobody is quite who they appear to be; not excepting Kazimir and Arabella.
Fun. You should read it. Unless you are not an adult. In that case, you probably should not.
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