Page 21 of Take Her to the Grave

“Let’s go for a walk,” he says as he presses a kiss to my forehead.

I take his hand, and then we walk out of the chapel and intoourdomain. The fog parts before us like a curtain as we step outside, acknowledging its new rulers. Somewhere in the distance, a crow calls out, and a part of me recognizes it for what it is. The crow is announcing my rebirth.

I pause at the top of the chapel steps, taking in the cemetery with my new senses. "I should feel different," I muse, subconsciously knowing that I’m already overthinking. "Guilty or afraid or something. Shouldn't I?"

Torrin's laugh is amused. "You feel exactly as you should, my love. You've simply become what you always were inside." His hand grips mine reassuringly. "After all, the best monsters are the ones who choose their darkness freely."

Together, we walk into our first night together. The shadows hop and skip around us like celebrating courtiers, acknowledging their king and newly-made queen. Through our bond, I can feel Torrin's satisfaction, his triumph at having me by his side after all these years of waiting.

And I realize he's right – I don't feel different because this isn't really a transformation at all. It's a homecoming. A return to what I was in a different lifetime.

The monster in my stories, the darkness in my soul, the shadow in my blood – they were never fiction at all.

They were just waiting for the right time.

Chapter Nine

DARK EVER AFTER

Three months since my transformation,and I'm still discovering new aspects of this dark gift. Tonight, I perch on the highest spire of Ravencrest's original chapel, watching our domain spread out below me like a shadow-touched kingdom. The full moon bathes everything in silver light, but my immortal sight cuts through darkness as easily as if it were day.

Torrin materializes beside me, moving with the fluid grace that still takes my breath away. Through our bond, I feel his delight at finding me here – one of his favorite spots to survey our territory.

"Comfortable, my queen?" he asks, settling next to me on the narrow ledge.

"Very." I lean into him, our shadows merging naturally. "I was just thinking about how different everything looks now. How different everything is and how far we’ve come."

"Would you have expected anything different of yourself? Did you not feel as though you were intended for a higher purpose?"

I consider this as I watch the fog roll through our graveyard kingdom. The past three months have been a whirlwind of learning and growth – honing in on my new powers, establishing our rule over the local supernatural community, finding the perfect balance between human facade and immortal truth.

"Maybe you're right," I say, watching a young vampire cross through our territory below, head bowed in respect as he senses our presence. "Everything I wrote about, everything I imagined – it was all just preparation for this reality. Forthishigher purpose."

Torrin reaches for my hand, our new matching rings catching moonlight. The bands are silver, carved with symbols that pulse with dark energy. Not traditional wedding rings – we're far beyond human traditions now – but something older. Deeper. A symbol of our blood bond and shared rule.

"Tell me what you're thinking," he says, though he can likely sense it through our connection.

"I'm thinking about my last book signing." I smile at the memory. "How strange it felt to sit there among humans, pretending to be one of them. They kept asking if my new writing style meant I'd 'found my darkness.' If they only knew."

I hadn’t expected to return to the mortal world so quickly, but I’ve picked up the pace of my word count each day, and I have so many stories I can’t leave untold. Torrin was so supportive when I told him I needed to go back for a signing.

He laughs softly. "And have you? Found your darkness?"

"I've become it," I answer truthfully. "Everything I used to write about – the hunger, the power, the perfect balance between monster and monarch – it's all real now. Sometimes I think this is all a dream and one day I’m going to wake up to a lonely reality.”

I sense sadness through out bond, but Torrin gives me a moment to process my own words.

Below us, the young vampire completes his patrol of our borders. We've established strict rules for our territory since my transformation – no hunting humans without permission, no turning without approval, no challenges toour authority. Those who disobey learn quickly why the Shadow-Kissed queen is more feared than her ancient king.

"Do you miss it?" Torrin asks suddenly. "Your human life? Your friends?"

I consider this carefully before responding. "I misscertainpeople," I admit. "Lisa. My editor Sarah. But it's nostalgic. Distant. That life feels like a fever dream now. This..." I gesture to our domain, to the shadows moving around us, to the power humming in our blood. "This is real."

"And your parents?"

My hand drifts to the locket at my throat – silver and old, like everything about us. Inside are two small photographs and a pressed rose petal from that night of my transformation. "I visit their graves still. But it's different now. I'm not grieving anymore. I'm honoring them, and the path that led me here."

I feel his understanding. His own transformation was less gentle, less chosen, but he understands the bittersweet process of leaving mortality behind.

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