Page 22 of Take Her to the Grave

"Come," he says suddenly, standing and pulling me up with him. "Let's hunt."

My fangs peak through my lips as a smile spreads across my lips. We don't need to feed – we fed well last night. But hunting isn't always about food. Sometimes it's about the raw strength that we feel, about partnership and our teamwork, or about the pure joy of moving through darkness together.

We leap from the spire, our forms dissolving into shadow as we fall. It's one of my favorite vampire perks – this ability to move through air like water. We race through the cemetery, weaving between headstones and through mausoleums, perfectly matched in speed and strength.

I lead us to the older section of Ravencrest, where the most ancient powers sleep. The massive oak tree at its center is older than the cemetery itself, its roots drinking deep from soil that remembers when this was sacred ground for much darker religions.

Materializing beneath its branches, I turn to face my king. His eyes glow with supernatural light as he solidifies from shadow. His hunger for me is apparent on his face– not just for blood or flesh, but for intimate understanding we share.

"Do you remember the first time you saw me?" I ask, circling him slowly. "When I was still human, mourning at my parents' graves?"

"I remember everything about you," he says, matching my predatory movement. We’re stalking toward a whitetail deer in the distance. She’s walking through the forest. I can’t see her, but I can hear each of her steps as if she was right beside me. "The red rose in your hair. The way grief made you more beautiful. The darkness I sensed in your blood, begging to be awakened."

"And you knew then? What I would become?"

His voice is low as we near the deer. He can hear it walking as well as I can. "I hoped. I'd watched so many humans over the centuries, looking for one who could match me. Who could understand the beauty in darkness without losing themselves to the madness of what we are." His hand catches mine, silently spinning me closer. "But you were the first who made me feel understood without ever having to exchange words first. Your writing was more than enough."

"And now?" I press closer, letting him feel the power that radiates from my aura. "What do you see when you look at me now?"

"I see my queen," he growls, possessive and proud. "An intelligent, powerful queen worthy of anything she wants."

A commotion at the cemetery gates draws our attention – raised voices, the pulse of supernatural energy. Throughour shared power, we sense intrusion. Someone testing our boundaries.

"Shall we remind them why we rule here?" I ask, shadows already writhing around my hands as we let the deer live to see another day.

His smile is all predator, no prey. "Lead the way, little ghost."

I grin at his nickname for me. It’s not often that he uses it anymore, preferring to call me his queen now instead, but a part of me will always prefer what he first called me.

We move through the graveyard together, materializing at the gates where three unfamiliar vampires are arguing with our sentries. They're old – not as old as Torrin, but powerful enough to think they can challenge us. Their power tastes of European courts and ancient bloodlines, arrogant with centuries of privilege.

The leader turns as we appear, his face a mask of disdain. "Ah, the great Torrin and his Shadow-Kissed queen. Your reputation precedes you."

"Yet you enter our territory uninvited," I note, letting darkness curl around me like a cloak of warning. "Either very brave or very foolish."

"We come with an offer from the European Council," he says, though his eyes keep darting to the shadowsresponding to my will. "They're... concerned about the power growing here. About the tales they're hearing of a mortal turned immortal who commands darkness itself."

"And?" Torrin's voice is impatient.

"And they offer you a place among them.Bothof you,” he pauses for a moment. “Think of it – leaving this provincial cemetery for the grand courts of Europe. Taking your rightful place among the oldest of our kind."

I laugh, and the sound makes them flinch. "You think we'd trade our kingdom for a place in someone else's court? That we'd bow to those who cling to old ways while we forge new ones?"

"You dare refuse the Council?" The vampire's facade cracks, showing the threat beneath.

"We dareeverything," Torrin growls, his power rising to match mine. "That's why we rule here. That’s why our territory prospers while others fade. We understand what your Council has forgotten – that true power comes from partnership, not subjugation."

The vampires shift uneasily as our combined power fills the air. Through our bond, Torrin and I move in perfect synchronization, shadows writhing around us like living weapons.

"Leave," I command, my voice echoing with supernatural authority. "Tell your Council that Ravencrest is ours. Tell them that the Shadow-Kissed queen and her king are not interested in their games of politics and power. Tell them that if they want to know our true strength..." I smile, showing fangs. "They're welcome to come test it themselves."

It’s stupid, really. I know it is before I even finish saying the words. Calling their bluff like this, but I don’t want them to feel inclined to return. I’ve heard enough about the supernatural council to know I want to stay on the other side of the world and as far away from them as possible.

The threat in my voice is clear. The vampires retreat, trying to maintain dignity but clearly shaken by the display of our combined power. Torrin growls with satisfaction as we watch them lengthen the distance between us.

When they're gone, he pulls me close. "Beautifulandterrible," he murmurs against my hair. "Everything I ever dreamed of in a queen."

I turn in his arms, reaching up to trace the sharp line of his jaw. "We're changing things, aren't we? The old power structures, the old ways of thinking."

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