Chapter 9

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. For this higher 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 to our 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 miss certain people," 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.

"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. Through our 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 shadows responding 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. Both of 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 dare everything ," 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. "Beautiful and terrible," 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. "

"We are,” he nods. “ The Shadow-Kissed are rare enough, but one who rules as an equal?" His face is filled with pride. "You're unprecedented, my love. Dangerous. Revolutionary ."

"Good." I pull him down for a kiss, letting his tongue into my mouth immediately when he presses it against my lips, requesting entry. It takes everything in me to pull back and not let him take me right here and now in front of our sentries, but I whisper against his lips, "Let them fear us. Let them wonder. Let them tell stories about the monsters who rule through partnership instead of fear."

His expression is amused, making me bite my bottom lip. "You’re going to make waves in this world, and I can’t wait to stand at your side through them all.”

I give him a peck on the cheek, taking his hand in mine and guide us through our territory, feeling unstoppable and full of purpose. Every word I wrote was leading me here. Every story was preparation. Every monster I created was just practice for becoming one myself.

But this is better than any story. This is real. This is true.

This is our dark ever after.