A Vampire's Poet, A Lover's Curse

Previously

…As she turned to leave the glade, the silence seemed to press in on her, no longer a peaceful stillness, but a watchful, waiting void. The Whisperers had spoken, and their words were a curse, a promise, and a challenge. Katja, the vampire’s poet, the lover’s curse, now carried the burden of ancient secrets, and the terrifying knowledge that her struggle for freedom had only just begun. The path back to Vladislaus’s castle felt longer, colder, and infinitely more fraught with peril. She had sought power to defy him, but had stumbled upon a power that defied them both. And in the heart of the eternal night, a new, perilous choice began to form.