Royal of Darkness

Previously

…“No, Valerius,” I said, my voice surprisingly steady. “I am not afraid.” I reached out, my fingers brushing against his, a silent offering of acceptance. His hand, still warm from the jewel, closed around mine, his grip tight, possessive, and utterly final. In the aftermath of Silas’s disappearance, in the quiet of the now empty hall, I knew I had made my choice. I was no longer an observer. I was a part of this shadowed kingdom, and he, in all his terrifying glory, was my sovereign. The beginning of something new, and irrevocably dark, had just begun.