The interiors of the castle were dyed red with the setting sun, as though she passed through veins of pulsing blood, the constant beat of the ocean echoing her hammering heart. The air hung heavy with salt and dying roses, the perfume of a wedding night to a man for whom his shadow realm was his guiding light - a darkness inconceivable. Yet. Yet, she still dared to explore. As though this fated shadow were not meant for her. As though she could pull her hands away from the night and not leave with black blood staining her fingertips. As if, she too, were not fashioned from the same caul of mourning. Death, always, at her door. This is why he chose her. This is why she was his, and he, he belonged to her.
Natalie Sierra’s novel, _Beyond The Grace of God_, is out now, from Portable Magic Books.