Page 84 of Once Upon a Midnight Dreary
It was a kiss of forever.A kiss of longing.A kiss of reckless abandon.
When he finally broke away, she was gasping, her heart racing, her lips trembling from the force of it.He didn’t give her time to falter.Strong hands pulled her upright, steadying her on her weak legs.She blinked into the silence, realizing only then how changed the room was.
A shaft of light from the hallway spilled inside, the only light.The shadows that once danced around them were no longer there.The candles were spent and burned out.The knife was discarded on the floor, forgotten.The strange symbols that glowed and pulsed with life were gone.The chamber, once alive with malice and darkness, was only a room.
Gabriel’s touch returned, gentle now, his fingers curling around her wounded hand.He turned it over, thumb brushing over the sticky blood.
“We should bandage this,” he murmured, his voice thick, protective.He made to turn toward the door.
“Gabriel, wait.”Her words were hesitant as she glanced around the empty room expecting a small figure to appear, expecting to see wet footprints on the floor.There was neither.“What about…Lily?”
His expression shifted, grief creasing his features.“I saw her.After you collapsed.”His voice was rough.He swallowed hard, his throat working.“She said you saved her, too.And then she stepped into the light.”
Tears blurred her vision again.She blinked them away as the serenity washed through her, stilling the frantic fear that wanted to climb through her.Lily was gone.Free.Safe.
“I’m glad,” she whispered, her lips lifting into a smile.
Gabriel slipped an arm around her waist, anchoring her against him.He pressed a kiss against her temple.“Me, too.”
Together, they stepped into the hall, leaving the altar room—and everything it had held—behind forever.
As the days passed, Ravenfell itself seemed to exhale.The west wing was boarded up at Gabriel’s insistence—to deal with another day, he’d said.Though she suspected it was less about practical repair and more about ensuring neither of them was tempted back into the place where darkness once reigned.She didn’t press him.Some wounds needed time before they could be revisited.
But the change was undeniable.The manor was no longer heavy with despair.Sunlight spilled brighter through the tall windows, and the air felt lighter, as though the house itself rejoiced to be free of Lenore’s shadow.The silence of the halls was no longer eerie, but serene.For the first time since she arrived, it felt like a home.
And Gabriel…Gabriel had changed too.The brooding shadows that clung to him had softened.He still carried sorrow, yes, but there was something new threaded through him—hope.
One morning, when the sky was a clear and endless blue, they walked together through the gardens.The blooms her mother had once planted swayed in the breeze, vibrant and alive, their perfume curling around her like a benediction.The gravel path crunched beneath their steps.Gabriel’s hand was warm in hers, his fingers laced with an assurance that sent a thrum of quiet joy through her chest.
A sharp caw broke the stillness.She glanced up.A raven perched on a branch, its dark eyes glinting as it watched them.Her breath hitched.A shiver, not of fear but of recognition, threaded through her spine.The bird tilted its head, as though judging her, acknowledging her.A Ravenwood, reclaimed.
“It had to be you, you know,” Gabriel said, his voice low but certain, as if confessing a thought long held.
She tore her gaze from the raven and turned to him.“What did?”
“The one to break the curse.The one to claim Ravenfell as it was meant to be.Not even your father could do it.”His eyes, dark and steady, held her fast.
“Because I’m a descendant?”She trembled with the question, though deep down she knew the answer wasn’t that simple.
Gabriel lifted his hands, cupping her face with such tenderness it nearly undid her.His thumbs brushed along her cheeks, grounding her.“Because you are the light.”His forehead bent to hers, and his lips whispered over hers, reverent, lingering.Then, barely a breath apart, he murmured, “I love you.Marry me?”
Her heart surged.No hesitation, no doubt.“Yes.”The word was a vow, strong and unshakable.
Above them, the raven cawed once more, a final echo in the quiet morning before it spread its wings and soared away.She watched it go, nothing more than a black dot in a brilliant blue sky.
“I love you, too, Gabriel.”Her voice broke with the truth of it.Her gaze locked on his, fierce and certain, as the weight of everything they’d endured knit them closer than blood, closer than time.
He pressed a kiss against her forehead and whispered, “Forevermore.”
Epilogue
Hildefinishedthestoryof Victoria and Gabriel, leaning heavily into the cushions of the chair.Twilight was upon them and the wind had turned a bit colder as it breezed through the enclosed courtyard.In the distance, the glass chimes sang their melody with the wind.
Fatigue pressed through her with a weariness she hadn’t felt in a long while.And it was an effort to maintain her composure so Marigold would not notice.Telling her the story took a lot out of her.And soon she would have to return to her rightful place to fully gather her strength.That meant months away from this mortal realm.Away from Marigold.Something she could no longer avoid.Being here at Willowmere helped, but being in the other realm would fully rejuvenate her.
Opposite her, Marigold sat in the chair with her legs curled under her listening with rapt attention.But her expression was faraway.
“What did you think about that story?”Hilde asked.
