5 stars. A really interesting “anti-hero” story, where the baddest of bad guys will do anything for her child.
Note: this series is available for free on Royal Road.
This story really got its hooks into me early.
- The “bad guy” is the queen of all vampires, who rules the land with a heavy and unforgiving fist
- Humans suffer greatly under the vampires
- A party of human heroes gets betrayed by an ally, and then ends up fighting the queen vampire
- One of the party of heroes – a retired knight – gets spared certain death by begging for his life (*)
Oooooooh, we’re all set to hate this vampire queen, right?
No wait! Don’t hate her yet. Because the vampire queen is actually a kind and loving mother. She dotes on her daughter, and is patient while teaching her to one day take over the throne.
During the day, the vampire queen is stuck in meetings, mediating trade disputes between warring factions, trying to keep the world from going to war.
Seemingly, she’s one of the best of the vampire nobles. The other nobles are scheming and deceitful, and several try to overthrow her. It’s a never-ending struggle to keep the world from falling apart without losing her actual head.
But when her daughter finally learns how to use her magic, the Queen smiles like no one has ever seen her smile before. A mother’s love for her daughter.
(*) Oh yeah, the vampire daughter used to be the human knight, but was magically switched into a princess while begging for his life during their fight with the queen.
This story is quite interesting. I’ve never read anything quite like it.
