Grave Matters

Thomas Graves is no stranger to immortality, but becoming a vampire is something else entirely.

Still adjusting to his new existence, Thomas receives a letter from the only woman he ever promised his heart: XiXi, a deadly flame from his 17th-century pirate days. Gravely wounded by a supernatural hunter, she intends to collect on that promise—literally.

But XiXi isn't the only ghost from the past demanding his attention. A summons from Isadore Elysion, the Graves family's estranged vampire patron, draws Thomas to Venice, the very city where XiXi now resides. At the Palazzo di Elisio, Isadore's twin sister, Isadora, is breaking mirrors and stirring from beyond the veil. But is she seeking revenge, or simply longing to reclaim her long-abandoned body?

As Carnival looms, chaos mounts. Thomas must keep his brother Gabriel from projecting a century-old obsession in a new and entirely more dangerous direction, prevent an unjustified staking, oversee a daring supernatural heart transplant, and still finish working on his latest album with Monstrous Pact—all while keeping both his heart and his spine intact.

Old promises, dangerous affections, and blood-bound loyalties collide in the lush and haunting fifth installment of The Thornhill Vampire Chronicles. Amid masks, music, and rising tensions, one question echoes through the canals of Venice:

What is a promise worth, when eternity is on the line?