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Everything that's happened in the Crowns of Nyaxia so far

Want a quick recap before you start The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk? Here's what you need to know, from author Carissa Broadbent herself. 

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Carissa Broadbent's gripping romantasy series the Crowns of Nyaxia has taken the fantasy world by storm. Set in a world, Obitraes, divided into three vampire kingdoms, the series is organised into three duologies (plus two standalones) each focusing on one of the vampire houses, Night, Shadow, and Blood. If you're eagerly anticipating part two of the Shadowborn Duet, The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk, and need a quick reminder of where the land lies before starting, you're in the right place. Here, author Carissa Broadbent reviews everything's that happened so far, and the details you need to remember for the next book.

WARNING: this article contains spoilers for books one – five. If you're new to the series, take a look at our guide to the Crowns of Nyaxia books in order to find out where to start.

The Nightborn Duet: The Serpent and the Wings of Night

The first book of the Crowns of Nyaxia series, this book follows Oraya, the adopted human daughter of the king of the House of Night, Vincent. The House of Night is in a constant power struggle between two clans, the Rishan (with feather wings) and the Hiaj (with membranous wings). Vincent is a Hiaj king. Oraya must compete in a once-in-a-century tournament to the death, the Kejari, in order to win a favor from the Nyaxia, the vampire goddess. Oraya ends up making an alliance with Raihn, a Rishan contestant. As their bond grows and they compete in the trials together, they gradually fall in love – even as Vincent grows more ruthless in the face of growing tensions from the Rishan.

In the final trial, Oraya kills Raihn after he goads her into unleashing her full strength against him. But Oraya uses her gift from Nyaxia to wish that Raihn had won the Kejari instead of her. Raihn is brought back to life, but it is revealed that he is the Rishan Heir – and not only that, but he had made a deal with the untrustworthy prince of the cursed House of Blood, Septimus. Raihn kills Vincent to seize the throne of the House of Night. But in a final surprise, Oraya gets an Heir Mark (a red tattoo marking the rightful heir of a vampire crown) when Vincent dies – revealing that she was his daughter by blood. Raihn marries Oraya to protect her from execution, but Oraya ends the book plotting to overthrow him.

TL;DR: What do I need to remember?

  • Raihn is the Rishan Heir, having inherited the title from the cruel Rishan king who Turned him.
  • Oraya is the Hiaj Heir, having inherited the title from Vincent, who hid the fact that he was her biological father her entire life.
  • Septimus, prince of the House of Blood, forced Raihn into an alliance by threatening Oraya’s life in the final trial.

Another important thing: Mische, Raihn’s best friend, was a Turned vampire who had the unheard-of ability to wield the power of the sun. However, she loses this ability, and her connection to the god Atroxus, during the Kejari.

Standalone novella: Six Scorched Roses

In this novella, which takes place in parallel to Serpent, Lilith, a terminally ill human scientist, is determined to find a cure to the disease overtaking her town, which was cursed by the god of abundance and famine, Vitarus. Lilith seeks out a reclusive vampire, Vale, and offers him a deal: six of her unusual black roses in exchange for six vials of his blood, which she believes could be a key to the cure. Over the course of their visits, Lilith and Vale fall in love. Then Vale receives news from the House of Night asking him to return, to which he ultimately agrees.

However, when the townspeople find out about Lilith’s relationship with Vale, they attack him, and he kills a priest defending her, triggering Vitarus’s rage. 

Lilith confronts Vitarus and figures out that her father had made a bargain with him ten years ago: the curse as payment for extending her life. She ends the bargain, curing the curse, but offering her life in exchange. Vale arrives and saves her, Turning her to save her life, and they leave together to the House of Night, where Vale is needed to help his people regain power.

TL;DR: What do I need to remember?

  • Vale is a general of the Rishan clan of the House of Night and is returning to help Raihn overtake the throne. 
  • Lilith is highly knowledgeable about blood. 

The Nightborn Duet: The Ashes and the Star Cursed King

Oraya is essentially a prisoner in the House of Night and is consumed by her anger at Raihn and grief at Vincent’s death. However, Raihn is facing his own problems – as a Turned former slave, his rule is not exactly popular among the Rishan nobles, including the very people who victimized him during his time enslaved to the former king.

Raihn had made a deal with Septimus to save Oraya’s life, putting the Rishan in alliance with the House of Blood. Septimus reveals that there is great power in the remains of a god, and that he is in possession of some teeth of Alarus, the dead god of death. He believes that Vincent had cultivated the blood of Alarus and that Oraya, as Vincent’s daughter, can find and use it.

Oraya agrees, intending to use this weapon to betray Raihn and take her kingdom back. But when Raihn is overthrown by his own people with Septimus’s help, in a public and violent coup, Oraya forgives him and they work to take back their kingdom together.

Oraya learns that her mother, Alana, was an acolyte of Acaeja, the goddess of fate and spellcasting. Alana and Vincent had fallen in love when Alana was helping him harness the blood of Alarus. However, Alana left him when she became pregnant with Oraya, knowing that Vincent would be likely to maim or kill any heir out of fear for his own power. 

As Oraya and Raihn fight for their kingdom, they discover that Septimus’s use of the teeth of Alarus has turned Raihn’s rival into a monster – seeing firsthand the power and corruption these weapons are capable of. Oraya and Raihn unite both Rishan and Hiaj forces and go to retrieve the god blood. Oraya witnesses pieces of Vincent’s memories in the fortress he created to hide the blood. Meanwhile, Raihn sacrifices himself to defeat his rival and protect Oraya. Instead of using the blood as a weapon, Oraya offers it to Nyaxia. However, Nyaxia still refuses to grant Oraya a Coriatis bond (a bond forged by a god that links two individuals so they share both their powers and their lives) to save Raihn’s life.

In the end, Acaeja grants Oraya and Raihn their bond, ending the two-thousand-year rivalry between Hiaj and Rishan clans. Raihn and Oraya are now beholden to Acaeja, and Nyaxia is angry at them for seeking the help of a different goddess.

Bonus: In the epilogue published in the Bramble edition, we learn that Raihn and Oraya have been secretly cultivating more of Alarus’s blood using the work left behind by Oraya’s parents with the help of Lilith from Six Scorched Roses.

TL;DR: What do I need to remember?

  • There is great power in the remains of a god. Vincent and Alana, Oraya’s mother, had distilled the blood of Alarus to be used as a weapon. 
  • Septimus also had found some teeth formerly belonging to the dead god, and had learned how to leverage them. He escaped at the end of this book.
  • Nyaxia is not happy with Raihn and Oraya, because they sought help from another goddess.
  • Raihn and Oraya are also now beholden to Acaeja, who saved Raihn’s life by granting their Coriatis bond. 

Another important thing: In this book, Mische murdered the prince of the House of Shadow, who was also the man who forcibly Turned her. At the end, she leaves the House of Night despite Raihn and Oraya asking her to stay.

Standalone novel: Slaying the Vampire Conqueror

Sylina is a member of the Arachessen, a cult of Acaeja, goddess of fate, known for destroying their own eyes, blindfolding themselves, and instead seeing through the Threads of fate. In the kingdom of Glaea, Sylina was assigned the mission of spying on and eventually assassinating Atrius, the horned leader of a horde of vampires who has invaded Glaea and is attempting to overthrow the cruel and bloodthirsty Pythora King.

Atrius accepts Sylina into his army as his seer. She helps him overthrow several of the Pythora king’s warlords. Atrius reveals that he has been cursed by Nyaxia on top of the curse that all members of the House of Blood have, and this curse is slowly killing him. Sylina, using her magic, helps stave off its effects.

Soon, Sylina begins to respect Atrius as a potential ally in the fight against the Pythora King, especially when he helps save the life of her long-lost brother. However, the leader of the Arachessen, known as the Sightmother, rejects this alliance and commands her to kill him. After a devastating move from the Pythora King kills the families of the vampire warriors, Atrius tells Sylina the real reason he is in Glaea. He and his army spent years following the prince of the House of Blood on missions to win the favor of Nyaxia and break the Bloodborn curse, but instead, Nyaxia killed the prince and cursed Atrius, commanding him to conquer a human kingdom in her name.

With the Pythora King within reach, Sylina decides to see the mission through against her Sightmother’s wishes. But once they reach the Pythora King, they find he is essentially a living corpse, and that the Sightmother has been playing the role of the Pythora King all along. Sylina convinces the Sightmother to wait to kill Atrius as a sacrifice to Acaeja. However, during the sacrifice, she gives Atrius the blade, and he uses it to kill the Sightmother and fulfill his pact to Nyaxia. Both Acaeja and Nyaxia appear, and Acaeja reluctantly allows Nyaxia to take control of Glaea, but warns her that she has done something she can't take back. Sylina and Atrius rule Glaea together and begin the long road to rebuilding the kingdom. 

TL;DR: What do I need to remember?

  • Atrius spent many years following the prince of the House of Blood on a doomed mission to do Nyaxia’s bidding in the hopes of curing the House of Blood’s curse. However, even though they succeeded in everything Nyaxia asked for, she killed the prince and denied their plea.
  • The kingdom of Glaea is now territory of Nyaxia. Acaeja, goddess of fate and spellcasting, is not happy about this.

The Shadowborn Duet: The Songbird and the Heart of Stone

Six months after leaving the House of Night, Mische is captured in the House of Shadow by Egrette, the princess, and sentenced to execution for murdering Malach, prince of the House of Shadow (events that feature in The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King). However, at the last moment, Asar, another prince of the House of Shadow and exiled necromancer, steps in to save her. He reveals that he has been given a mission by Nyaxia to go to the underworld and resurrect Alarus, the god of death. He needs an acolyte of Atroxus, the sun god, in order to do this. Atroxus appears to Mische for the first time since she was Turned, and gives her a command: she will help Asar resurrect Alarus, and then take advantage of his weakened state to kill him again – permanently this time.

Along with a human acolyte of the sun and a Shadowborn soldier called Elias, Mische and Asar travel through the Descent to the underworld, collecting the five relics of Alarus necessary to resurrect him. Mische learns that the Descent is decaying from neglect, despite Asar’s best efforts to maintain it. With Asar’s help, she begins learning how to use her Shadowborn magic.

During this journey, Asar gains an Heir Mark, meaning that his father, the King of the House of Shadow, had died in the realm above. When Elias betrays and attempts to kill him, Asar suspects that his sister, Egrette, is attempting to take the throne. Mische and Asar continue on their journey. When they finally give into their desires for each other, Mische is confronted by Atroxus, who reveals to her that she was the one to kill her sister in the throes of her Turning sickness and hunger. Desperate, Mische makes a deal to spare Asar’s life.

In the final resurrection ceremony, Asar reveals that he is a descendant of Alarus and he is the final piece of the resurrection spell. Just as Mische made a deal with Atroxus to save him, he had made a deal with Nyaxia to save Mische. During the resurrection, Atroxus appears, preparing to use the power he gains by killing Alarus permanently to raise a permanent sun and kill all vampires. Mische kills Atroxus with the weapon intended for Alarus, and then ends the resurrection spell, saving Asar’s life – and bringing him closer to divinity.

Asar begs Nyaxia and then the gods of the White Pantheon to save Mische, who was badly burned by Atroxus, but they refuse. Shiket, Goddess of Justice, kills Mische, and the gods of the White Pantheon take Asar into captivity. Asar is determined to get revenge for Mische’s death and save her from the underworld. Meanwhile, Mische wakes up in the underworld and is greeted by Vincent.

TL;DR: What do I need to remember?

  • The Descent, the path between death and life, is collapsing because of neglect without the god of death to care for it.
  • Egrette, Asar’s sister, is angling for the throne of the House of Shadow.
  • Mische killed Atroxus, the god of the sun, and plunged the world into eternal darkness.
  • Asar is a descendant of Alarus, the god of death. 
  • Nyaxia is furious that Asar did not fulfill his deal to her, and intends to use the eternal night to take over the human lands.
  • Shiket, goddess of justice, killed Mische and took Asar prisoner.
  • Vincent greeted Mische in the underworld.

Coming next – The Shadowborn Duet: The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk

The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk is the fourth book in the main Crowns of Nyaxia series and the conclusion of Mische and Asar’s arc. It’s also the most epic book yet – and maybe one of the most emotionally harrowing, too. . .

The world is on the precipice of divine war, now that the sun has been destroyed and Atroxus killed. After being pulled out of the resurrection spell, Asar is now neither mortal nor god. But imprisoned by the gods of the White Pantheon, he doesn’t care about much of anything but avenging Mische’s death and finding a way to bring her back. Meanwhile, Mische is in the underworld – an underworld that is rapidly collapsing due to her and Asar’s actions at the end of The Songbird and the Heart of Stone. 

When Acaeja offers Asar a path to Mische, he immediately accepts – even though saving her, and repairing the underworld before it collapses, will mean sacrificing his mortality. Mische and Asar embark on an epic mission across realms to help Asar ascend to the mantle of the God of Death, before the underworld collapses and takes Mische – and the rest of the mortal realm – with it. 

But this will be no easy task, especially as the gods prepare for war under an eternal night. . . and Asar and Mische will have to decide what they’re willing to sacrifice for love. 

Here are a few other things you can expect in Fallen:

  • Achingly romantic longing
  • Lots of familiar faces – both friend and foe. . .
  • A return of our best undead dog companion, Luce
  • Up-close-and-personal time with the gods
  • A spicy scene in a library
  • Some of the most intense battle sequences I’ve ever written

And last but not least, if I did my job right:

  • Tears.

The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk is my favorite Nyaxia novel yet, and I am so excited to share it with you. I hope you love it!

Character guide

Gods

Acaeja: goddess of fate and spellcasting
Alarus: the god of death (who is dead himself) 
Atroxus: god of the sun
Nyaxia: vampire goddess; holds a tournament called the Kejari where competitors battle to win a favor from her; widow of Alarus
Shiket: goddess of Justice
Vitarus: god of abundance and famine

Night, Shadow and Blood: the three vampire houses

The Rishan and the Hiaj: two fighting clans within the House of Night
Vincent: Hiaj vampire king of the House of Night
Oraya: Vincent's adopted human daughter
Raihn: vampire competing in the Kejari against Oraya
Mische: Raihn’s best friend
Septimus: prince in the House of Blood
Lilith: human scientist with a terminal illness
Vale: a reclusive vampire
Alana: Oraya's mother
Arachessen: a cult of Acaeja
The Sightmother: the leader of the Arachessen
Sylina: a member of the Arachessen who lives in Glaea
Atrius: a vampire leader who has invaded Glaea
Pythora King: human ruler of Glaea
Egrette: princess of the House of Shadow
Malach and Asar: princes of the House of Shadow
Elias: Shadowborn soldier

Shop the series

Have you read Carissa Broadbent's The War of Lost Hearts series?