Blood Genesis Read online

  I will survive this night, Jessenia. I will survive this curse. By all the gods, I make you this promise: I will pledge my loyalty anew to Prince Jadon, long before it’s too late. I will somehow get to the priest, and I will end his miserable life. I will save the boy-child, and I will raise my own sons to be men among men, to cherish the gift of women.

  There will be a new day, and it will dawn beneath a sky of reverence, hope, and love.

  The legacy of our celestial race will live on.

  Epilogue

  Prince Jaegar Demir reclined on the grassy hillside and gazed out at the valley, just beyond the executioner’s stone. He surveyed his vast, prolific kingdom, admiring all that lay before him, and smiled. While King Sakarias’s death had been such an unpleasant business—guillotines were such nasty contraptions—he had no regrets. He had followed his conscience and obeyed his religion. He had done what needed to be done.

  He sighed with satisfaction.

  He had sacrificed them all.

  And soon, he would be as a god among men, no longer a celestial descendant, the progeny of gods and humans, but a bona fide lord in his own right, on equal footing with the divine.

  And Jadon, he would come around in time.

  He had to.

  It was his birthright as well as his sacred duty.

  Besides, he was Jaegar’s brother, and blood was thicker than water.

  He closed his eyes and listened to the wind sweeping through the trees, reveling in the accompanying sound of celestial voices, the relentless summoning of the gods, as they called to him, almost incessantly now: “Come to the castle, Prince Jaegar. Come to the royal hall. Bring your brother, Jadon, and both of your loyal houses. Come and receive your due.”

  Jaegar shivered with anticipation.

  It would not be long now.

  The Blood of the slain congealed.

  It bonded together, rose in an arc, and roiled with barely concealed fury, pacing wildly through the royal hall of the now-haunted castle, waiting to make its pronouncement, waiting to wield its Curse.

  Vengeance would be swift in coming and oh so very sweet when it came.

  Jessenia Groza had been the last female of their race to die, the only woman left in the kingdom, and now she, too, rested with the ancients.

  Such blasphemy would not go unpunished.

  Such heresy would not be allowed to stand.

  The Blood hissed and fumed and smoldered as hatred warred with vengeance for supremacy, and all-consuming rage took root, planting its feral claws on the cold stone floor.

  Waiting.

  Anticipating.

  Salivating…

  Ah yes, he was so arrogant, so sure of himself, so ripe for the picking with his bloodstained hands.

  It would not be long now.

  “Come to the castle, Prince Jaegar. Come to the royal hall. Bring your brother, Jadon, and both of your loyal houses. Come and receive your due.”

  A Note from the Author

  Dear Readers,

  While the prequel to the Blood Curse Series takes place in ancient times, the series itself is set in the modern world, in a Rocky Mountain valley called Dark Moon Vale. It begins with the individual stories of the Silivasi brothers (the descendants of Timaos) and the story of their ensuing Blood Moons as each male discovers his long-awaited destiny…and the chance to love that eluded Jessenia and Timaos.

  In addition, it answers many lingering questions along the way: What happened inside and outside of that castle on that fateful day? Whatever became of Napolean Mondragon, that important ten-year-old child? And why did Prince Jadon hesitate when confronted by his evil nemesis, his brother Jaegar?

  The ongoing battle between good and evil—the house of Jadon and the house of Jaegar—remains the backdrop as the Curse and the thirty-day Blood Moon play out again and again…

  Only this time, the noble warriors strike back.

  Blood Curse Series

  At the time of this release, the books in the Blood Curse Series are as follows:

  Blood Destiny

  Blood Awakening

  Blood Possession

  Blood Shadows

  Blood Redemption

  Blood Father

  Blood Vengeance (coming soon…)

  To read sample chapters or join the author’s mailing list, please go to

  www.TessaDawn.com

  From BLOOD DESTINY~ Book One in the Blood Curse Series

  He is a lethal vampire, bound by an ancient curse.

  She is an agent of homeland security, investigating a dangerous cult.

  Theirs is a Blood Destiny about to unfold…

  Descended from the progeny of Celestial Gods and humans, Nathaniel Silivasi is handsome, seductive, and powerful beyond measure: a lethal vampire. Belonging to an ancient civilization that sacrificed its females to the verge of extinction, he is also cursed. Like all the sons of Jadon, he is incapable of producing female offspring and required to sacrifice a firstborn son as atonement for the sins of his forefathers. While he belongs to a modern civilization, he is bound by primeval law.

  When Jocelyn Levi stumbles upon Nathaniel's pristine mountain valley, she is not prepared for the collision of worlds she is about to encounter. As an agent of the homeland security department, ICE, the beautiful, defiant woman has an agenda of her own: to stop the ritualistic slaughter of innocent young women by a human-trafficking ring. Little does she know, the evil she seeks is unlike anything she has ever witnessed. She has entered a world of warriors, code, and mystery, where the predators are divided only by degrees of light and shadow, and the dark, handsome stranger who has come to her aid is the most dangerous of all.

  About The Author

  Tessa Dawn grew up in Colorado where she developed a deep affinity for the Rocky Mountains. After graduating with a degree in psychology, she worked for several years in criminal justice and mental health before returning to get her Master’s Degree in Nonprofit Management.

  Tessa began writing as a child and composed her first full-length novel at the age of eleven. By the time she graduated high-school, she had a banker’s box full of short-stories and books. Since then, she has published works as diverse as poetry, greeting cards, workbooks for kids with autism, and academic curricula. The Blood Curse Series marks her long-desired return to her creative-writing roots and her first foray into the Dark Fantasy world of vampire fiction.

  Tessa currently splits her time between the Colorado suburbs and mountains with her husband, two children, and “one very crazy cat.” She hopes to one day move to the country where she can own horses and what she considers “the most beautiful creature ever created” -- a German Shepherd.

  Writing is her bliss.