Family is power.
The Original vampire family swore it to each other a thousand years ago. They pledged to remain together always and forever. But even when you’re immortal, promises are hard to keep.
Arriving in New Orleans in 1722, Original vampire siblings Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah Mikaelson believe they’ve escaped their dangerous past. But the city is lawless, a haven for witches and werewolves unwilling to share territory. The siblings are at their mercy…especially after Klaus meets the beautiful and mysterious Vivianne. Her impending marriage is key to ending the war between the supernatural factions—and Klaus’s attraction to her could destroy the uneasy alliance. As Elijah works toward securing a piece of the city for his family, and Rebekah fights her unexpected feelings for a French captain, will Klaus’s volatile desires bring their world crashing down—and tear them apart for good?
Dear Reader:
If you’re reading this letter, then there’s a good chance you love the Mikaelson family as much as I do. For Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah, our beloved vampires at the heart of the hit CW drama The Originals, an hour a week barely scratches the surface of their story. That’s why Harlequin HQN, in association with Alloy Entertainment, will be publishing a new trilogy of books that offers never-before-told stories of the Original vampires.
We’ve seen this family’s epic struggle to live and love in New Orleans while mired in conflict between the human and supernatural factions. But was it any easier for them back then than it is now? Klaus often isolates himself from the idea of romantic love, but what would happen if he actually opened his heart to it? Elijah prides himself on being the constant pillar of self-control, but when a mysterious witch captures his heart, will his noble restraint remain unbroken? Rebekah, never a stranger to love, meets a handsome army captain, but will she be able to keep her emotions in check when she discovers he might be a vampire hunter?
In The Originals: The Rise, The Loss, and The Resurrection, you’ll get to know all three Mikaelson vampires as you’ve never seen them before. Read on for all the passion, drama, and bloodthirsty adventure of the TV show, and get ready for a book with a lot of bite.
With best wishes,
Julie Plec
Creator and Executive Producer of The Originals
CREATED BY JULIE PLEC
based on
Contents
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
EXCERPT
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PROLOGUE
1713
VIVIANNE LESCHERES WAS not afraid of the dark. The night felt like a warm cloak around her shoulders. The nearly full moon bathed the bayou in black and gray, hiding and shifting its truths, but Vivianne’s feet were sure and her heartbeat steady, even as a girl of ten. In the darkness, she was free.
Vivianne, born of both a witch and a werewolf, had both clans as her protectors, her family. No danger could come to her, even from New Orleans’s roughest residents. There had never been any part of the city where she feared to tread.
Yet on this night, as she got closer to the wide, lazy river, all she could smell was death. She slowed, scanning around her for what was amiss. The night couldn’t keep secrets from her eyes for long, and she watched as a ghost ship crept along the edge of the swamp. She set one boot down in front of the other, wading closer to the open water of the Saint Louis River.
The ship looked small, but sturdy enough for an ocean crossing, if not big enough to journey in any comfort. Yet even Vivianne’s sharp eyes couldn’t spot a single soul on board. It just slid through the water, timbers creaking slightly with the gentle roll of the midnight current.
She reached the edge of the bayou and heard a shout go up from one of the watchmen. Finally, they had noticed the ghostly vessel. Slipping behind a stand of cattails, Vivianne felt a powerful impulse to set the ship on fire and let the water sweep it back down to the ocean. Whatever it was and whatever it carried, she didn’t want it in her city.
The ship stalled at the banks, inviting the watchmen to come to it. They wasted no time, clambering up the ladder built into the side of the ghost ship’s hull. She thought about calling to them, but she could not imagine what warning a child might give that could turn the men away from what they believed was abandoned treasure.
The moonlight glinted off the pale skin and golden hair of a man sneaking across the deck as he followed the guards below. He moved with inhuman speed and strength as he pulled a man up into the ship’s rigging. Screams began to rise from the deck. The warm night air turned clammy and clung to Vivianne’s skin, making her shiver. The coppery smell of blood drifted across the river to her, and she’d seen enough: She ran.
The darkness closed in on her, roots and hillocks reaching up to catch at her feet as she flew across the swamp. Something new had come to New Orleans, and the night would never be safe again.
CHAPTER ONE
1722