Vivienne Delacroix has spent nearly two centuries hiding behind the shuttered windows of her French Quarter mansion, feeding discreetly and collecting beautiful things.
Her private gallery holds masterpieces lost to fire, war, and time. To the world, she is merely an elusive art dealer with impeccable taste. No one knows she watched those paintings being created—or that some of their artists never survived her patronage.
Then an unsigned portrait arrives at her door.
The woman in the painting wears Vivienne’s face as it appeared on the last night of her mortal life. Behind her stands Lucien Moreau, the vampire who seduced her, transformed her, and abandoned her to an eternity of hunger.
Vivienne watched Lucien burn more than a century ago.
When new paintings begin predicting murders throughout New Orleans, she turns to Ryder Mercer, a gifted art conservator who discovers human blood hidden within the pigments. As desire draws them dangerously close, the figure inside the original portrait grows clearer—and the ancient presence trapped beneath its paint begins to awaken.
To save Ryder, Vivienne must destroy the collection that holds every remaining piece of her past.
But some works of art demand blood. And some collectors eventually become part of the collection.
Her private gallery holds masterpieces lost to fire, war, and time. To the world, she is merely an elusive art dealer with impeccable taste. No one knows she watched those paintings being created—or that some of their artists never survived her patronage.
Then an unsigned portrait arrives at her door.
The woman in the painting wears Vivienne’s face as it appeared on the last night of her mortal life. Behind her stands Lucien Moreau, the vampire who seduced her, transformed her, and abandoned her to an eternity of hunger.
Vivienne watched Lucien burn more than a century ago.
When new paintings begin predicting murders throughout New Orleans, she turns to Ryder Mercer, a gifted art conservator who discovers human blood hidden within the pigments. As desire draws them dangerously close, the figure inside the original portrait grows clearer—and the ancient presence trapped beneath its paint begins to awaken.
To save Ryder, Vivienne must destroy the collection that holds every remaining piece of her past.
But some works of art demand blood. And some collectors eventually become part of the collection.