Dark Descent

This is the eleventh book in the series. It tells the story of how Traian Trigovise and Joie Sanders came together.

Synopsis[]

In a cave of mystery and wonder deep in the Carpathian Mountains, bodyguard Joie Sanders encounters a most remarkable being. Proud, strong, immortal, he is called Traian—an ageless hunter, locked in a life and death battle with enemy vampires—and he will be her salvation in a labyrinth protected by the ingenious traps of a mysterious ancient race. What awaits them in the darkness is not known, and each step could be their last—as their destined path leads them toward a fiery passion that will illuminate the perilous dark night.

Christine's Notes[]

In the Dark Nights version of Dark Descent there is an additional hundred pages. I rewrote it from the original version (in The Only One) as I felt it was too short. I do not plan on doing this for the other re-prints, but I hope you enjoy the newest version of Dark Descent.

— Christine Feehan

Characters[]

Cliff's Notes[]

This is a short summary of the story and contains some spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.

The book opens with Traian hunting and killing the vampire Gallent, then going to ground in a cave to rest and heal his injuries. Meanwhile, Joie is shot while guarding Senator Thomas Goodvine and his wife in Austria. To distract herself from the pain, she briefly astral projects to Traian's cave. He immediately recognizes her as his lifemate.

A few weeks later, Joie goes to Romania in search of Traian's cave because they have been communicating telepathically and she not only needs to know if he is real, but she also feels drawn to him. She and her siblings, Gabrielle and Jubal, enter the cave and find Traian pinned to a wall of ice, being fed on by Lamont. Joie throws a dagger straight into Lamont's heart. Jubal frees Traian, who attempts to take his blood, but Joie forbids it. Joie offers her own blood and Traian speaks The Ritual Words while drinking from her. Traian finishes off Lamont.

As the four are trying to escape, they cross an unnatural bridge into a mage cave. Jubal and Gabrielle retreat while Traian and Joie contend with Shafe, Valenteen, and the shadow warrior guarding the magical artifacts. The shadow warrior destroys Shafe and they use the distraction to flee.

Traian takes Joie back to the inn where she is staying. They make love and she agrees to become Carpathian. Later they go to dinner with her siblings and meet Gary Jansen, who has been sent by Mikhail Dubrinsky.

The next night, Traian returns to the mage cave to dispatch the vampires, but they are not there. Instead, they have attacked the inn. Gary leads the Sanders siblings to his room, where they delay the vampires until Traian returns. Joie allows Valenteen to slice her neck open and feed on her so that she can get close enough to stab him in the heart. Traian kills Valenteen and has to convert Joie to save her life. Traian is also severely wounded, so he takes Jubal's blood. Gary and the siblings stay with the couple while Joie undergoes conversion, then Traian takes her to a cave to heal. Gabrielle gives Traian her blessing.

UK edition
Dark Nights anthology
Dark Nights anthology (UK edition)
The Only One anthology
E-Book Photo
Spanish Edition

Trivis[]

Marissa and Rory were mentioned but only named later.
In Dark Nights, over 100 pages was added to the story because Christine felt the original published version was too short.