Carissa Broadbent’s Slaying the Vampire Conqueror (2023) is a standalone romantasy novel set in the author’s Crowns of Nyaxia universe. The story follows Sylina, a blind assassin belonging to a religious order known as the Arachessen. She is tasked with infiltrating the army of the formidable vampire conqueror Atrius and killing him to halt his invasion of her homeland. As she poses as his seer, Sylina’s loyalties are tested when she uncovers a devastating conspiracy and develops a complex bond with her target. Broadbent is known for her epic fantasy novels that feature prominent romantic subplots. The Crowns of Nyaxia series, which began with The Serpent and the Wings of Night, established her as a significant author in the romantasy genre. Slaying the Vampire Conqueror explores the themes of The Tension Between Indoctrination and Personal Morality, Disability as a Source of Power, and The Rejection of Vengeance in Favor of Shared Healing.

This guide refers to the 2025 Bramble/Tor Publishing Group edition.

Content Warning: The source material an guide feature depictions of cursing, religious discrimination, ableism, graphic violence, addiction, substance use, child abuse, child death, sexual content, illness, and death.

Plot Summary

Sylina is a 25-year-old woman who belongs to an order of blind assassins known as the Arachessen who use magical “threads” to perceive the world. The Arachessen believe their ultimate goal is to dethrone the corrupt Pythora King who rules over the nation of Glaea. While she’s on a mission to kill a nobleman, an army from the vampire continent of Obitraes invades the city. Sylina’s partner, Raeth, is one of the first people to die in the invasion. Enraged, Sylina prepares to shoot the vampires’ leader, a formidable figure with black horns, but her commander, Asha, and the Arachessen’s leader, the Sightmother, orders her to retreat. Sylina obeys, but the decision to let him live haunts her.

Weeks later, at the Arachessen headquarters known as the Salt Keep, the Sightmother announces that the vampires have conquered another city and killed another Arachessen Sister. Asha suggests the invasion might be a “purge” sanctioned by their goddess, Acaeja, the Weaver of Fates, to cleanse the war-torn country of Glaea. Sylina is angered by the woman’s disregard for human life. Later, the Sightmother tells Sylina that she has communed with Acaeja and seen that the vampire conqueror’s actions are not “Right” according to the threads of fate and threaten the realm of the gods. She orders Sylina to infiltrate the vampire army, discover the conqueror’s true intentions, and kill him. To do this, Sylina must pose as a seer, as the vampires of the House of Blood are known to employ their aid.

Sylina travels to the vampire encampment. After two days of observation, she identifies the conqueror’s current seer, an older human woman, and kills her by a lake. The conqueror is furious at the seer’s disappearance and orders a multi-day search. Sylina positions herself in a nearby town where she is spotted by two of his soldiers, who recognize her Arachessen attire and assume she is a seer. One of the soldiers, Erekkus, later abducts her from her inn, using blood magic to subdue her. She awakens in the tent of the conqueror, Atrius. He initially intends to release her to avoid conflict with the powerful Arachessen. Sylina lies, claiming she is a fugitive from the order who needs protection. Intrigued, Atrius offers her a deal. If she will use her powers as a seer to aid his campaign, he will give her his protection and, eventually, her freedom.

Atrius tasks Sylina with performing a seering for their next target, the city of Alka. During the ritual, Sylina has a vision of two paths. An attack under the full moon will be a disaster, and an attack under the crescent moon will be victorious. Her vision then shifts to the past, showing a younger, hornless Atrius on a snowy mountain with a prince. Nyaxia, the goddess who created vampires and is considered a heretic by the White Pantheon worshipped by humans, appears and kills the prince.

To sabotage Atrius’s invasion, Sylina lies and tells him to attack during the full moon. When she reveals that she saw a glimpse of his past, Atrius becomes furious and forbids her from ever seering about him again. Sylina contacts the Sightmother, who reprimands her for the sabotage, stating that the potential loss of human life in Alka is irrelevant to their mission. Sylina convinces Atrius to let her join the battle by faking a vision that the Arachessen will capture her if she is left behind.

During the attack on Alka, Atrius surprises Sylina by ordering his men not to harm civilians. As a result of Sylina’s deception, a tidal wave floods the tunnels, trapping his soldiers. Atrius demands she save them. Using her magic, Sylina collapses a ceiling to create an escape route and uses a power called “Threadstepping” to teleport and rescue the survivors. She and Atrius fight their way to the castle of the warlord Aaves, and Atrius brutally kills Aaves. Afterward, he confronts Sylina at swordpoint, suspecting her lie about the vision. To save herself, she bluffs about glimpsing a “prophecy” related to him, which unnerves him enough to spare her. Later, Atrius holds a funeral for his fallen soldiers.

Atrius reveals Nyaxia cast a curse on him that causes him immense pain, and he asks Sylina to use her healing abilities on him. While treating him, she experiences flashes of his traumatic past. The healing becomes a nightly ritual, and they begin sleeping platonically beside one another in his tent for comfort. The army’s next target is Vasai, the city where Sylina lived as a child. A seering about the city forces her to confront memories of its destruction and the loss of her family, including a vision of her older brother, Naro. Distraught, she persuades Atrius to assassinate the warlord Tarkan rather than launch a full-scale assault to prevent civilian casualties.

Sylina and Atrius infiltrate the Thorn Palace in Vasai. During their assault on Tarkan’s chambers, one of Tarkan’s guards recognizes Sylina, calling her “Vivi.” She realizes it is Naro, whom she believed had died 16 years ago. The shock causes her to falter, and Atrius kills Tarkan. Naro, who was “saved” by Tarkan and remains loyal to him, attacks Atrius in a rage. Sylina protects Naro by sedating him and begs Atrius to spare his life, which he does. Sylina tends to Naro, who is suffering from a severe addiction to a drug called Pythoraseed. Tarkan ensured all his soldiers were reliant on the drug to keep them compliant. The siblings’ reunion is painful, as Naro resents his sister for joining the Arachessen and killing his ruler. Sylina finds comfort in Atrius, who also understands the pain of loss because Nyaxia killed the prince he loved like a brother. They share a kiss, but Atrius stops them from going further.

To prevent Naro from dying of withdrawal, Atrius provides Sylina with a small amount of Pythoraseed. Soon after, the Sightmother meets Sylina in Vasai. Furious that Sylina has disobeyed her orders, she gives her a blessed dagger and commands her to kill Atrius. Sylina’s bond with Atrius deepens, and he arranges for vampire healers to treat Naro. After the Pythora King orchestrates a devastating attack on the island settlement where Atrius’s soldiers’ families live, Atrius and Sylina grieve together. He tells her the full story of how Nyaxia betrayed him, killed his prince, and ordered him to claim a country in her name. After the prince’s death, Atrius and his people were cast out of their faction in Obitraes, the House of Night. He hopes to save his exiled people and fulfill his pact with the goddess by conquering Glaea. After this revelation, the couple consummates their relationship. Now in love with the conqueror she was sent to kill, Sylina knows she cannot follow her orders. Atrius offers her a position to rule Glaea alongside him and proposes that they use the treacherous Zadra Pass to assassinate the Pythora King, a feat only possible with Sylina’s abilities. She agrees, choosing to betray the Arachessen.

After a perilous journey through the Zadra Pass, Atrius’s depleted army is ambushed. His forces hold off the enemy while he and Sylina infiltrate the Pythora King’s castle. They discover that the king is a magically preserved corpse. The Sightmother appears and reveals that she has been controlling the king and perpetuating Glaea’s wars for years because she believes that suffering breeds strength to breed. Enraged by Sylina’s disobedience, she binds Atrius with magic and prepares to kill him.

To save Atrius, Sylina feigns loyalty and proposes a grand ritual to sacrifice the vampire to Acaeja. As the Sightmother summons the gods, Sylina frees Atrius and gives him the blessed dagger. He kills the Sightmother and offers her head to Nyaxia. Both Nyaxia and Acaeja appear. Acaeja is furious, but Sylina offers her own life to spare Atrius. Acaeja refuses, cryptically stating that Sylina’s life may prove useful, and departs after warning Nyaxia of future conflict. As promised, Nyaxia lifts Atrius’s curse, though his horns remain, and vanishes. The magical backlash renders both Atrius and Sylina unconscious.

Sylina awakens two days later. Atrius confronts her about her betrayal but ultimately forgives her. They reconcile, and she removes her blindfold for him, discovering that she can faintly see him. Sylina then reveals the Sightmother’s deception to the other Arachessen. The order fractures with about half the Sisters pledging their support to Sylina. Atrius and Sylina establish a new capital in Vasai and fully commit to their relationship and their shared rule of Glaea.

Nine months later, Glaea is slowly rebuilding, and Naro’s health has greatly improved. Sylina senses ominous shifts in the threads of fate. She and Atrius are visited by Septimus, a prince of the House of Blood, who reveals that a war among the gods is imminent. He asks Atrius to return to Obitraes and shows the couple a magical artifact that gives Sylina visions of both catastrophic destruction and immense opportunity. Seeing a chance to finally secure a true home for his people, Atrius agrees to go. Sylina vows to accompany him, ready to face whatever the future holds.