Dear Reader,
The following work was found sealed in the library of a castle, belonging to an ancient noble family, in the Champagne region to the east of Paris. The dates of the events contained within are attributed to sometime in the 18th century. It appears that any other record of the Marquis featured within, and the estate that he kept, have since been expunged from historical record. It is as if there was an omertà (conspiracy of silence) which sought to erase him entirely from collective memory - one that might have succeeded if not for the astonishing recovery of these letters.
It has been my duty to act as caretaker to this work since I agreed to its restoration. I have found, regrettably, that my colleagues have failed to grasp the momentous importance of these letters and their wider significance. There is, I admit, some question of authenticity that requires consideration. For my part, I have forcible reasons to believe that these letters are genuine. I have submitted the work to a broader audience, however, for precisely this object; I have hope that, by breaking outside the narrow remit of literary academia, I may yet find a willing readership committed to studying these letters as seriously as I have.
As the Judge might once have heard it, so the Reader shall hear it now.
Unfortunately, I must also include a notice of warning: the letters of Charlotte B--- speak of diabolical horrors and the direst human cruelty. I believe that, were these letters recognised, they would take the place as the first of the modern écritures maudits (damned writings), above de Sade or Corbière. Hence, I recognise that such subject matter is certainly not for everyone.
Should you decide to turn to more pleasant reading, I certainly could not blame you. The world can be a sombre and unforgiving place without having to reflect on its grimmest parts.
The choice to continue, Reader, is entirely your own.
Yours faithfully,
Dr. Samuel J. Collins
The High Class of Europe.
Or should I say the vampires?
Everybody knows they exist, yet it is an unspoken rule to stay silent about them. You wouldn't want to risk one of them hearing you talk bad about them. The punishment for something as simple as that is unspeakable. The Vampires have built an empire from the dirt of London and have reigned for thousands of years. They continue to drag terror everywhere they step.
Now in every high class, there's the low respected, middle of the pack, and the elites.
Obviously, none are as interesting as the Elites of society. The cremé of the crop. Allow me to introduce you to Zara Delcour, Kaspian Auclair, Mackenzie Rousseau, and Nox Toussaint, the most powerful young adults of them all.
And the great thing is? They're not going anywhere.
But people are always looking for the next best thing or the next biggest deal.
Alliances are formed.
Threats are made.
And it's all one big game of chess.
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Due to harsh imagery, descriptive visuals, possible triggering moments, and certain mature themes in this novel, it is rated MATURE. There will be trigger warnings at the start of the chapters where mature scenes are held for those of you who would prefer to skip over them! (I cannot guarantee that you won't miss something crucial to the novel in those scenes.)