Empire of the Vampire is a 2021 illustrated horror-fantasy novel by Australian novelist Jay Kristoff. Plot Present Twenty-seven years after Daysdeath, a mysterious phenomenon that has cast the world into eternal darkness, vampires have successfully conquered humanity. Gabriel de Leon the last living vampire hunter, the Silversaints and a legend amongst their ranks, is held prisoner awaiting execution for killing the Forever King, Fabien Voss. However, the vampire empress orders Gabe to tell her historian his entire life before he is to be executed. He tells of his life as a Silversaint, his family, and his failure to save humanity. Twenty Years Previous Gabe was born in the town of Larson in the kingdom of the Nordlands as the son of a blacksmith and a disinherited noblewoman. When he was fifteen, he bit a girl to drink her blood, which led the Silversaints to find him and reveal his true father was a vampire. He is recruited into the Order of San Michon and trained under veteran Silversaint Greyhands. He learns that there are four vampire bloodlines, and each has a unique abilitiy called a bloodgift, but he has none making him a "frailblood." While on a hunt Gabe discovers his bloodgift is in fact sanquimancy, meaning his father was of the fifth vampire bloodline, believed to be extinct. This leads him to sneak into the forbidden section of the library to learn about his heritage where he meets Astrid Rennier, the bastard of the emperor exiled as a nun, and Chloe Sauvage who are researching what caused Daysdeath and how to end it. The three of them begin having secret meetings in the library to research both Daysdeath and the fifth bloodline, eventually learning only the Holy Grail can end Daysdeath and the fifth bloodline is both feared and hated by other vampires. Eventually, on a hunt they face off against Laure Voss, the Wraith in Red and the Forever King's favorite daughter. She cripples Geyhands, but Gabe manages to wound her, save his fellow SIiversaints and intercept her message to her father. The Silversaints learn of the Forever King's planned invasion of the Nordlands, so they go to stop them, but Gabe is forced to stay behind due to disobedience. However, Gabe discovers secret writing in Laure's message learning that the vampires will just walk around the armies and invade. Gabe gathers all the nuns, monks, and blacksmiths