Nightborn by Lynn Viehl (Lord of the Darkyn #1)
Paranormal Romance
March 6, 2012
Signet

Reviewed by Helyce

Korvel, seneschal to King Richard, High Lord of the Immortal Darkyn, has been sent into France to recover a very old artifact that is rumored to hold the secrets of eternal life. This scroll, crafted in its entirety out of gold during the time of the Knights Templar, was entrusted to one family who has passed it down over the centuries and has kept it hidden and safe. When Richard receives word that it may have been compromised, he sends Korvel to retrieve it, but when Korvel arrives he finds the chateau under attack, the residents slain. Korvel fearlessly enters into the fighting, easily taking out five or six of the men dressed in black before being stabbed in the thigh by a copper coated blade.

Simone Derien spent a good part of her young life in denial. All through her growing up, she did everything her father expected of her, except for the one thing he needed most. But upon his death bed, he was able to extract a promise from her, one she had never hoped to make. Living among the nuns now she’s finally found a sense of calm and peace her life never knew. Sadly, her peaceful existence is about to be shattered when she receives word that a man she thought was dead is not only alive, but wants the object her family has been tasked with keeping safe for centuries. She immediately leaves the convent and heads home to her father’s chateau.

When she arrives, the chateau is on fire, the elderly couple who take care of the property are dead. She’s immediately attacked by more men in black, but Korvel comes forward taking out the men, even in his injured state. Simone takes off toward the greenhouse to find it in shambles. She frantically begins to look for the scroll, digging through broken pots until she finds the case, the clasp broken and the case empty. It is only then that she finally seems to notice Korvel. She realizes he is injured and he asks her to help him remove the tip of the copper blade. It is then that she realizes he is Kyn and that he too has been sent to retrieve the scroll, something she cannot allow.

When Simone and Korvel set out together to track and retrieve the scroll, Korvel has no idea who or what Simone is and what she is capable of. Simone confuses him. She knows he is Kyn, in fact offered her blood to him to help with his healing. He assumes that she is a nun as she is living in a convent, yet she has no qualms about stripping naked in front of him to clean up before dressing and leaving to track the scroll. Korvel has to fight hard against his baser instincts; it’s been a long time since his body has reacted like this to a woman and he has to keep reminding himself that she is a nun.

Simone is keeping a big secret. There is so much more to the scroll than what the Kyn know about it. Her promise to her father ensures that it can never fall into the wrong hands, that she is to destroy it first. While she agreed that she and Korvel should join forces to retrieve the scroll, it was never her intent to follow through with that. Her plan is to somehow divert Korvel at some point, meet up with her contact and move forward with her plan. In fact, she has been tasked to kill Korvel, but in the short time that she’s spent with him, she begins to have feelings for him. And in that short time she shares more about herself than she ever expected to. Torn between her duty and her feelings for Korvel, she decides to follow through with her plan, never suspecting that her contact would double cross her.

Nightborn is the first book in a spinoff of Ms. Viehl’s Darkyn series from a few years back. This story is filled with intrigue and adventure and I was captivated by it from the first pages. Korvel is sent out by Richard to retrieve an artifact and bring it back with him. He’s heard of it, and knows its importance but for the most part, he’s just carrying out his orders much like he’s done for centuries as Richard’s seneschal. He really is totally unprepared for Simone Derien. His immediate attraction to her confuses him and he does try his best to fight it. It’s difficult as Simone starts to have her own feelings for him and begins to make advances. When she finally admits to Korvel that she is not a nun, all bets are off and they both give in to it, unable to deny it any longer.

As the reader, we know that Simone has a huge secret and as the story moves forward, and we learn about the abuse that Simone suffered at the hands of her father, it is really easy to hate him and be confused by his actions. While horrible, what she went through as a child truly did serve a purpose even though she won’t realize its significance until she is forced to use everything she learned under his guidance.

There are some secondary characters that aid Korvel and Simone as they search for the scroll. Nicola Jefferson and Gabriel Seran, both Kyn, head to France against Richards instructions to help look for Korvel when he goes missing. Nicola, aka Nick, is a kick ass first, ask questions later type of gal and I adored her. She and Gabe come in just in time to rescue Korvel and Simone when they are kidnapped by Pajaro, the assassin who originally stole the scroll.

The ultimate conflict and subsequent resolution was one I did not see coming and when everything was said and done I swear I put my fist in air and said “yes”! Simone may have had secrets, but she’s totally unprepared to learn that her father was so much more than the man she knew. Yes, she suffered at his hands, and she may never forgive him, but even after his death he had been looking out for her, and when she realizes all that he did in preparation of the trial that he knew she’d one day go through I was totally blown away.

I really enjoyed Nightborn. It is certainly not your average vampire lore and I really liked that Simone was so much more than what her appearance led you to believe. I also very much liked Korvel and especially enjoyed seeing his character growth at the end when he’s forced to make a very difficult decision. Secondary characters were interesting without taking away focus from our H/H. I look forward to the sequel, Nightbred, due out in December.

Rating: B+

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