*WARNING!! This post contains HUGE spoilers for Blood Roses.*

Before I started writing Blood Roses, I was already gaining a gist of how I wanted the overall Blackthorn story to evolve. I knew it was going to be a story about overcoming oppression and injustice and about the measures that are put in place in society both intentionally and unintentionally that feed assumptions, discrimination and prejudices – where people are not seen as individuals but a collective and labelled as such. Blood Roses became the perfect opportunity to explore the terrifying extent of that, let alone allow me to test the cliché of whether true love really could conquer all. There was no better way to do this than through two characters destined to destroy each other for the sake of their kinds – who, by the very fabric of what they were, were the most fervent of enemies.

Caleb – the pending Tryan

When first introducing Caleb, I had to be careful not to give away any clues about him being the pending Tryan, but at the same time give him the necessary traits of being capable of leading a vampire uprising. I needed a character who was intelligent, hard-working, dedicated, focused, industrious, strong and assertive. One who also has a caring side, a compassionate one, and one that is fiercely protective of those he loves. I created a character who had managed to claw his way up through Blackthorn and stand on his own two feet despite the fact that his lineage dictates that he could join the Higher Order in Midtown any time he wanted to. Instead, Caleb opts to stay amongst his own, to be the iron fist ensuring that the interests of those in Blackthorn are maintained, not least against the threat of the cons. Caleb is loyal to those who are loyal to him and uncompromising to those who want to overthrow his power for their own ends. In Caleb’s district, the vulnerable are protected – and that is out of a reputation built on fear and zero tolerance.

But there is a flip side to Caleb. Caleb does what he has to do without apology because I needed him to be real to the environment in which he lives. There is an air of the authoritarian about Caleb, laced with brutality and arrogance because, like Kane, to survive Blackthorn, that means exhibiting traits that can been deemed villainous. That said, he is not perceived as a villain by his own. In fact, in any other context, in any other story, his serryn-hunting abilities alone it would be enough to herald him a hero – the Van Helsing of the vampire world.

Creating this kind of dichotomous character became essential for the sake of the rest of the series and what is to unfold. Of all the characters needing to maintain an air of uncertainty in readers’ minds, it’s Caleb. What this lead to was the closest epitome of an anti-hero I could get. He’s the scarred warrior still struggling every day, with a barely suppressed dark side when up against opposition. And there none that bring out his dark side more than a serryn – the catalyst of all that went wrong in his life. He has every reason to want to destroy Leila and is totally justified every step of the way if you truly understand his mindset and can empathise with what his kind are up against. Unfortunately for him, his nemesis is not the cruel, manipulative and vicious witch she should be.

Leila – the serryn anomaly

Leila’s character was developed when I knew Caleb was going to have to come across a powerful force to be reckoned with. When it came to vampires versus humans, it seemed the former were always top of the food chain. They didn’t appear to have any natural predators (of course, that’s evolved massively now). The idea of creating a serryn came out of me wanting to pitch an equal against my pending vampire leader – something that would make him feel vulnerable in her presence.

The serryn is born out of old witch lore – more Blair Witch Project and less Bewitched. Serryns are the dark witches of fairytales. But instead of preying on humans, they prey on vampires. Within that boundary, they are indiscriminate killers whether the victims be males, females or children and they do so without conscience. Using their looks, charm and then emitting a lethal chemical not dissimilar to a pheromone, this rare strain of witch draw vampires to feed on their toxic blood. There’s no purpose to it other than pleasure, their sadistic streak only developing and intensifying the more kills they make. Of course, I created an exception to the rule in Leila. To test Caleb’s resolve and give a ring of truth to any potential of him falling for her, I had to present him the polar-opposite of what his experiences and beliefs dictate.

I needed someone with a clear sense of self and a deep-rooted need not to evolve into a fully-fledged serryn in the face of abject temptation. I needed to create a back-story of reasons why she would not confront her destiny. I needed someone who, instead of being self-seeking in the story, would, for the majority of it, be thinking with clarity, focus and an absolute need to succeed. Instead of a character who would take Caleb on physically (and inevitably lose), I needed one who could sustain a psychological battle and unhinge him from the inside. The fact Leila is still alive by the end of Blood Roses proves she was exactly as effective as she needed to be.

Enemies to lovers

Aside from being destined to kill each other and have every instinct dictate that from the moment they met, this was only reinforced by Caleb and Leila being from opposite ends of the geographic, social and political aspects of the Blackthorn world. I wanted to create a sense that the compacted hatred between Leila and Caleb was almost a carefully constructed plot by fate to ensure that when they finally met, the implosion would be guaranteed. I wanted to give the impression of them as puppets helpless to what they would become.

As part of this, I needed to develop tight internal conflict to forge the hatred between my hero and heroine. It wasn’t enough to just present them destined this way or as age-old enemies. They needed their own deep-rooted reasons to sustain the prejudices against each other and this came out of both having witnessed the worse of each other’s kind.

At a young age, Leila witnessed her mother being slaughtered by a vampire. It was her first introduction to them. She grew up in the world of Summerton, where children are taught how segregation in their security is justified by the daily threat vampires pose. Her grandfather, who was also her mentor, loathed vampires and brought her up with a fear of the vampire prophecies. In many ways, those prejudices reinforced her need to fight the dormant serryn inside and suppress any desire to step foot near Blackthorn. Of course, she has been advantaged by the regulations allowing her to stay in the safety of Summerton as far away from her potential trigger as possible, until she was summoned by Caleb – the earthquake to her well-ordered world.

As a youth, Caleb was tempted by a serryn who quickly turned on him, inflicting the most horrific physical, psychological and emotional abuse on him. He was forced to watch a serryn inflict the most atrocious acts on males, females and children of his kind as he helplessly watched on. Surviving, his needs for vengeance was only managed by the support and positive influence of his older brother, Seth – only to then have him murdered by a serryn some years later. Internally, he is justified in doubting Leila for who she claims to be. He’s been on the receiving end of their deceit with tragic consequences. It’s no wonder that when Leila presents herself as being the key to either the salvation or downfall of his kind, he has every reason to see her proclaimed innocence as nothing more than an elaborate scheme to trick him.

The stage was set. It should have run according to plan. He’s destined to be the saviour of his species, she’s anything but destined to be the saviour of him. But as the story progresses, that’s exactly what she starts to become.

Psychological warfare

The result was intense psychological warfare exacerbated by a confined situation with the added conflict that both were a catalyst for the suppressed darkness in the other. The constant, relentless breaking down that Caleb does of Leila, while Leila fights the dormant serryn inside, was admittedly exhausting to write. They spin in circles like lovers caught in an intense argument, both needing to come out on top.

Into the mix, is the taboo simmering attraction between them. Not since his first encounter with a serryn has Caleb ever been attracted to one. He is renowned for being able to abstain from any physical interaction with them, but with Leila the draw is something even he can’t control. To suppress his own self-hatred at his growing feelings – the very prospect a betrayal to his dead brother, not least dismissing the torturous experience that changed who he was – he has to forge a distance that makes him appear cold and heartless. And Caleb is everything Leila should despise, not least because he’s blackmailing her, making it abjectly clear what he intends to do with her, let alone responsible for unearthing the serryn that she has fought so hard to contain.

But fortunately for both, Leila is empathetic enough to see behind the mask that Caleb has worn for too long. She begins to see the Caleb who once was. She sees him at the crucial point where he could flip from a tyrant to a hero – and she is determined to intervene. Not only does she want that part of Caleb to win over for his sake and for them as a couple, but she knows that, ultimately, saving him is the only way she’s going to save everyone else with it. Leila knows that if she succeeds in overcoming the darkness in him, there’s going to be a bright, shining light at the end of it that could save both their kinds.

And Caleb sees hope in Leila. She has a resoluteness he admires, a determination and an uncontrived strength of self, let alone a loyalty to those she cares about. And amongst that is her undeniable attraction to him. But Caleb has a vulnerability born out of knowing that once he falls in love, he falls deep. Caleb’s greatest struggle is his developing feelings for Leila whilst not being selfish enough to turn his back on his own. What Caleb really wants is the best of both worlds – to save his kind and have Leila. And despite the odds being stacked against them, Leila still believes in him when she has every reason not to. By falling for him at his worst, he starts to see Leila’s potential to be his salvation – at least enough to let her go, to let her try. For now.

To end or not to end?

One of the most challenging aspects of writing Blood Roses was maintaining the characters and the strength of their beliefs as genuine – no matter how dark that became at times. More than that, was the need not to override the magnitude of the decisions they are making. To overcome and resolve, in less than a handful of days, what are epic decisions would have undone the whole gravity of the developing love between these two. Caleb and Leila are in an impossible situation – damned if they do and damned if they don’t, and they both know it. What they both have is the weight of responsibility for their kinds on their shoulders with catastrophic consequences if they get it wrong.

But despite every reason for them to see their destinies through, when it comes to it, they cannot kill each other. For Leila, cornered and at her weakest point, when again and again Caleb is not given her the assurance she seeks, the point where she had finally given up hope, seconds away from her own death, she still placed her hand on Caleb’s chest to stop him because she couldn’t let him die. And Caleb, feeling her reach out to him one final time, finally starts to accept that whatever connection they have forged is something worth fighting for.

Their futures

Leila’s made Caleb a promise that she can find a way out of their predicament. Whether she succeeds, if she was telling the truth at all, is another matter. But for Caleb to put that amount of trust in Leila was an immense thing for him to do – the first step towards being able to trust her and let her undo all the damage that her kind have done before. Of course, if she fails, there’s every probability it will intensify his darkness more.

Because, whatever the outcome of their seven-day agreement, Leila is no longer a serryn but Caleb is still the pending Tryan. He’s got his finger on the button and so does his invisible enemy (more of that in Blood Deep!), with the question of who will press first. Caleb has everything he cares about, everything he has worked for, everything he believes in, resting on him making the right decision as to when that button should be pressed – before his enemy does the same. Caleb is left standing on the edge of the precipice, whilst what Leila does next being pivotal to whether he leaps.

What remains to be seen is whether absence makes the heart grow stronger when it comes to Leila and Caleb, or whether both will start to see things differently when they’re away from the intensity of each other. It depends if Caleb does get his hands on Phia, whether his love for Leila will override his instincts when faced with a serryn he hasn’t fallen for this time (and, let’s be honest, if anyone is going to try Caleb’s patience, it’s going to be Phia!!). Or even whether Leila’s loyalty to her own will win out, whether she will still see the potential of redemption in him, or whether she will accept that his demise is necessary for the sake of her own.

Unfortunately for them, the ante is about to be upped. Deep down, they both know there are consequences to them not fulfilling their side of the prophecy – consequences that you’ll learn more of in Blood Deep. Caleb and Leila’s fight to be together has barely even begun.

Jask and Phia will be in the spotlight in a short while – but an interview with the lycan leader is coming even sooner! I’ll have more news of that tomorrow. 🙂