A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson

A lush, furious, seductive gothic reimagining told as a final love letter—part confession, part reckoning. A Dowry of Blood gives voice to Constanta, Dracula’s first bride, and traces the slow horror of realizing that the man who saved you can also be the one who destroys you… especially when love is built on control.

Pulled back from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. For a time, it feels like salvation—devotion, immortality, and a love so consuming it rewrites her entire life.

Then Dracula draws two more into his orbit: a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist. As passion and deceit tighten around them, Constanta begins to see what her beloved is truly capable of. She finds unexpected comfort in the arms of her rival consorts, and together they start to unravel their husband’s secrets—discovering that survival may require something more dangerous than loyalty.

With everyone she loves at risk, Constanta is forced to choose between freedom and the bond that still pulls at her heart. Because in this world, bonds forged by blood can only be broken by death.