Six Scorched Roses by Carissa Broadbent Summary, Characters and Themes
Six Scorched Roses by Carissa Broadbent is a standalone novella set in the Crowns of Nyaxia universe, blending dark fantasy with slow-burn romance. The story follows Lilith, a scientist who, in her quest to save her plague-stricken town, strikes a deal with a reclusive vampire named Vale.
What starts as a practical arrangement—six roses for six vials of his blood—turns into something far deeper as Lilith and Vale forge a connection, both intellectual and romantic. With its elements of love, sacrifice, and danger, this novella appeals to fans of character-driven, fantasy romances with a touch of angst.
Summary
Lilith has been sick her entire life, cursed with a terminal illness that has haunted her since birth.
Defying the odds, she has survived past the age of 17, but now at 30, she continues to grapple with the impending shadow of death. However, her own condition pales in comparison to the plight of her village, which is being ravaged by a mysterious plague.
As the illness tightens its grip on her town, Lilith, a brilliant but socially distant scientist, becomes desperate to find a cure. With no other options in sight, she seeks out a vampire named Vale, rumored to have blood that holds miraculous properties.
Lilith, understanding the risks of consorting with a vampire, offers Vale an unusual bargain: she will give him six roses in exchange for six vials of his blood.
Vale agrees to this arrangement, intrigued by her offer and perhaps by Lilith herself. Thus begins a series of six visits, during which Lilith collects the blood she needs for her experiments, hoping to create a cure for the plague that is devastating her town.
Though initially cold and distant, Vale slowly opens up to Lilith as they spend more time together. At first, their relationship is purely transactional, but soon they begin to connect on a deeper level.
Lilith, who often struggles to relate to others due to her neurodivergent tendencies, finds solace in Vale’s presence. His detached yet attentive nature appeals to her, while her intellectual curiosity and determination capture his interest.
Vale, a vampire who has long isolated himself from the world, finds in Lilith something worth caring about once again.
As Lilith continues her research, she uncovers the horrifying truth behind the plague. The illness that is killing her village is no ordinary disease—it is the result of a curse placed by one of the gods.
The gods in Lilith’s world are powerful, capricious beings who meddle in the lives of mortals, and their curse now threatens everything Lilith holds dear.
Her scientific mind, however, refuses to give in to despair, and she pushes forward with her experiments, driven by the hope of finding a cure before it’s too late.
As their bond deepens, Lilith and Vale’s relationship transforms from reluctant allies to friends and eventually to lovers.
Vale, who once seemed indifferent to everything, now finds himself drawn to Lilith’s strength and vulnerability. Lilith, for her part, begins to see Vale not as a monster but as someone who understands and accepts her for who she truly is.
Their romance is slow to unfold but becomes all the more powerful for it, culminating in a moment of intense passion.
In the end, Lilith’s discoveries force her to make a difficult choice: continue her quest for a cure, or accept that some things—like love—cannot be easily explained or controlled.
Six Scorched Roses blends themes of sacrifice, love, and resilience in a dark, magical world, making it a compelling addition to the Crowns of Nyaxia series.
Characters
Lilith
Lilith is the protagonist of Six Scorched Roses, a deeply driven and complex character. From a young age, she has lived with the shadow of death hanging over her due to a terminal illness, and she carries this knowledge with a quiet resignation.
Despite her personal suffering, Lilith’s main motivation stems from her desire to save her town from a devastating plague, showcasing her selflessness and determination. Her scientific mind is one of her defining traits; she approaches problems with logic and meticulousness, often hyper-focused on her work to the detriment of her own well-being.
The novella subtly explores Lilith’s neurodivergence, painting her as someone who struggles with social cues and emotional expression. This adds a layer of realism and depth to her character, as her struggle to relate to others is contrasted with her incredible empathy and care for the people around her.
Her interactions with Vale become her primary emotional outlet. Through their bond, we see her ability to love deeply even though she is not always able to express it conventionally.
The roses that Lilith offers to Vale as part of their bargain become symbolic of her quiet strength and determination. They also reflect her unspoken emotions that unfold as their relationship deepens.
Vale
Vale is a vampire who, at the start of the novella, appears as a cold and reclusive character. He is a former general who has withdrawn from society, living in isolation and holding a deep weariness about life.
Vale’s initial detachment quickly gives way to curiosity as Lilith enters his world, bringing with her a level of intelligence and purpose that piques his interest. Over time, he begins to show more of his personality, which is layered with a subtle warmth and care that contrasts his outwardly stoic and “grumpy” demeanor.
Vale is portrayed as an eternal being who has grown bored and disconnected from the world. However, Lilith ignites in him a passion that he has long suppressed.
Their relationship brings out a more playful and affectionate side of Vale, who slowly drops his guard around Lilith. He deeply respects her intellect and strength, and despite being much older and more powerful, Vale values Lilith as an equal.
His attraction to her lies not just in her physicality but in her mind and spirit. This makes their connection stand out among typical dynamics in human-vampire relationships in romance fiction.
His acceptance and admiration of Lilith’s uniqueness, especially her neurodivergent traits, highlight his emotional growth. He evolves into a character capable of deep care and vulnerability.
Themes
The Interplay of Mortality and Salvation in a God-Cursed World
“Six Scorched Roses” delves into a rich exploration of mortality, where death, illness, and salvation are intertwined in an intricate web. Lilith, from birth, is marked by an inevitable terminal illness, a constant reminder of her own fragility and the looming presence of death.
However, it is not merely her personal death that fuels the narrative, but the broader existential threat of the plague ravaging her village. This duality of personal and communal mortality sets the stage for Lilith’s desperate quest for salvation—a salvation that comes not from divine intervention, but from the blood of a vampire, the very antithesis of mortality.
The plague itself is a manifestation of divine wrath, painting a world where human survival hinges not on gods but on forbidden, sacrilegious alliances. This theme challenges the traditional concept of salvation as a purely divine gift, presenting instead a world where mortals must forge their own paths, even if it means embracing the monstrous.
Lilith’s desperation reflects not just a fear of death, but a deep yearning to save others, thus redefining her mortality into a quest for a form of immortal legacy through her scientific pursuit of the cure.
Scientific Rationality Versus Mysticism
The novella places science and mysticism in direct tension with one another, through the lens of Lilith’s scientific rationality and Vale’s supernatural existence. Lilith’s character, a skilled scientist, embodies the pursuit of empirical knowledge, relying on experimentation and logic to solve the crisis posed by the plague.
Her attempts to use vampire blood as a potential cure exemplify this tension, as she uses the mystical substance in a scientific context, navigating the boundaries between the rational and the irrational. This interplay underscores a larger theme in the novella: knowledge is not a static concept but one that transcends rigid definitions.
Vale, while embodying the mystical and supernatural as a vampire, offers Lilith not just his blood, but philosophical insights that challenge her narrow view of knowledge. He suggests that “curiosity” rather than mere factual understanding is the true essence of knowledge, emphasizing that knowing something without context is meaningless.
This thematic tension between science and mysticism pushes the narrative into deeper philosophical reflections on what it means to “know” and the limits of human understanding when faced with divine or supernatural forces.
Love as a Conduit for Transformation and Redemption in the Face of Doom
The romantic development between Lilith and Vale is not merely a subplot but a profound exploration of how love can act as a transformative force, especially in the face of certain doom. Both characters are entrenched in their respective existential crises—Lilith, facing her own death and the death of her village, and Vale, a reclusive vampire who has withdrawn from life and lost his zest for it.
Their relationship begins as a pragmatic exchange—blood for roses—but evolves into something far more intimate and complex. Through their growing bond, Lilith begins to experience a form of emotional awakening that counterbalances her otherwise detached, logical demeanor.
Vale, on the other hand, is reignited by Lilith’s intellect and determination, finding in her a reason to reconnect with the world he had long distanced himself from. Their love serves as a conduit for personal redemption, where both characters, facing overwhelming darkness, find light in one another.
Yet this theme is tinged with tragedy, as their love is not an easy salvation but a bittersweet surrender to vulnerability. It challenges the more simplistic portrayals of love as a pure healing force, illustrating love as both a blessing and a curse.
Autonomy Versus Predetermined Fate in a Plague-Ravaged World
At the heart of Lilith’s journey is a battle between her autonomy and the weight of predetermined fate. Born with a terminal illness, her life has been overshadowed by the expectation of death.
Despite the gods’ curse, she defies the timeline of her death and continues to live into her thirties, a feat in itself. Yet, her survival is not framed as an act of defiance against fate, but as an anomaly within the preordained structures of her world.
Lilith’s search for a cure for the plague is, in many ways, a rebellion against the deterministic nature of her existence. She is fighting not just for her village, but for her right to carve out her own path in a world dictated by the whims of gods.
Vale, too, is shaped by the concept of fate, particularly as a vampire—an immortal being with seemingly endless time, but one who is bound by a different kind of predetermined existence. Together, their relationship represents an attempt to wrest autonomy from a fate that has already been decided for them by forces beyond their control.
This tension between free will and fate adds a layer of existential complexity to their actions. It positions their love and Lilith’s scientific endeavors as acts of rebellion against the gods’ merciless order.
The Sacred and the Profane (The Subversion of Divine Morality)
Throughout “Six Scorched Roses,” divine forces are portrayed not as benevolent overseers but as fickle, temperamental beings whose actions bring suffering to mortals. The plague itself is a manifestation of divine wrath, a “god-cursed illness” that highlights the cruel nature of the gods in this world.
Lilith’s partnership with Vale—a vampire, a creature hated by the gods—represents a bold subversion of divine morality. By seeking salvation in something that the gods themselves despise, Lilith questions the validity of divine authority and presents a world in which morality is not dictated by the gods, but by human need and survival.
Vale’s existence as a vampire, while feared and reviled by society, is not inherently evil. In fact, it is his blood that holds the key to saving Lilith’s village.
The novella blurs the lines between what is deemed holy and unholy, playing with the concept of the sacred and the profane. In doing so, it critiques the traditional hierarchical structures of power, where gods are revered despite their capricious cruelty, and presents a narrative where salvation comes from the profane rather than the sacred.
The Ethics of Sacrifice and the Question of Worth in a Broken World
A recurring theme in “Six Scorched Roses” is the ethics of sacrifice—both personal and communal. Lilith is constantly faced with questions of what she is willing to give up in her pursuit of a cure.
Her roses, initially simple tokens of exchange, take on a symbolic weight, representing not just her bargain with Vale but the broader sacrifices she is making for her village. The novella also introduces the idea that sacrifices may not always result in redemption.
The gods, in their cruelty, demand a high price for any form of salvation. Lilith’s eventual realization that her life may be the ultimate sacrifice forces readers to confront the harsh ethics of survival in a cursed world.
This theme asks critical questions: What is worth sacrificing, and at what cost? Is the salvation of one’s community worth the loss of personal autonomy or life? The novella provides no easy answers, instead presenting sacrifice as a complex, often devastating necessity in a world where the gods are indifferent to human suffering.
The Representation of Neurodivergence and the Challenge to Traditional Hero Archetypes
Lilith’s characterization as potentially neurodivergent offers a fresh perspective on the traditional fantasy heroine. Her inability to relate to social cues, her hyperfocus on her scientific work, and her emotional detachment set her apart from typical heroines who are driven by emotional or social motivations.
Instead, Lilith’s motivations are rooted in logic, curiosity, and an unwavering sense of duty to save her village. Her neurodivergence, while subtly depicted, serves as a challenge to the conventional portrayal of fantasy protagonists, offering readers a hero who is driven by intellect rather than emotion.
At the same time, her emotional growth through her relationship with Vale shows that her detachment is not a flaw, but simply a different way of navigating the world. The novella expands the boundaries of what a hero can look like, presenting neurodivergence as a strength rather than a limitation.