When the vampire Queen Akasha cuts out the eyes of the mortal Maharet and the tongue of her twin mortal sister, Mekare promises that she will one day return for vengeance and curses her as the Queen of the Damned.
The title remains throughout the long centuries, especially on the lips of the First Brood army, which rebels and fights against Akasha’s army, the Queens Blood.
In the twentieth century, Mekare herself dons that same title when, after beheading Akasha, consuming her brain and heart, taking the spirit of Amel into herself, and becoming the carrier host of the Sacred Core, she is hailed as the new Queen of the Damned—the supreme monarch of all vampires.
The “Queen of the Damned” title appears in The Queen of the Damned (1988) and Prince Lestat (2014). For more perspectives on this title in the Vampire Chronicles, read the Alphabettery entries Akasha, Amel, Enkil, First Brood, Khayman, Lestat de Lioncourt, Maharet, Mekare, Queens Blood, and The Vampire Lestat.