Chapter One

Feeding the king's pack of revenants took the entire afternoon. Half of which I spent traveling down an array path created by the High Priestess. Only authorized personnel were allowed beyond the entrance. If a resurrected being were to escape, the magic traps would tear it apart. However, they did not differentiate between a friendly intruder and an enemy. Many reckless children lost their lives in these woods. The trees creaked with their screams and soaked their memories up through blood. There used to be guards posted urging curious onlookers away centuries ago. Now, all that remained was an ominous warning.

ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Vampires brought back to life after succumbing to eternal rest were bloodthirsty creatures used for the sole purpose of slaughter. They were known for their volatile nature and fickle dispositions. All were food save for brethren with the simple reason of them not tasting very good. However, they were quite satisfied with recently slain deer and rabbits.

The first thing I did upon arriving at the enclosure was check the traps. Five hit, so I mercifully ended their lives without wasting blood. After leaving them near the iron hatch, I set out into the woods. The trees this far from town were dense and old. They barely moved for how close together they sat. Sunlight was muted, the leaves trapping in heat to breed neon moss beneath my feet.

Would the High Prestress be secretly thrilled if I gave her some during our next visit? I smiled as I crouched down, about to lower my bow, when movement caught my eye. Instinct reacted more quickly than sense. I let an arrow fly. It sunk into a stag's chest, hitting a lung and then the heart. The poor beast dropped dead after running no more than twenty yards. It was over in an instant.

I took a deep breath and removed a flask from my satchel to stuff it with moss. Only one more to go and there would be enough to sustain the revenants for a few days. Good thing, too, because Mother's doctor planned to visit tomorrow. I didn't want to miss any critical updates.

Leaving the slain deer to the wild was pure idiocy, so I hefted it over my back and trudged to the hatch. The stench leaking from the cracks was rotten enough to keep even predators away. Though years had passed since the last time my nose wrinkled. I huffed a laugh and notched another arrow, brushing my thumb along the feathers.

Finding the second stag proved easy. If I honed my senses I could smell, hear, and truly hunt them. Half of my genes were that of the superior race after all, despite my appearance. A fact I tried not to think about these days.

It hadn't always been that way. Me being the only half-blood within twenty miles landed me here, doing this 'job', because the revenants didn't mind me.

It took years of nightmares not to mind them.

Then there were the animals. Guilt accompanied their deaths when I was young. I cried over the bodies of everyone and vomited the moment I left. The High Priestess' wise words aided me in coming to terms with death, as did time.

Think of them as tributes or sacrifices. All living things serve a purpose. Even you, Eren, especially you.

I tossed the second deer to the forest floor beside the entrance; my fingers flexing at my sides. Legend claimed each time one saw a revenant, a piece of their soul withered. I often wondered what that meant for me, the kingdom's servant who spent the last ten years tending to them.

"Five minutes is all it takes," I told myself while swallowing hard. "In and out."

I kicked the hatch open and threw the meat in first. It hit the packed dirt with a wet thwack while I climbed down the ladder. This rotting stench wasn't sour-sweet like overripe peaches. The tone was darker, sinister with spice and despair. Gooseflesh roared down my arms but I ignored it.

There was no time. I tied the deer together while clipping the rabbits to my belt so I could drag it all. The iron door at the end of the hall required a special key, the only one of it's kind. I fished it out of my shirt, sliding it along the chain, a nervous habit I adopted. They were standing directly on the other side. I didn't know how or why I knew, but it was a sixth sense floating within my consciousness.

"Fresh blood is here, back up if you want it," I commanded, tilting my head to concentrate.

Shuffling came through the crack loud and clear as if they were being distinct in their obedience. I took off my necklace for no more than a few seconds, but panic set in. My fingers trembled while unlocking the rusted deadbolt. It slid aside, but the door would refuse to open until I placed my hand on the sigil of Albion. Mana coursed through my veins like lightning as the metal lit up bright orange, singing the calloused skin of my palm.

The door groaned, swinging inward. I shook out my hand and wrapped the rope twice around my wrist for security. Pale, slender creatures stood motionless twenty feet from me. Their complexion was ashen and almost see-through, with once lively blue veins now colorless and sunken, mirroring lifeless ebony eyes.

A massive underground forest of ancient cypress trees sprawled behind them. They lived within while relentlessly hunting any remaining life. At least that's what I expected. Also, they didn't wear clothes. Which, in retrospect, should've felt uncomfortable.

"Am I that desensitized?" I muttered.

The creatures didn't respond, of course. They were eyeing the meat behind me as if I weren't here. Good. I dragged the deer and rabbits closer, and they shifted from foot to foot, emitting low growls that reverberated through the underground chamber. It was a sound that filled me with dread, a reminder of the primal nature lurking within these resurrected beings.

"Here ya go," I said, tossing a deer in either direction, expertly dividing the group. They became wild, snarling at one another in their haste to reach sustenance. "Equally."

They behaved with little grumbling. I gave them each a rabbit once they finished, finally having enough to go around. They greedily devoured those too, and I turned to go as I had done countless times before—

"Master."

The hiss was numbing; scraping down my spine and leaving me breathless. I stopped, fists clenched as I slowly looked over my shoulder. One of the revenants lingered a mere foot away, looking me up and down.

Strands of once bright ivory hair, like all other pureblooded vampires, was falling out down to the skin. Bone replaced it; rotting black and stinking like mad. My stomach roiled.

"I am not your master."

The creature tilted its head. Time slowed down one heartbeat at a time, feeling stretched to the breaking point. We stared at one another for an agonizing minute before I managed to force my legs to move. I booked it into the hall to slap my hand onto the seal once more. This time the door slammed shut, relocking itself via mana. My heart raced so fast I leaped toward the ladder to claw up to the surface.

The hatch closed with a bang; and I tripped over myself right into the forest floor, eating dirt. My shoulder screamed in agony but I didn't dare pause to feel it. As long as I kept moving, that creature didn't just talk, and the word that came out of its mouth most certainly was not master.

The four-mile walk passed quickly when in a dead sprint. As soon as I reached the break in the tree line I collapsed, heaving for air. Sweat poured down my face as I looked up into the sun, hair flopping away from my forehead.

"Ah, shit," I said, closing my eyes.

"Excuse me. Are you Eren Luca Brent?"

I blinked away sun spots to peer at a vampire standing a respectable distance from me. Light reflected bright gold off of his close-cropped ivory curls. No menace plagued the air and his teardrop eyes burned a fathomless black, lacking blood lust.

"Who's asking?"

He didn't blink or move, hands clasped behind his back. "I am the a humble servant of Lord Keller Brigham. Mr. Brent is hereby summoned to the High Court of Cruor to hear the King's inheritance decree."

I coughed, leaning on my knee and smacking my chest. "What?"

The vampire leveled me with an emotionless stare. "Lord Augustine Sebastian Brent and his family were murdered making Eren Luca Brent his only living heir."

"Stop saying it like that," I chided. "No one says my middle name."

"Are you or are you not Eren Luca Brent?"

"Yes," I snapped. "Now will you stop saying it?"

The vampire's lips twitched. "Fine. Mr. Brent, follow me this way. We have quite the carriage trip ahead of us."

"I won't be free until the day after next."

The vampire had begun walking away as if this were a done deal. He turned in shock; eyes widening and nostrils flaring.

"You dare deny Lord Bringham's summons?"

"I didn't say that. Tell him I will be there the day after next."

Then I spun on my heel and left the haughty, bewildered vampire to fume.