Chapter 5

The next three days passed in a blur of menial tasks. I cleaned, organized supplies, and learned the hierarchy of Queen Aquila's clan.

Luna—Shadow, as everyone called her here—was respected but also feared. She'd killed the previous vice-commander in single combat to earn her position.

The other blood servants whispered that she was "different." More controlled. More dangerous.

I kept my head down and worked. But I also watched. Learned.

On the third evening, Luna summoned me to help her prepare for the gathering.

"You'll stay close to me tonight," she said, adjusting an elaborate dark coat. "Other clans will be there. Some will try to test boundaries."

"Test boundaries how?"

She gave me a sharp look. "By seeing if they can steal or harm another clan's humans. It's a power play."

My stomach dropped. "And if they succeed?"

"Then the human's master looks weak." She stepped closer, and I smelled something like smoke and frost. "I don't look weak, Mason. Understand?"

I nodded quickly.

"Good." She handed me a server's uniform—surprisingly well-fitted. "Stay within arm's reach at all times. Don't speak unless spoken to. And if anyone but me or Queen Aquila tries to touch you..."

"Run?"

"Scream." Her smile was cold. "I'll handle the rest."

The gathering was held in what used to be the city's grand opera house. Now it was a monument to vampire excess—dripping with salvaged luxury and the scent of blood.

Queen Aquila sat on a raised platform, looking pleased with herself. Queen Inferna occupied the opposite side, her flames casting dancing shadows.

And there, standing behind Inferna, was Julian.

He looked... terrible. Pale beyond natural, with dark circles under his eyes. His dancer's grace was gone, replaced by a trembling rigidity.

When our eyes met, the hatred in his gaze was volcanic.

I kept my expression neutral and followed Luna through the crowd.

"So this is your new pet, Shadow?" A male vampire with silver markings sneered. "Looks fragile."

"Looks are deceiving," Luna replied smoothly, not breaking stride.

I poured drinks, served blood-soaked delicacies, and tried not to think about what they were made of.

Then Julian appeared beside me when Luna was momentarily distracted.

"Enjoying yourself?" he hissed. "You think you're so clever, picking her?"

"I think I'm alive," I whispered back. "How's Queen Inferna treating you?"

His face twisted. "Better than you'll ever have it. Just wait. Soon—"

"Julian." Queen Inferna's voice boomed across the hall. "Come here."

He flinched but obeyed, and I watched him stumble toward her.

Luna reappeared at my side. "What did he say?"

"Nothing important. Just jealous ranting."

She studied me for a moment. "You're different from before. Calmer."

"Dying and coming back changes a person."

Her eyes widened slightly—understanding flickering there.

"You too?" she breathed.

I nodded minutely.

"Then you know," she continued quietly, "that this gathering is where—"

A scream cut through the room.

Julian had collapsed. Queen Inferna stood over him, looking annoyed.

"Weak," she pronounced. "I'll need a replacement soon."

Her burning gaze swept the room and landed on me.

"Shadow," Queen Inferna called out. "Lend me your human. I want to see if he's truly as strong as Julian claimed."

The room went silent.

Luna's hand moved to my shoulder—protective or possessive, I couldn't tell.

"With respect, Queen Inferna," Luna said carefully, "he's mine. And I don't lend my possessions."

The temperature rose. Flames licked at Inferna's frame.

"Are you refusing me, vice-commander?"

This was it. The test Luna warned me about.

Queen Aquila watched with interest but didn't intervene. This was about clan dynamics, not her.

Luna's grip on my shoulder tightened. "I'm stating a boundary, Your Majesty. Just as you would if I asked to borrow Julian."

The standoff stretched. Every vampire in the room held their breath.

Then Queen Inferna laughed—a sound like crackling fire.

"You've got spine, Shadow. I respect that." She turned away dismissively. "Keep your human. He wouldn't last anyway if he's friends with this disappointment."

She kicked Julian, who whimpered.

Relief flooded through me, but I kept still.

As the gathering continued, Luna leaned down and whispered, "We need to talk. Privately. About what we both know."

I nodded.

Because if she was also reborn, everything changed.

This wasn't just about survival anymore.

This was about revenge. About rewriting fate.

And maybe—just maybe—about settling that old rejection in a very different way.

"—bag instead. Trust me, you don't want that."

Not much harm done, but extremely insulting. Fortunately, my self-esteem had been worn down by the apocalypse long ago. If I had to be a servant, so be it.

However, before the end of the world, there were rumors at school that she seemed to have a soft spot for Julian. Later, after Queen Aquila died and her clan was absorbed, I heard that this vice-commander had the ability to escape alone, but got seriously injured trying to save Julian, and eventually fell.

I didn't understand before, but now that I knew this vice-commander was Luna, everything seemed to make sense.

Previously Julian followed Queen Aquila—she had no chance. Now Julian followed Queen Inferna—she had even less chance.

I thought her taste was really questionable, actually falling for a schemer like Julian. However, this might give me a reason to convince her to work together.

But Luna was extremely harsh with me now, her disgust evident as she treated me like a complete servant. I didn't dare get too friendly yet.

4

After Julian and I were chosen, there was one more male survivor left. Queen Aquila traded other spoils to get him.

His name was Derek, and like me, he'd learned combat. We were roommates in college. Without him in the survivor group, I probably would've been killed by that burden Julian long ago.

Actually, I had a selfish reason for choosing Vice-Commander Shadow. Given Queen Aquila's current strength over the other prince, if I followed the vice-commander, Queen Aquila would definitely want another human male. That way Derek and I could both stay in this clan and look out for each other.

In my previous life, he was assigned to the third faction and tortured to death within days, even becoming food after death. Whether for cooperation or old friendship, I wanted to save him once.

As for Julian, let him enjoy himself for now.

Once he got to Queen Inferna's territory, he'd have a hard time.

That queen was half a head taller than Queen Aquila, all powerful muscle. Sure, she looked strong, but that massive size difference could kill him.

Certain experiences would probably be more painful than so-called "childbirth."

And Queen Inferna retained very little humanity, with a brutal personality. How well could she treat him?

I didn't choose the third prince because that was "Venomfang," who absorbed Queen Aquila's forces in my previous life.

He awakened the ability to release paralyzing toxins, specialized in ambushes, sinister and ruthless. His strength wasn't actually top-tier, and he was later absorbed by other clans too.

Beyond this city, surrounding forces were deeply entrenched.

Well, mainly that guy's appearance was truly unbearable—a body of ominous dark green, like moving toxic moss, triangular head, small eyes, more beast than rational being.

In my previous life, Derek didn't last more than a few days under him, and Julian also suffered terribly when he fell into his hands later.

When we left, Prince Venomfang didn't say much, just swept his cold gaze over us with a sinister smile at the corner of his mouth.

He had no objections to the distribution of the few human males because he'd already planned to absorb other forces and take all the spoils for himself.

In my previous life, he succeeded, ambushing Queen Aquila's territory while Queen Inferna was out expanding. But this time, with me here, his plan would probably fail.

Though Queen Aquila was rough, she wasn't extremely evil, and her mind was relatively simple.

She desired to breed powerful offspring and needed quality blood sources, but in my previous life, her blood extraction from Julian was relatively controlled, not to the point of endangering his life. So as long as Derek didn't resist violently or anger her, he should be safe for now.

In this year-plus of apocalypse, we'd long abandoned meaningless dignity. Survival was what mattered most.

On Derek's side, he seemed to have lucked out and escaped disaster because of his poor condition. After transformation, Queen Aquila actually retained a trace of bizarre "gentlemanly" behavior.

I quietly told Derek that Vice-Commander Shadow was Luna. His expression immediately became quite spectacular.

He knew about the old grudge between Luna and me—I'd cursed her plenty in the dorm back then. We used to be senior and junior, but now it was the apocalypse. Even blood brothers might turn on each other, let alone mere acquaintances. In the end times, humanity had grown thin.

Then, in a speculative tone, I revealed that Prince Venomfang would likely ambush soon. When that happened, we might find a chance to escape. Derek worried we couldn't get away and hoped I could find a way to communicate with Luna.

So that night, I crept to Luna's bedside. Before I could speak, she pinned me to the bed like picking up a chicken.

After transforming into a vampire, she seemed to have become an agility-type warrior, moving fast as a ghost. I had no power to resist before her.

"What?" Her cold breath brushed my ear, playful. "Want to verify if we're 'compatible'?"