20 hours earlier...

Andromeda saw Levi cut through the trees and increase his speed to save Petra. Quickly, the vampiress led her horse to the scene, away from the few soldiers she was helping. She didn't like that the humans were falling prey to the titans one by one, her blood bags gradually decreasing. She needed to play heroine once more. And her priority is the male captain, Levi.

She remembered how his blood tasted. It was so much better than female virgin blood. It was the best blood she had drank for the 325 years of her long life and she would do anything to taste it again. Damn, she might get addicted to it. Why was Levi's blood different anyway? Why was it so delicious?

"Captain Levi!" Petra cried as she witnessed the captain fall from the cliff.

No!

Not the human with fragrant, scrumptious blood.

He cannot die. Warm blood only tasted good when the human was alive. Andromeda should rescue him, not let him perish. The vampiress dashed toward the falling human and jumped off the cliff with him. With all her supernatural strength, she hugged his frail body and used the branches of the trees to slow down their descent to the rocky ground below the ravine.

Still, the human ended up with bruises and a slice on his head. At least he was alive. That was the most important thing.

She placed the unconscious Levi under a tree and looked up at the cliff. It was too steep and smooth, too hard to climb even for someone like her. In her world, she could've transformed into a bat and carried her prey with her, but when she was thrown into this world, her powers were robbed from her. She could only hope the human woke up so that they could use his device to carry them back to the top of the cliff. There, they could find a horse that would take them back to the rest of the group.

Andromeda shook Levi to wake him up but he didn't rouse. Sound asleep, he seemed like a defenseless infant. How weak humans were.

This close to him, the fragrant scent of his blood from the wound on his head was carried by the wind straight to Andromeda's nostrils. She inhaled and then cursed. How could it be so... tempting? She needed to taste it again. Last night, when she licked Levi's wounded cheek, his wondrous taste swam on her tongue and traveled inside her body, warm and thick. She wasn't able to stop her fangs from showing. Immediately, she covered her mouth from his sight. Now, she wanted to feel that rush of delicious blood again straight from Levi's body into hers.

Just a lick.

A quick lick.

Andromeda gulped and then inched closer to the human. One beautiful finger dabbed at the new wound on the sleeping soldier's forehead and then she licked the blood. She groaned. The taste was just exceptional.

More.

She wanted more.

So she drank more.

She dragged her body closer to the soldier. Her mouth descended to Levi's bleeding wound and then she sucked it. She wanted to drink until she was satisfied, but would she ever be?

With another guttural groan, she pulled herself away from the soldier. No more. She shouldn't bleed him dry. He must live, and recover, and then she'd have a taste of his blood again. Today, she had drunk enough.

Andromeda licked her lips. Her eyes were red and wide. Her veins were throbbing. She was aching for more. Her fangs hung long in her mouth and she was breathing fast, need pulsing inside her. Levi's blood awakened something primal within her. Yes, she was a predator and she longed to completely conquer her prey.

She needed more blood.

Not Levi's blood.

She wanted it, yes, but she could not have it anymore.

A rustle from the nearby bushes. Something was there. What? Another human? Good. She needed another blood bag.

Andromeda stood up and silently walked to where the noise came from. She crouched, parted the leaves, and discovered a deer munching on a leaf. Her bloodlust heightened, she heard the pulse of the deer's beating heart and the rush of blood within its small veins.

It'd do.

With her supernatural speed, she ran toward the deer, grabbed it with both her pale hands, and sank her teeth into its neck. The animal cried but Andromeda ignored it. She needed blood so she would have it. The deer thrashed and whined. The vampiress held on to it strongly. In a couple of minutes, it stopped moving and it slumped to the ground. It was dead and bled dry.

Andromeda inhaled. That was a nice meal. But now she was dirty. Blood and mud stained her body and clothes. She thought a long bath would be nice. She remembered her days in Aurum. After a day of hunting, her servants would prepare a warm bath for her. Her tub would be filled with oils and petals of roses. How she missed those times.

In this ugly world, no one would prepare a luxurious bath for her. Here, she wasn't a princess. But there was still the river. Though cold, it would wash away her dirt. She clicked her tongue. She didn't have a choice.

As she was about to take her clothes off and take a dip in the body of water, she heard loud thuds nearby.

Oh, damn.

A titan.

And it wasn't alone.

Three large human-like creatures appeared from the trees near the sleeping Levi.

Not my prey, you ugly monsters.

Andromeda flipped her shiny, beautiful hair and then ran toward the giants' location. She clawed at their feet, climbed them, and killed them instantly. She breathed in and out, realizing that she couldn't relax as the human slept. She needed to protect him from these darn titans.

And that's what she did. With her as a guard, no titan was able to get a foot near the soldier. After killing them, the giants' carcasses quickly dissolved into wisps of smoke.

Hours went by and, at last, the sky darkened. Suddenly, for a long while, no titan appeared near them. Curious. Maybe the creatures were still during the night. Good. Now she could relax and finally bathe in peace.

Andromeda waited for a couple of hours more and when she was sure that no hideous giant was getting near her and her slumbering prey, she shed off her dirty clothing and entered the cold body of the clear river.

Paradise...

The water instantly cleaned her skin and loosened her tight muscles. So, there were nice things here in this cursed world, too. She dipped her head in the water and then came back up again. Looking up at the silver full moon, she thought about her castle. If that snake Proteus hadn't betrayed her, she would've been Queen by now.

Damn.

She felt someone's gaze upon her. Turning, she saw the human soldier, Levi, sitting upright and staring at her--at her freaking naked body. Suddenly embarrassed, the vampiress instantly hid her nakedness in the water. "You're awake," she stated the obvious.

"What happened?" was his reply. He touched his head and Andromeda remembered how delicious he tasted as she sucked his bloody wound.

"We fell on the cliff. Both of us. We need to get back up and continue north. Maybe there's still a horse nearby." She swam back to land. "Turn around."

"Huh?"

"Turn around, soldier. I'll put my clothes on." Through the dark, she saw understanding light in Levi's eyes and then he obeyed her, turning his back at her. Unfortunately, no one was here to wash Andromeda's clothes so they were still dirty. No matter. She would just change clothes again once they reached the nearest town. Levi was awake and the titans weren't chasing her prey actively. She was feeling optimistic. The two of them would reach civilization soon.

"Hoi, why are there no titans?" She heard the human ask.

"I don't know," she answered. "Perhaps they are sleeping? It's nighttime, after all. You've slept for almost a day, by the way." The vampiress dusted her clothes and went closer to Levi. "Come on. We'll use your device to climb the cliff and then we'll find a horse."

For a while, the human inspected the device and mumbled, "It's fine. Just malfunctioned earlier." Then, to Andromeda he said, "It'll be faster and safer to move through the trees using the gear. After that, we'll find a horse." He looked around once more. "I can't believe we haven't been chewed to death by now."

"I told you, those hideous titans might be in slumber."

"During the night? Four-eyes will be shitting herself when she learned about that." He stood up. "How about before nightfall?"

Andromeda was prepared to answer his question. "I've been moving you around for hours. And killed one. A soldier I didn't know was with us and killed the rest. Unfortunately, the number of the titans was too much for him. Defending us took his life."

"That blood on your clothes? That his?"

"Yes." The vampiress touched her dirtied clothes, acting sad. "He will always be remembered."

"Of course. Do you remember his name?"

"I didn't ask. But he has long blond hair and blue eyes." Andromeda yelped when Levi's arm encircled her waist and he held her close to him. "What are you doing, soldier?"

"I'm carrying you now. Better to move fast. With my gear, we'll reach the end of the forest quickly." His brows were furrowed and he looked grim.

Andromeda knew why. "We'll find a horse and we'll reunite with your group," she assured him as he used the gear to lift them both.

They flew through the trees and the vampiress missed transforming into a vampire bat. An old memory assailed her thoughts: she was a child learning how to transform. In one corner of the Cruor Castle's vast backyard, her father patiently taught her about the magic.

And then, her mother appeared, taking her hand and whisking her away. "You stay away from him, Andromeda. Stay away from him," she repeatedly told her young daughter.

Less than a year after that, the vampire princess' mother killed herself and then her father introduced Andromeda and three of her brothers to a woman, whose face was eternally covered by thick makeup, and twin girls her father called her half-sisters.

Just like that, the King had her new Queen.

Less than twenty years after that, he'd have three concubines and six more new princes and princesses.

As the years went by, the old King continued to increase his harem and sire more children. He was soon known as the vampire King with the most wives and offspring in Aurum's history. Much to Andromeda's distaste. How she thirst to kill all of her siblings and solely bask in the riches of her kingdom's throne. She longed to drown in its power and drink blood after blood of her prey.

"We're near." Levi suddenly said and Andromeda realized they were by the end of the forest. A clearing was before them. But without a horse, it would take a whole day to reach the "wall." That wouldn't be good. There would be titans by daybreak and it would be hard to defend Levi from a horde of them.

The soldier placed her on the ground. Then, he used his fingers to whistle, hoping for a horse to come to their aid. Andromeda touched his arm and told him to stop.

"What? Are you crazy?"

"Let me." She inhaled deeply. And then she started to sing. The sound was loud but was pleasant. Very pleasant. Like an enchantress singing inside the woods, she once heard a human say about a vampire's way of summoning a horse.

Levi stared at her. He didn't move and he barely breathed. Yes. He was enchanted.

Soon, the sound of hooves hitting the ground echoed across the clearing. Two strong, wonderful horses galloped to where they stood. Levi immediately grabbed the brown stallion and rode upon its back. Andromeda was left with the white mare with black hair. It was so much like her own horse back in Aurum. She patted it and rode it too.

"What the hell are you?" Brows knitted together, Levi stared at her as he sat upon his new horse.

Andromeda's response was to smile and say, "I'm someone who's going to be Queen."

"What the hell does that fucking mean?" He looked at the horizon. It was still dark but the sky was slowly becoming blue. "It'll be less than an hour before the sun rises. We'll run north!" shouted the soldier as he guided his horse.

Andromeda ran after him, like how she ran toward the deer earlier the day before.