If Kaiden can kill his master, he can become a vampire lord in his own right, beholden to no one and free of a thrall's overpowering bloodlust. Or at least Johann says so. To kill his master, Kaiden will have to learn how to fight against a powerful vampire lord who's preyed on the countryside of Kaiden's old home for centuries. The tools of the vampire hunters are weak, and the holy magic of the fallen empire has long faded. But the true problem is Kaiden's own nature. If a thrall drinks human blood, they become mindless killers. Kaiden can survive on animal blood, but his hunger for humans is always there. And Johann, handsome and kind, is especially tempting. If Kaiden can resist his own bloodlust, he can live as he chooses and be a beacon of hope for a civilization fallen to vampires. If he fails, he will fall to the fangs of his master or to the stake of the man he's learning to love. This book was previously published.