Mia's POVSol had eventually gone to rest for the day after a lengthy discussion of who and what we would be seeing at his father's meeting the next night. We had agreed on calling Serin to come with us as a backup.I had pondered for a short while after about the man his father was and what it would be like to meet the man responsible for the creature Sol Montgomery. I would be lying to myself if I said the thought of such a man didn't daunt me.Sol was a 366-year-old pureblooded vampire. His father would no doubt be at least twice his age and much, much stronger both in presence and esteem. I went to sleep with the thought of other vampires within the society.I had been lucky enough to have met Sol when I did, but I knew all too well the type of vampires that stalked the levels of the vampire society. Even worse, I knew who those vampires answered to.I was awoken the next night shakily by the soft wind blowing in from the open windows. The place behind me where Sol had be

Mia's POVThe banquet continued as most things regarding purebloods do. They were long and tediously. "How long do these things go on for?" I whispered to Serin as a yawn escaped my mouth. "They do know that they cannot stay out while the sun is up, right?" Serin let out a chuckle and tilted his head to the side as he regarded many of the people who stumbled out of the building and into the gardens to do God knows what. "I sometimes think they forget that little fact about themselves."The two of us watched as two particularly clumsy men both bumped into each other. The scene continued as both demanded an apology from the other and then began fighting in front of the large fountain in the middle of the garden.Guards had to eventually come and break the two apart. "Well," I said with a shrug, "I suppose it wouldn't be too sad if some of them forgot and wandered out into the day.""I hear that." Serin clinked his glass against mine and took another deep gulp. A deep

Mia's POV"No." I laughed. I was surprised at myself at how honest the answer was. I actually found myself enjoying Kyrin's presence rather than hating it. Maybe it was because he was half-blood like me. "I am actually enjoying the present company.""Is that so?" He raised his eyebrow as he stared at me. I nodded up to him. Kyrin was much taller than I was, although not as tall as Sol or Serin. I watched him as his eyes lifted from my face for a moment and he focused on something behind me.Before I could look in that direction, he gently pulled on my arm back outside and around the house back into the gardens again. Confused, I asked him, "Where are we going?"He shrugged back at me as he pulled me in deeper. "Thought I'd stay out here with you and bask in the air. It's better than being inside there with those boring purebloods, isn't it?"I nodded my head. I had to agree with him on that. If there was anything I despised more, it was the great pompousness and holier-than-t

Mia's POVI watched with bated breath as Sol straightened his back and his father, Wrenan Montgomery, walked up to us. A long black cane was beside him as he gave the rouse of an elderly man. But I knew differently. I allowed myself to tap into ever so slightly the vampiric side of myself. Through that, I could sense the raw power that the man before me possessed. He was old, very old. I had thought he was at least twice the age of Sol, but something told me he was much, much older than that."Son," he greeted as he walked up the stairs toward us. "I see you have brought home your little pet." Wrenan, to my dismay, came to stand directly in front of me as he regarded my presence.I knew he could smell the blood pumping in my heart. The flare of his nostrils and wide-open eyes told me as much. Sol didn't so much as shift on his feet. I knew how hard this situation must have been for him."Dad, this is Mia Rivera." He introduced us again for the second time that night. I force

Mia's POVAngry tears filled my vision as I turned around from the group of Sol and the two women in the living room. I made my way down the familiar passages and halls Sol had just brought me through earlier. The door to the outside thankfully led right into the garden we had been in earlier, and I found myself walking until I eventually broke down. The tears that came from me were not caused by the woman's harsh words—they were hot and angry.I was livid over something, but I wasn't sure what it was. The entire night had quickly turned out to be too much for me, from the scenes at the banquette to the blatant prejudice and racism from the tall black-haired woman I had only just met.Who was she to say such things to me? She didn't even know me. How could she dare say something like that?A part of me realized that she didn't even need a reason to spit those words at me the way she did.The crunching of leaves and twigs behind me alerted me to a presence in the garden wit