Read Eversong (Midnight Playground) for Free Online Page A

Xavier asked, gesturing to the empty space on the couch beside him.
    Ever nodded, sat down next to his old friend.
    Pull yourself together.
    He took a slow sip of his wine. “You know why you’ve been called here,” he said, his glance darting from one flawless vampire to the next, saw their nods of assent. “We cannot allow this sort of behavior from one of our own. These rogues will topple our fragile hold on society.”
    “We must not give mortals any greater reason to fear us,” Ramsey interjected.
    “Do you not think it is good they fear us?” Chiara asked, a gleam in her dark eyes.
    She was known for her merciless nature. He understood that even among the vampires, a female must show her strength more outwardly to gain respect. And Chiara gloried in it. He had to admit it was part of her attraction for him. It had been, anyway.
    “I believe there is a balance,” Ever answered. “They must fear us enough to leave us alone to do as we wish. But if the fear becomes too great, they will rebel against us as they have their own governments.”
    “We are not easily taken down.” Storm’s deep voice echoed with the centuries of his existence. His green eyes were like cut glass, his cheekbones just as sharp. “But I agree with you, Ever. We cannot allow things to get out of control. I don’t like these rogues. I don’t like their primitive makeup.”
    “I prefer to think of myself as more…sophisticated,” Aleron remarked, his fingers twining around the stem of his wineglass. “Whether it is in my self-control, or my…finer desires.”
    “Yes, exactly.” Ever sipped from his own glass as images of Mercy’s lush and naked body filtered through his mind. Mercy and Deo, the two of them a contrast in hard and soft, fair and dark. Naked flesh and smooth skin. Her flowing red and gold hair, the sweet beauty of their faces like some shimmering mirage at the edges of his vision. He was hard for them both. But he had to concentrate. He refocused the lust raging in his system, channeling it into the task at hand. Along with the lust was something else…something more. A fierce protectiveness for this rare, young pair. His fingers curled into fists. “We must hunt this Gaius down. And dispose of him.”
    “We don’t know how old he is. How powerful,” Ramsey said.
    Ever nodded. “He is but one vampire. We are many. I don’t doubt that he can be dealt with, should we find him.”
    “We will find him,” Ramsey answered, his low tone dangerous, his green gaze like a pair of sharp-edged peridots. “I hate that he is in my country, my jurisdiction, so to speak. I will not allow it. I will not allow him to wander. Killing at random. Turning so irresponsibly the way he did Mercy.”
    Mercy. Another shaft of desire struck Ever like a blow to the chest simply hearing her name spoken aloud. He sucked in a breath.
    “And what of this Mercy? What of her companion, Deo?” Chiara asked.
    “She is innocent,” Ever said. “She had no idea what she was doing in Turning him.”
    “You are saying she should suffer no consequences for her actions?” Chiara’s dark eyes glittered with barely banked animosity. “She broke the rules.”
    “Rules she was not aware of. Rules we made. We can choose to govern their effect,” Ever answered, a rage growing in his chest. “I promised her she would not be made to pay for actions that were beyond her control. She had no way of knowing.” He leaned toward the female vampire, his teeth bared. “I will not allow it, Chiara. Do you hear me?”
    Xavier laid a hand on Ever’s arm, but he shook him off.
    “Ever,” the old French vampire said gently. “Calm yourself. I agree with you. The girl did not know the consequences of her actions. How could she? I do not hold her responsible but this rogue Gaius. And Deo is even more innocent of any wrongdoing than she is.”
    “I feel the same, as you know already,” Aleron put in.
    Ever’s gaze moved from one unearthly figure to