Chronicles of the Uprising (Trilogy 1): Trilogy 1 by Katie Salidas, K.A. Salidas

lips gave his entire face an impish quality. He might be an attractive man, if Mira were attracted to humans. But that was a moot point. He was her Patron, and she’d have to do whatever it was he wanted of her, attraction or no.
    “She’s a skilled warrior, sir,” one of the handlers replied. “Quite dangerous.”
    “She knows what’s good for her. This little treat will not harm me,” her Patron replied.
    Mira sneered at the way he called her a treat. Like she was some little plaything, no more real than a doll. Of course, that was probably closer to the truth now than anything else, dressed up as she was. She’d been giftwrapped for him like some present for New Year Jubilee.
    “I’ll leave my guards at your door. Call if you need anything,” Olivia replied and bowed low, respectfully, to her Regent.
    “You’ll hear from me when I need you.” He reached out, grasping Mira by the arm in the same way he’d done the previous day, and pulled her into his room.
    The automatic door shut behind her with a soft click.
    The Regent released her and walked further into the suite. “Come. Mira, right?”
    He damn well knew her name, why was he playing?
    “Sit, relax. Please.” He indicated to a plush couch in the center of the room. “Would you care for refreshment?”
    “What is your game?” Mira had no patience for pleasantries.
    “I thought we could continue our chat from yesterday, with a little more privacy.” The Regent unbuttoned the jacket of his purple suit and laid it carefully on the arm of the couch.
    The thought of what was sure to come curled Mira’s lips. She tried to hide it, remembering what her Owner had warned, but couldn’t quite cloak the contempt in her voice. “Why? What do you want from me? Why are you playing nice?”
    “Easy now, Mira.” He held his hands out as if to emphasize the calm in his voice. “I want nothing from you but a chat. You’re a curiosity. I want to know more about you.”
    “Why, so you can exploit me and my kind later?”
    “So I can understand.” Impatience began to overtake his congenial tone.
    “Understand what?”
    “To get right to the point, then: I want to know how a blood savage can show so much humanity.”
    “Humanity?” Mira laughed at the word. “Humans are the savages. Look at how you treat my kind.”
    “Kill or be killed, Mira. Survival…”
    Forgetting for a moment that she was supposed to keep her Patron happy, Mira yelled, “Don’t feed me that bullshit.” Almost shaking with rage, she stopped herself from advancing on him and doing something she might regret. “My kind are no more murderous than yours, and yet we’re the ones behind bars, tortured, forced to perform like dancing monkeys. Forced to kill our own kind… at your command!”
    Seemingly unfazed by her emotional outburst, he responded, “You drink blood…”
    “Yes. Because that’s the only thing we can stomach. What’s your excuse for spilling so much?”
    “We’re getting off on the wrong foot here. Let’s calm down.” He set himself down smoothly onto the end of the couch. “This is exactly why I wanted you here. I feel as if I may be misinformed about many things, especially your… species. I would like the opportunity to know more. To understand. Please…” He patted the spot next to him. “Enlighten me.”
    Wary of what his true motives were, Mira had no choice but to indulge his questions. She had to play the game, as George had so often told her. Walking to the couch to take her seat, Mira glanced around, noting all of the windows and doors in the room. What few there were. The suite itself, though opulent, was cozy. The sitting room appeared to make up the bulk of it. A small door off to her left must have been the bedroom area, as she saw no other door except for the one through which she’d entered.
    A smallish curtained window sat above a computer-generated fireplace. Hardly big enough to afford a decent view, it didn’t appear to open,