Chapter 29: Hold Me Closer

Mia's POV Hearing what Sol had gone through felt as though it made my heart bleed. It was tightening and expanding all at once in the very pit of my chest, and I found it hard to breathe. Suddenly, I was attacked with the image and feeling of all the lifetimes he must have gone through alone and all the pain that would have accompanied it. Sol. Sol. Sol. Precious and dear Sol who had wasted not a fleeting moment's thought to save me from that vampire, or that VHO officer, or to help Kaya from his own kind. He had offered both of us solace and escape and swore to protect us despite not having known us for less than half of his life. I felt my lips tremble as they touched his skin, and I knew if I were standing, my entire body would shake too. "Truly, honestly, and truly I am glad to have met you." I hoped he could feel the earnestness behind my words. "Thank you for surviving that moment and all the other moments that have followed." I heard a harsh intake of breath from him, and I onl