Unseen (The Heights, Vol. 1) (45 page)

“I should go,” she said to herself
and
to him.

“Get rid of that horrible apartment is what
you
should
do. Get back into bed is what you
must
do.”

She slid out of bed and got dressed. This
wasn’t going to go well but, as much as she dreaded the
conversation, she owed him an explanation. All she could hope for
was that he didn’t kill anyone after she left.

Once she was fully clothed, she sat next to
him. His eyes were still closed, peace and contentment in the curl
of his lips. She couldn’t wait until nighttime. It had to be now.
So that if he refused to let her go, she’d have ten hours of
sunlight to run away. Not that she had anywhere to run.

“Rhy—”

Only his arm moved. It flew out, wrapped
around her, and hauled her down to him before she’d finished saying
his name. Then his whole body moved—right onto hers. She pushed his
chest, knowing it was the last time she would feel his strength
covering and protecting her.

“Rhyse, stop!”

“I am unfamiliar with that word and will
therefore ignore it.” He pulled back a bit more, his brow furrowed.
“Was I too rough with you last night, my love?”

“No. It was…perfect.” And she would remember
it forever. “But—Can you get off me, please?”

“What upsets you?” He rolled to his side,
pulling her along with him as if he was physically unable to let go
of her. “Is it a human issue?”

“Kind of.” She scooted back and took a deep
breath. “I can’t stay with you anymore. I don’t mean here or my
apartment. I mean, we need to break up.”

He was completely still, and she realized he
probably didn’t know the expression. Who the hell breaks up with a
vampire? “It means—”

“I know what it means.” His voice was low,
guttural, from deep in his chest.

Fear pooled in her gut, tightening it. She’d
never been afraid of him before, not like this. Not even when he
was strapped to her bed and she thought he was going to eat
her.

She didn’t move—if he wanted to catch her,
she’d be caught. He would probably break her neck, so she wouldn’t
bleed on him. Or he could suffocate her with a pillow. Or strangle
her.

Am I actually thinking about this?
Making a list of different ways he could safely kill her.
Damn
it
. Were the same things going through his mind?

“I want to…I am without words.” He paused.
Since there’d been enough time to come up with some a second ago,
he probably
was
planning her death then. “What have I done
to displease you?” He looked so lost, so confused. An immortal
being, the king of his people, the leader of the races, brought to
his knees because he thought she was rejecting him.

“You haven’t done anything wrong. You’ve been
amazing.”

“And yet you wish to leave me,” he said
flatly.

“I don’t
wish
to leave you. I
have
to leave you. Because…”
Just tell him.
He’d find
out soon enough—maybe not about her part in it, but he’d know
something
was happening. “The system is—”

“You wish to leave me because of your
involvement in the Rising?”

“You know about the Rising?” She’d told him
in the witches’ barn, but thought he was too charcoal-ish to really
be listening.

“Of course.”

“Does everyone but me know about the stupid
thing?”

“Evidently.”

Stupid fucking oracles should keep their
mouths shut. Then nobody would know about her—including her—and
nobody would have expectations of her—including her.

“So you know I’m involved,” she said.

“Of course.”

“And you’re still sleeping with me.”

“I see no reason to give up something we both
enjoy tremendously simply because of a prophesized war.” When she
pushed against his chest, he caught her hands and held them over
his heart.

“We’re on opposite sides! You’re my enemy!
I’m
literally
sleeping with the enemy.”

He brushed a lock of hair off her cheek. “Do
you know how long there has been war?”

“Since the dawn of man.”

He shook his head. “Since the dawn of
men
. Although, in reality, since the dawn of sentient
beings. But there is no war if there is only one side.”

“Things can’t continue like this. Seers can’t
be slaves anymore.”

“Seers have prevented the killing of
millions. Without them, our world does not function. Without the
Treaty, supernatural beings would have continued to decimate the
human population and create more predators. The system provides
balance, for the good of both worlds.”

“There has to be another way, a different
way.”

“I am not new to this struggle, Addison, nor
have I ever liked it.” His fingers threaded through her hair so
delicately, so carefully. “It is why I choose not visit the houses
or take human lovers, but without the system, so many more will
die.”

“What if
you
made the supers stop?
Write another treaty that gives seers more rights?”

“The Treaty holds a tremendous amount of
power. It protects the fragile balance between races—a set of laws
and requirements we dare not defy. Because of what I learned from
you, I will do what I am able, but there is much that cannot be
changed. Multiple races of beings, each with their own needs,
desires, cultures, and leadership under mine. Yet my rule over them
is nothing. A farce. If I move one pillar,
everything
will
fall. I can no more create the change you desire than you can. I
know you wish not to hear that, but it is true. Your Rising may end
the lives of many higher beings, but it will not give the seers
freedom, nor will it be quick. It will be slow and painful for
all.”

“I have to try.”

“I understand that. Your heart is good, pure,
therefore you should follow it.” He kissed her forehead and spoke
with his lips still against her skin. “I want that for you. But
what I want most
is
you.”

She tried to get away but was stopped by his
grip on her arms. “I can’t organize an army if they know I’m
fucking you every night. No one will trust me.”

“
I
will trust you. Forever.”

“Don’t, Rhyse. Please.” Tears tickled her
cheeks and temple as they fell. “Don’t say stuff like that, or I
won’t be able to do this.”

“I do not want you to do this.”

“I don’t have a choice.” Her voice was so
weak, she wasn’t even sure she’d spoken aloud.

After another moment, he nodded and released
her slowly, as if it took all the power he had just to relax each
muscle in turn. She slid off the bed and grabbed her stuff in
silence, her hiccupping breath the only sound.

Can’t say goodbye. Can’t say it
. She
hoped he wouldn’t say it either, because the word would make this
too real. Too permanent. Too awful. She could walk away if he
didn’t say goodbye.

“Addison?” he called from the bed.

Please don’t.
“I don’t need a ride.
I’ll go the old-fashioned way.” A long, frigid walk down a mountain
would give her time to think, to figure out what to do and where to
start. Because right now, she had no idea—her mind hadn’t been able
to get past this moment.

“Before you go,” he said, “I wish to tell you
three things.”

She didn’t turn around.

“First, the most important thing you can
offer your people is hope. It is your gift and your greatest
strength. But never promise them an end to this war or a solution
without compromise. You will lose their trust. They will look to
you for strength, Addison. They will look to you as an ideal, so
never make promises and never lie. And do not repeat the mistake I
made—do not believe those who revere you, who treat you like a god
or tell you that you are perfect. For
no
being is
perfect.”

She heard the rustling of sheets and
suddenly, more than anything in the world, she wanted to feel his
body pressed to hers. To tell her she was forbidden to leave, that
he would never let her go. But there was no other sound, no warmth
at her back, no lips brushing her ear.

“Second”—his voice was softer than she’d ever
heard it, a caress that carried itself across the room to where she
stood—“we will never be enemies, you and I. Never. Even though I am
not near you, I will protect you the best I am able.”

He paused. “And third, this is not the end of
us—it is merely an intermission. Wherever I am, I will be waiting
for you to return. Whether you come back for forever or for just
one night, I will welcome you home. Because while no
being
is perfect,
we
are. What we have together
is
perfect,
and I will never believe otherwise.”

She wanted to believe she could have
everything she wanted, to find a way back to him. Someday. Because
she’d not only found the place she belonged, she’d found two. But
they were on opposite sides of the wall.

“You must be as strong as I know you to be,
Addison.” He swallowed harshly. “And do not bleed on anyone.”

Addison turned towards him, saw the pain on
his face, the red-tinged moisture in his eyes. Just like she’d seen
in her vision. It tore a whimper she hadn’t wanted to release out
of her.

“I’m sorry, Rhyse.”

“No more than I.” He looked away, shaking his
head slightly. “Now fuck off if you are really going to. Do not
prolong this.”

She laughed—a short, tight chuckle aimed
towards the cruelty of life. She should go. Say the goodbye that
refused to be said and then walk out his door.

Instead of goodbye, she said, “I love
you.”

“And I you, Addison.” His eyes met hers,
trust and love radiating from him despite what she was doing and
the hurt she was causing both of them. “I will see you soon.”

~ ~ ~

The pain he felt watching her walk out the
door was beyond anything Rhyse had ever experienced before. Beyond
the stake in his chest or the sun on his flesh. It was one thing to
have known the possibility existed, but quite another to live
it.

He was wrong before—he hadn’t experienced
everything. A centuries-old belief proven wrong when he’d fallen in
love, and then again, right now. For he’d never felt heartbreak,
the loss of something so much more vital than sustenance, shelter,
and strength, something that would never be within his power to
control.

He would remain the Prime, and he would
protect her from his people. He almost wept at the irony—within the
blood Rhyse had given her, he’d imbued his strength and confidence,
so she would be strong enough for what her life was now.

But with that, he’d made her strong enough to
lead the seers.

Strong enough to leave
him
.

Although, in truth, his blood was only the
spark, igniting the fire that had always been inside her, part of
her spirit, her soul, her being. And in return, she’d used that
fire to give him a gift. Far beyond what a few drops of her blood
were capable of, she had changed him, loved him, given him more
than he could ever give her.

“I will see you soon.”

Because, between the two of them, they would
change their entire world.

~ merely an intermission ~

Thank you for
reading!
If you enjoyed
Unseen
, please consider
leaving a review. Each review helps get the novel in front of other
potential readers and is
greatly
appreciated. Seriously, for unknown authors such
as myself, there is no greater gift than when you leave a review or
tell a friend about our book. Well, okay, there might be a few
greater gifts (convertibles, trips to Vegas, pool boys, etc.), but
reviews and telling your friends about the book are right up
there.

The Heights, Volume 2

Coming Late 2014

Davyn would risk his eternity for someone he
shouldn’t want, but can he let her do the same?

Unearthed
will continue Addison and Rhyse’s story, as well
as others’, but its focus will be on Davyn and the woman he can
never have. Because demons are forbidden to lay with humans for a
very, very good reason.

Lauren Stewart lives in Northern California with two of the
most amazing children that the world has ever seen. She reads
almost every genre so, naturally, her writing reflects that. With
every book, every story, you'll find elements of other
genres—fantasy, mystery, romance, paranormal, suspense, YA, women's
literature, all with a touch of humor because what doesn't kill us
should make us laugh.

She loves to hear from readers, so don’t be
shy.

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