The Blood Legacy (The Lost Heir Book III)

A Special Guest

So, Isabella walked out of the car, and decided to stay away from him from that minute on.

Seth wasn't going to listen to her about it or try to figure out if what she was saying had merit. He was just going to push it away and pretend it did not exist. She wished she had that skill. Her eyes drank in the sight of him moving around the gym. He was strong and powerful where she was fast and adept. She knew how to out-think her opponents.

"What are you doing here so early?" she asked him.

"What's it look like?" he said, continuing his fast strokes and twists.

She loved the way his muscles flex and moved as he artfully took the training her brother had given him to his own heights and depths. When he paused, chest heaving and looked at her, she finally said, "Listen, I'm sorry I've been avoiding you."

"Don't worry about it," he said, lips thin.

"I'm not trying to be mean, I just think it's for the best."

"Fine."

Seth went back to working out then he stopped and threw up a shield. It was a nearly transparent barrier that would have covered about three people in combat. Seth's goal was to be able to cover the entire cohort at once but not just in one position but from anywhere they were standing within a reasonable distance. He also wanted to strengthen his fighting ability. Isabella's goal wasn't much different, but it was more about control. She felt her emotions had been so wild for so long that learning how to balance them would be best. Her focus was to learn to concentrate the feelings she picked up from others into her own power and strength.

"Want to go a round?" she heard herself asking, not really sure why she'd said it. Seth did not like sparring with her. "Looks like Colin's running late."

"I was just leaving," Seth said curtly.

"Come on," she said, watching his straight back. He wouldn't look at her. "It'll be fun."

Seth stared at her, his hazel eyes turning her insides turn to goo. She'd been avoiding him for what reason, again? "I can't," he said finally. He held her gaze a while longer. "Izzy, I want us to be together, but if you don't want that, I'm not gonna beg any more. All right?"

Isabella nodded, her heart hot with sadness. He picked up his workout bag and brushed past her as Colin appeared in the room.

"You okay, kid?" asked the tall, copper-skinned man.

"Never better," Seth said and then he was gone.

"For what it's worth, I think you're doing the right thing, Isabella," said her half-brother, putting his own gear down before moving into the workout space where Isabella stood.

"Am I?" she asked, still watching the vacant spot Seth had just left.

"Guardians and their diadems should not enter into romance," Colin said, startling Isabella with the boom of his voice. "It's not safe. It's better to keep your focus."

"Why isn't it safe?" she asked him as he came to the center of the workout space and began his stretches. Isabella followed suit.

"It just isn't."

"The book says that we're bonded, but I don't want to be with someone who's just bonded to me for a reason like that."

"The plane of love is different than the cohort plane. It's a different level of consciousness."

"Yeah, but how do I know if his feelings are on that plane or on the cohort level?" she asked as they faced each other, ready for their first round of sparring as student and master.