The Blood Legacy (The Lost Heir Book III)

A Little Help, Please?

Unfortunately, finding Seth wasn't as easy as Isabella expected. Ponytail in place, makeup as always light and clothes comfortable but stylish, Isabella strode through the lobby with Lana. "Where is he?" Isabella called him several times, no answer. They looked in the training room. They tried the apartment suite his family occupied first but were met only with a grumpy Micah fiddling with a home built mini-robot looking like he hadn't slept in days. "He's never home in the afternoon. You should know that, Iz," said Micah.

Isabella sighed. "I don't know what I know anymore. Thanks, Micah." She turned to go but stopped when she heard Lana say --

"You wanna come to movie night later on, Micah? You look like you could use it."

Isabella turned to see Micah blinking as if something stung his eyes. "Uh, sure!"

Isabella looked between the two of them. "For girls' night?" Not that Isabella had remembered. She'd been too pre-occupied with everything.

"Oh, it's okay, then, Isabella." Damn. That was kind of mean. She really wanted to find Seth, but Micah didn't deserve her attitude.

"I'm sorry, Micah. Of course, you can come. I'm just distracted."

"It's fine, Iz. We hang out all the time with the co—" He looked at Lana, who was looking away.

"I can have Theophilus set up a private show and all of us can watch a movie there, then we can go upstairs for our sleepover. It'd have to be in the smaller screening room though. The big theater will be open tomorrow night."

"That actually sounds kinda fun. Can I invite Xander and Seth?"

"If we ever find him," said Isabella.

"What do you need him so badly for anyway? I thought you two broke up. Or stopped pretending not to see each other when you were really seeing each other or whatever that was," said Micah.

"It's nothing to do with that."

Micah eyed Isabella suspiciously. "You know I only half-believe you, right?"

"That's probably because it's half-true," Isabella sighed. Her eyes slipped shut and a warm buzzing enveloped her skin. Her mind cleared until a picture bloomed inside of it. Wow. That had never happened before. She hadn't seen Seth, but the room he was in had just made itself known to her. "Uh, I know where he is. Lana, I'll just see you later. I think I want to talk to him on my own."

Lana followed Isabella down the hallway of the fourth level where Seth and Micah's family suite. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

Reluctantly Lana gave in once Isabella mentioned that the entire brew scenario might be over with if they found Seth and moved forward with a plan.

What plan? Lana had inquired, but Isabella had shooed her away telling her they were wasting time.

The fact was Isabella still didn't have a strategy, she only had a hunch that she should head to the lower level to the Speakeasy room. She still didn't trust her feelings, but she felt compelled to look for him there as if he was a candle leading a path to her in the light. Once she found him there she would fill him on the day's events; they would devise their next move and meet back up with Lana.

If only things turned out the way, she wanted them.

Her heart lightened when she heard a muffled voice upon approaching the door. Was it her imagination or did her gifts guide her this time? Elation set in when she recognized it as Seth's voice echoing off the walls, mixing with sounds of one of her favorite song from the 1990's decade. How many times had he come down here to practice to avoid her in the training center?

Pausing before turning the handle she reprimanded herself quietly, "Leave you and him out of this Isabella; we've got much bigger problems to deal with right now."

Without knocking she entered the library that was from another era, her lips ready to apologize for interrupting his training but the words lodged in her throat when her eyes drank in the scene before her.

The sofas were pushed to the side, leaving the worn, bare wooden floor exposed. The tables with their lamps with stained-glass shades had also been moved to allow more room for the space required for Capoeira. Neither of these things was shocking. The fact that he wasn't alone, however, was another matter entirely.

"Izzy!" Cleo squealed, frozen in a stance which she quickly abandoned to turn down the radio before running to her.

"Cleo," Isabella greeted back. She had tried to be cheerful, but her voice fell flat. The disappointment must have been evident as Seth returned the same unenthusiastic salutation towards her.

"Isabella."

"Seth," she replied with the same coolness.

"Did you need something?"

His curt tone, although not unusual as of late, took her off guard. "I-I, well, actually I would prefer to talk to you alone. No offense, Cleo," Isabella addressed her friend who threw up her hands and took a step backward.

"Come on; I'm sure that it's nothing terribly private. What do you need?"

"Actually, it is," Isabella retorted, annoyed at what he implied. Why was he so difficult?

Seth sighed, nodding towards Cleo who retreated to the other side of the room as he approached Isabella.

"What is she your new best friend?" Isabella couldn't help to quip, irked that Cleo's withdrawal required Seth's dismissal.

"Don't be ridiculous, what else would be going on?"

"I don't know, why don't you tell me?" Isabella countered.

Seth made a noise of disgust, looking away before his gaze returned to her, "Are you serious right now? Is this why you came down here to see what I was doing and who I was with?"

"No! I-I don't care where you are or who you are with. I wanted to – to-," Isabella tried to keep her emotions out of the conversation but his sharp words implying she was sneaking around following him, spying on him rattled her from the inside out. How dare he say something like that?

"To what Isabella? What was so important in your world that you had to come in here and break up my training with your friend?"

"You know what, Seth? Forget it, I'll figure it out myself," Isabella mumbled, turning to leave as tears sprung to her eyes, "I don't need your help with anything."

"Let me know if you change your mind," Seth called after her, but she didn't hear him as she had already bolted up the stairs, cursing the hot tears that spilled down her cheeks against her will.

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