Read Online Unseen (The Heights, Vol. 1) by Lauren Stewart - Free Book Online Page A

your
help.” It must have been hard for him to say that—a language
barrier comprised only of words like ‘please,’ ‘thank you,’ and
requests for help.
    “With what?” she asked from the doorway.
    “My wound should have healed, regardless of
my thirst. I believe something is still inside slowing the process
down, a splinter perhaps. If you want me to go, you need to take it
out.” He opened and closed his hands, which were thankfully still
bound by the silver chains. “You could, of course, release me so I
may attend to it myself.”
    ‘Shocked stupid’ was what she’d probably call
how she felt. He wanted her to dig wood out of his chest? “I’m
not... I can’t...”
    “You must. Or call a healer and I will wipe
their mind. But it needs to be soon.”
    “Can’t you just alter their memories? Not
wipe their mind, just alter their memories.”
    “If she can do what needs to be done in a
short enough time yes, but I do not think that is possible. Even
then, wiping is cleaner.”
    “Then no,” she said quickly.
    “Explain your fear.”
    “You mean besides having a vamp in my
bed?”
    He sighed. “I do not understand humans. Make
a decision. And know the longer I am uncomfortable, the more likely
it is I will blame you.”
    Vampire threats seemed meaner than human
threats. Maybe because he could back it up painfully, or that he
spoke so calmly about her death, or that he hadn’t actually mentioned death, leaving it vague enough for her to assume
whatever he was planning would be as painful as he could make
it.
    But this could also be the perfect bargaining
chip—her life for saving his…again. And this time, he’d see it and
not be able to pretend it hadn’t happened. Just a quick peek under
his jacket to judge how awful it would be. She approached him,
every step its own separate trial. Her gaze darted between the wide
hole in his chest to his eyes, not trusting anything. “At
least the bleeding stopped.”
    “That is why there can be no further delay.
If my flesh heals around a splinter of wood, it will be much harder
to remove, perhaps even impossible.”
    Flesh . Gross word. Always. Her hands
trembled as she grabbed his shirt on either edge of the hole and
ripped. Oh, shit . Amazing chest. Except for the horrifying
hole in it.
    “Be right back.” In the bathroom mirror, she
saw the expression of terror on her face. Then she grabbed a towel
and splashed water on both. “You can do this. It’s not like you’re
gonna kill him. Think of it like you’re deboning a chicken.” She
had no idea how to debone a chicken…nor did she ever want to.
    She pulled a chair over to the side of the
bed and wiped at the blood on his chest so she could see
better.
    He flinched.
    “Sorry.”
    His brows came together in wonder.
    She dabbed again, not looking at his face.
“Have you ever heard the story of the lion and the mouse?”
    “Stories are for children. I have not been a
child for a very, very long time.”
    “Yeah well, this one’s good for all ages. So
there’s this lion who’s the terror of the Serengeti or whatever,
and everyone’s terrified of him.” Once she’d wiped off the area,
she leaned closer to look inside the hole. Eww . “And he
catches a mouse. Now, a cute little mouse obviously isn’t enough
for the lion to eat, so maybe food is scarce or maybe he’s just
mean.” She put her finger on his skin a few inches away from the
wound and pulled it open.
    “Anyway, the smart little mouse talks him out
of eating her—we’ll say it’s a female mouse ’cause it’s easier.”
She grimaced when she saw the wood. But it wasn’t just a
splinter—it was one huge splinter and a bunch of smaller ones, some
of which glimmered as if they were metallic. She grabbed the chunky
one and wiggled to dislodge it. “So a few days later, the lion
is crying in pain.”
    He shuddered as she eased the splinter out.
“Like that?”
    “Way worse. Hang on.” She smiled, holding it
up for him