Page 50 of High Stakes

“I take it Titus has been instructed to kill Terah?” he guessed.

“Yes,” I admitted, “though I don’t think he plans to go through with it, given the circumstances. But if those circumstances change, Enoch…”

He inclined his head. “I’ll have to contact my brother, Asa.” He waited for an answer, hands folded in front of him. “I feel it’s only fair to warn him, given the plan being hatched against the three of us.”

“How long will it take to get word to him?”

“A rider will be ready within the hour,” Enoch replied. “He will carry my letter to Asa.”

Any time I thought of Asa, I thought of Abram. His dark eyes, hair, and countenance filled my mind as Enoch turned to walk back to the castle.

“Enoch?”

He stopped but didn’t turn around. “Yes?”

“How do I know that you and your siblings won’t turn on us? You aren’t the only ones taking a huge leap of faith here.”

He turned to face me. “You should understand that your agreement is with me alone. I promise to speak to my sister on the matter, but I should warn you: Terah is the most unpredictable of the three of us.”

“What about Asa?”

“Asa is the most predictable. He would never have made a bargain with you. He’d have snapped your neck the moment he considered you a threat.”

* * *

When the door at the back of the castle swung open and Titus stepped outside, Enoch’s back muscles tightened. He stood up taller and offered me his arm. I was more than capable of walking without his help, so I stepped around him and made my way to Titus.

“You okay?” he asked, staring over my shoulder at Enoch.

“I’m fine,” I answered.

Enoch climbed the steps, locking eyes with me before he entered his home, the door slamming closed behind him.

Titus blew out a breath and together we jogged down the steps, quickly putting distance between the castle and us. “How much does he know?”

“Enough. I mean, he read the note. When we came out here, he told me how much he feared for his people’s lives. He asked about the army, but there wasn’t much I could tell him about that. Maru just said he was sending an army, not specifically when, or if he’d scatter them throughout time. But I did tell them it’s not likely that an army will attack his people here at the castle.”

“Did you tell him it’s an army of hunters?”

I nodded. “He asked me what he’d done to Victor to cause this onslaught, and I told him he hadn’t done anything yet, but that in the future, he and his siblings create the vampire race. I think he understood how much they’d taken from us. I didn’t go into detail, but...”

“He could see it in your eyes. The haunted look,” Titus guessed, pulling me into his shoulder. “I can always see it there. When you smile it shrinks, but sometimes, your hurt is all I can see.”

“That’s common for all who’ve lived it, even for a second. I mean, you and I were in the compound. As Assets we were cared for, protected, grown...” Just like the pumpkin vines crawling across the ground at our feet.

“…and harvested when we were needed most,” he added, nudging one of the heavy, orange orbs with his boot. “I know you see the same thing I do. They aren’t monsters yet. But I can see Terah’s potential to become one.”

Titus walked a couple steps ahead of me and turned around, a thoughtful expression on his face. “I’ve been watching her, and she’s unstable. She flies off the handle at people trying to help her, or at nothing at all. One minute she’s smiling, and the next she’s raving about the tiniest infraction or imagined slight. I guess what I’m saying is, I can’t forget what I’ve seen. I can’t forget what’s happening to the people back home. The vampires are still there. Still feeding on our people. Someone has to protect them, Eve. And if not us, then who?”

“There’s something you’re not telling me.”

He pursed his lips and glanced furtively back toward the castle. “You know that girl that fed them last night? Heather? I saw Terah back her into an alcove this morning. She fed from her and took more than just a sip. The girl could barely walk when she was finished.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense!” I exclaimed. “Enoch said they didn’t need very much blood to survive.”

Titus snorted. “Well, he needs to make sure Terah knows that.”

I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know how Terah was.”

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