Page 38 of High Stakes

“Does it matter what they look like? Right now, everyone is terrified of any type of skin condition.”

He shook his head and sighed. “You are a confounding creature.”

“Yeah, you keep saying that.” I stood and brushed the dirt and grass from my dress.

His nose wrinkled. “And you need to bathe. I’ll have a tub and hot water brought to your room.”

Wow. Way to charm a girl. I discreetly sniffed myself. It wasn’t that bad. “I still want to see my friend,” I insisted stubbornly.

“You will see him at dinner,” he answered calmly. “You and he will join my sister and I. It seems we have much to discuss.”

“I’m not stupid, Enoch.”

“I never claimed you were, Milady. I simply commented on your foul stench.”

I rolled my eyes. “Such a gentleman. So, let me get this straight: you’re not going to keep your word and let me see my friend, is that right? Are you planning to throw me back into the dungeon, too?”

“No, I think it would be wise to keep you closer than that.” The stake lay in fragmented splinters on the lawn. He picked up the largest sliver, studiously avoiding the remnants of the vial. And then, among the splinters, he plucked out a rolled piece of parchment. “What is this?” He uncurled the sliver of paper, scanning it with his eyes. “More are traveling,” he read. “He’s sending an army.” The vampire’s eyes turned to stone. “Who is sending an army?”

Chapter Sixteen

Trying to compel me, he stared deep into my eyes, caressing the soft shell of my mind and coaxing me to relax my hold on it. That trick was one of the first Maru taught me to fight. If you let a vampire control your mind, you were as good as dead. So as much as he pushed his will on me, I resisted.

He pushed harder.

My head began to ache from the tumult of his insidious intrusion.

His posture stiffened and he flexed every muscle in his face. My teeth ground together, temples throbbing, but I would not give up.

He broke the stare, but I kept my guard up in case he tried again.

“How do you fight me so?”

“Fighting you is the only thing I know.”

Enoch shook his head, his hands poised on his hips. “How is that possible, when we’ve only just met? And why do I have this feeling stirring inside me that I somehow do know you, when there is no way on this earth I would have forgotten you if I had?”

For a moment I was taken aback, and then reality slapped me in the face.

Fighting you is the only thing I know, because I’ve known you my entire life.

You took everything from me.

My mother. My security. My childhood. My life.

Seeing that he wouldn’t get any more information from me, Enoch called for his guards, keeping eye contact with me as they escorted me away from him and back toward the castle.

“To your chamber, Milord?” one asked.

“Nay, see that she is given her own chamber. And for God’s sake, have Mrs. Kerry see that she bathes.”

* * *

Mrs. Kerry was one of the happiest people I’d ever met, and there was no doubt that she ran the place. Her round cheeks were ruddy from exertion, though her gray hair was pinned back without a stray hair out of place. She instructed two men to heft a tub into my room, and then had a small army bring up enough almost-boiling water to melt away all the sweat and grime that encrusted my skin. She greeted and thanked each man by name while I sat on the bed and watched in admiration.

When the men left, she offered to help me undress, which I politely declined. Then she offered to wash my hair and scrub my skin... which I also declined. The happy smile she wore into the room faltered each time I told her no.

She turned her back at my request as I undressed and slid into the tub, sighing as the warmth surged against my skin. While I scrubbed, she grabbed my tech suit and held it up and away from her, dragging her eyes over the circuits. “I’ll see that it’s washed.”

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