Page 43 of High Stakes

He shook his head. “Nay, we aren’t sure who fathered us, but we are certain about what we are. There used to be others like us.” Enoch stared at the threading on the blankets that covered me as if it was the most interesting thing in the room. “Our mother died giving birth to us.”

“I’m sorry,” I offered, knowing it was an inadequate way to express my sadness for what he must have gone through.

He gave a small nod. “The great flood destroyed all of the Nephilim... except us.”

I paused a moment before asking the question I needed to ask. “And you’re telling me that you haven’t sired any vampires?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” he answered, shaking his head at the notion.

“Where I’m from,” I began, “there are men and women who feed off the blood of humans... and only blood. They can’t eat food like you do, and they’re always thirsty. They take blood from anyone they can grab – men, women, children, the elderly – and they usually kill the person they drink from, draining them and discarding the bodies on the streets. They can be burned with holy water and sunlight, but a stake through the heart or decapitation is the only way to end them.”

When I finally looked up at his face, he wore a horrified expression. “They are monsters...” he whispered.

“They are. There are thousands of them,” I agreed. “Beasts that you and your siblings created.”

* * *

Both of us still reeling from our shared confessions, a knock sounded at the door. “Come in,” I called, watching the storm roil in Enoch’s eyes.

Life wasn’t fair.

It wasn’t fair to tell him, but it would have been wrong not to let him know.

It wasn’t fair that Kael and Victor sent us here knowing they hadn’t done anything wrong yet, but they did.

It wasn’t fair that I might not make it back home, but it was a very real possibility.

Titus peeked his head in. “You okay?”

“Are you afraid I have dishonorable intentions?” Enoch asked my friend with a bite in his voice.

Titus pushed the door open and entered the room with a swagger. “I honestly don’t know what to think right now, but know that I will look out for her. She’s like a sister to me.”

“Now, boys,” Terah tutted, strutting into the room breezily. “Stop showing your pretty feathers. She is much too ill to choose between you now.”

Titus’s mouth fell open at her audacity. You could practically see the sparks flying between them. Her lips curled up as he straightened his posture.

“Rest assured, Titus, I will not harm Eve while she is a guest under my roof,” Enoch pledged.

“And after we leave?” he shot back.

“Even then.”

Titus looked at me. “I’m right next door, Eve. You need me, you scream. I’ll be here in a flash. I might not be as fast as him, but I’m fast enough.” He patted his stakes meaningfully, drawing Enoch and Terah’s eyes. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” I replied sleepily. Tired was an understatement. I was inexplicably exhausted. Maybe it was the exertion of time traveling, or fatigue brought on by the weird fainting spell. Or maybe it was just the gravity of the situation and learning the hard way that Kael and Victor were damnable liars.

I just knew I needed rest, and a lot of it. My body was mentally and physically depleted. If I could rest tonight, and maybe a little tomorrow, I’d bounce back.

Titus left the room and Terah whispered into Enoch’s ear before following in Titus’s footsteps. Even though I had enhanced hearing, I couldn’t hear what she said. Things were still muffled, like cotton balls were crammed into my ears.

“With your permission, I would like to stay in the room with you tonight,” Enoch declared politely. “I will send for a chair and leave the door open, of course. I just want to make sure you have no further distress, given your earlier state. If something happened to you while—”

“Enoch,” I interrupted before yawning, covering my mouth with my hand. “You can stay.”

Laying down once more, I closed my eyes. I dimly heard someone bring a chair to the door, followed by Enoch thanking them and carrying it to my bedside. I heard him instruct them to leave the door open, followed by the creaking sounds of him sinking into the chair. And then I heard him let out a long breath.

As I sank into sleep, I wondered if Nephilim slept.

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