Page 46 of High Stakes

“Is it the competition or the victory he craves?” Enoch asked.

“Definitely the victory.” Titus would take on any man, woman, or child in the room and wouldn’t let any of them win. He hated losing almost as much as he loved technology. Now that I knew his story, I understood why. He’d already lost everything dear to him. All he had left was his physical ability, and he wanted to be the best.

Each time he lost to Abram, offering to shake his hand after the match was hard. And each time, Abram refused to accept it.

My eyes slid from Titus to Enoch, who tugged at his collar, trying to smile at me. His eyes dropped to my stomach.

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not pregnant, Enoch.”

“I didn’t mean to presume; I just wanted to be sure in case you needed a midwife.”

I shook my head. “I’m nineteen. I know women have babies much earlier than that in this time, but I’m not expecting.”

He paused for a moment, his keen eyes sharpening. “What do you mean, in this time?”

* * *

“I mean,” I fumbled, trying to fix the mess my big mouth had made. “It’s common here, in this village, right? Early marriage? And with that comes... children.” My cheeks caught fire as he stared at me. I slipped him an innocent look and a smile, hoping he bought both.

Thankfully, a serving woman chose that time to bring in a steaming plate of boiled eggs, fresh rolls, and a small tub of strawberry jam. As his attention shifted, I realized he hadn’t forgotten what I said, but was letting it go for now.

“How have you managed to keep the plague out of your castle?” I asked in between bites, changing the subject. I took a sip of water and watched him over the rim of the goblet.

“Once news spread that the plague had reached Edenshire, we closed the gates and were very selective about whom we allowed inside. If a person showed any outward signs of plague, they were not let inside the walls. If they seemed healthy, we kept them in the dungeons for a few days to be sure.”

I bit into an egg, chewed the bite, and swallowed it. “It’s amazing you can feed them all,” I admitted. “I mean, the castle is huge, and you seem to have plenty of room, but providing ample food is another issue entirely.”

The compound served Assets the same ‘healthy’ gruel every day. It technically had all the protein we needed and then some to fuel our bodies, but it tasted like dirty socks and had the consistency of mud. Only when we dined with Victor did we eat like kings.

These eggs were divine; simple, but delicious. Victor’s chef would have added spices and carved the egg into a small creature to impress his leader, and the egg wouldn’t have been recognizable by taste or sight by the time he was through with it.

I cast my eyes around the room and took in the scene. Everyone was happy. They ate and drank merrily, chatting about their days, about silly things the children had done the night before. It was surreal to think about this level of happiness and ease existing when outside, the plague waged war. Enoch was responsible for their lives, for preserving their families and safety.

Enoch nodded as a woman stopped to refill my goblet with a carafe of water. “Thank you, Giselle.” She blushed at his attention, not that I could blame her. Enoch was beyond gorgeous. There were no words to describe how beautiful he was. “The castle gardens flourished this year, so we’ve been able to feed everyone who’s sought refuge here,” he answered my query. “The coming winter may be a hard one, but we will survive it. We have plenty of livestock and have preserved enough to see us through.”

I bit into a sweet chunk of bread and almost forgot where I was and who I was with. It was so good. I was convinced the strawberry jam was even better than honey.

Enoch smiled. “Watching you eat is fascinating. It’s like you’ve never tasted this simple food before.”

“Well, I haven’t. Where I’m from, we eat the same meal three times a day. Every day.”

He cocked his head. “That seems strange.”

“I guess to you, it would be,” I replied with a shrug. “It’s normal for me, though.” I kept chewing pieces of the roll until it was gone.

“Would you like another?” Enoch asked graciously.

“No, thank you. I’m full now.” I’d eaten three boiled eggs and a large bread roll slathered with strawberry jam. He hadn’t even reached for anything on the table. “Did you already have a drink?”

He smiled, his eyes flicking to the beauty who’d served us, Giselle. “Yes.”

The way she blushed, I wondered if he’d had more than a simple drink from her…

Enoch looked over my shoulder, his smile falling away as Titus approached.

“Save me anything?” Titus bellowed.

“You already ate!”

---