Page 48 of High Seas

The closer we came to Nassau, the worse the bad feeling in my gut became. Titus was helping an older sailor coil a thick rope into a neat pile. As soon as he finished it, the man pointed him to another. Then another. I stood with Enoch in front of the bowsprit, a sharp piece of wood that looked more and more like a stake the more I stared at it, stabbing north as we approached our destination.

“What’s the matter?” Enoch asked. As his hand found my lower back, the sailors quieted. They watched me warily and went still at the sight of us touching. All morning, Enoch had been cursing the winds. They’d shifted wildly, sending us in the direction he wanted to sail one minute, and pushing us away the next.

“I honestly don’t know. I just… I have a feeling of dread settling into the pit of my stomach and I don’t know why.”

His brows pinched together. “If the wind cooperates even a little, we’ll be anchored by evening. We’ll trek to Asa’s home upon daybreak tomorrow.”

Tomorrow. It seemed so far away, like I would never see it.

“We can’t go there tonight?”

Enoch paused, glancing down at me. “We could if you’d like. I just thought maybe you would want to rest.”

“I feel fine now. The stress from traveling is gone.” My body actually felt amazing. Energy coursed through my muscles. I thought of Maru and how he must be freaking out because we were still gone.

“What is it?”

“Before I jumped, something weird happened at the Compound.”

“Where you lived?”

“Yeah.”

“What happened?” he asked, leaning his hip against the rail and giving me his full attention.

“A vampire breached one of the doors. Maru and I were the first to reach the loading dock, so we secured the door that led into the Compound and fanned out to find him. He hid and didn’t attack, which was odd. Then he asked for me by name. He told me he had a message from you.”

“From me?”

I nodded. “He said something to the effect that you were sending an army; that you hadn’t been able to find me until then, but that didn’t mean you hadn’t been looking.”

Enoch went still.

“I would,” he finally said, his voice raspy. “I would raze the world to find you and bring you back to me.”

“In the future, you might feel differently. If I go back, time will pass for you, but not for me. You might find someone else to love.”

He shook his head. “I will never want anyone the way I want you.”

“That scares me,” I admitted.

“Why?”

I pressed my eyes closed. “Because I can’t help but wonder if it’s just because of what they made me. I’m built to attract you, Enoch.”

His hands fell on my hips and reeled me in. “And if you are? What does it matter if the changes they made to you have something to do with the attraction? They are part of who you are, are they not?”

“Yes.”

“They make up the Eve standing before me?”

“They do.”

“I didn’t know you before you were transformed, so I can only speak to the way I feel now, but Eve, you… you are everything to me. And I don’t care why. I don’t care that you’ve been altered. Maybe the alterations affect the attraction and maybe they don’t. Could you have ever imagined caring for me before we actually met?”

I gave a harsh laugh. “Definitely not.”

“You hated me.”

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