Page 26 of High Seas

Enoch took a step toward the pirate, but I didn’t need him to fight my battles.

“What was that for?” I leapt up and started across the room. “You’re a coward, Thatch.”

He straightened his back and tugged tightly on the lapels of his sopping wet jacket. “I’ve been called worse,” he retorted indignantly, raising his chin a touch.

Enoch crossed the room to stand beside me and smiled cruelly at Edward. “Let Terah deal with our friend.”

For a second, it felt like it did back in thirteen forty-eight. Like Enoch and I were on the same side and he didn’t hate the very sight of me.…

“You and Terah, huh?” I asked, considering the couple.

“Once upon a time, but not any longer,” Edward answered primly.

“And I thought she had good taste.”

Edward’s eyes narrowed at my comment as Titus snickered behind me. I turned to look him over, noting the ragged tear on the stomach of his suit. Some of the circuits around the damage were dim. “Does your suit still work?”

“Worked well enough to get me here,” Titus answered with a slight shrug.

“And Abram? Did he heal, too?”

Titus shrugged. “I assume he did, but I haven’t seen him.”

I turned to Enoch. “You haven’t seen him, have you?”

He shook his head. By the sharpness in his eyes, it looked like Enoch had definitely not seen Abram. I wondered, in the years after the attack, if he looked the same way when someone mentioned my name.

Could he find it in his heart to forgive me for something I hadn’t done? Could he put away the centuries of hatred and somehow remember how he felt before Victor ripped everything to shreds? Could he love me again?

“Do you think you could find him?”

Enoch’s lips tightened into a thin line. Maybe we didn’t want Enoch to find him.

I rushed to explain, “I think the three of us have to jump together in order to get back home. But before we do, we need to find a way to land a couple days before we travelled. That’ll give us enough time to stop Victor and Kael without them suspecting what we’re up to.”

Titus scratched his head. “You might be right about all of us jumping at the same time, since that’s how we went back in the first place. Maybe it’s the only way to move us forward through time. As far as the timeline, Kael wouldn’t have set a return date. We were supposed to control when we made it back by jumping. But maybe it can be done. Let me think about the best way to go about this. In the meantime, I’ll go look for Abram. But… I need some clothes to cover my suit.”

Enoch motioned further into the room. “Take what you need.”

Titus was thicker than Enoch and not nearly as tall, but he grabbed a few things and strode outside. He returned a few minutes later, looking like a child who’d dressed in his father’s clothing. The pants were too long and the shirt gaped open awkwardly. A laugh bubbled up my throat, but I covered my smile with my hand.

“Shut up, Eve.”

Enoch’s eyes fastened on Titus’s. “What did I warn you about disrespecting her?”

I pictured the knife wobbling from where he’d skewered the table in front of Titus. From the look on his face, Titus was remembering it, too. He paled a shade before clearing his throat. “I’ll be back as soon as possible. In the meantime, stay safe,” he instructed, giving me a meaningful glance before striding across the room.

“Do you know about the clones?” I stopped him.

“Unfortunately, yes,” he groaned.

I ticked my head back. “What happened?”

He glanced from me to Enoch. “Tell you later.”

Titus collected a few of the coins that littered the floor before walking out into the storm. “I’m starving,” he said with a wink before dashing outside.

While the doors were parted, Edward tried to scamper out behind him. “Thatch,” Enoch warned. “I don’t believe my sister is finished with you yet.”

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