Page 45 of High Noon

He straightened his back. I knew he wanted to listen to our conversation, but this one was private. I hoped he could understand. If Maru told us something I could warn Enoch about, I hoped my trainer would understand why I had to.

“And then you’ll come back?”

“I promise I’ll be back soon. I won’t jump without telling you first.”

He released a worried breath.

“Enoch?” I said, watching his eyes dart across the debris on the floor. “Enoch?” I repeated, my hand finding his cheek.

His green eyes snapped to mine.

“I’ll be right back.”

Asa snorted. “The two of you are ridiculous. Eve – go talk to your friends. Enoch – give the woman some space before she takes off again.”

I kissed Enoch to reassure him, standing on my tippy toes and pouring every ounce of my promise into his lips. I wouldn’t leave him again without telling him first. When I climbed onto Asa’s roof, I thought I was doing the right thing, but now I knew I was wrong. What was right for me wasn’t necessarily what was right for him. I hurt him – badly – and damaged the trust we’d precariously built.

Titus walked outside first. He was on high alert, checking left, then right, then peeking around each side of the building. He waved to Maru, who was waiting for me by the door. I pulled away from Enoch and walked outside with my friends.

Why did it feel like I was constantly being pulled by opposing forces?

My heart wanted to be with Enoch, but it wanted to be with Maru and Titus, too. I wanted to stay, yet I wanted to go home. The constant push and pull was exhausting.

Titus led us away from the saloon, past the trading post, and across a wide, grassy area onto a wooded knoll. Maru found a small grouping of boulders and we each took a seat, glancing between one another, trying to decide who should go first.

“Where do we even start?” Titus asked.

Maru scrubbed a hand down his face. “I don’t know.”

“You know everything, Maru. Stop being humble,” Titus teased.

“What are we facing back home? You mentioned a place called the Haven. That wasn’t there when we left. Does Victor know about it?”

“As soon as you left, things went south,” he explained. “The vamps had always fed sporadically, but once you jumped, it was like it triggered something. They started tearing through the city. Citizens fled toward the Compound until Victor finally ordered the doors sealed.”

“How could he do that?” I gasped.

“There was no more room, or resources, to bring in those from the outside. People were already sleeping in the hallways, in the mess hall, wherever they could find a space. It was crazy.” Maru shook his head. “Yarrow showed me encrypted videos of things Kael and Victor have covered up over the years. Unimaginable things…”

“I imagine they match the memories that have bubbled up to the surface since we started time traveling,” Titus quipped.

“That and more. Some of the videos Victor broadcasted were fake. He actually filmed fake attacks as propaganda.”

I ticked my head back, surprised. “Some of the broadcasts I saw weren’t fake,” I argued. “Some died in those feeds.”

He nodded. “Some did. Others did not.”

“So why would he bother faking the attacks if he had footage of real ones? And why did things get so bad after we left?” Titus posed.

“I think it was because Enoch thought you’d be back by now. He made threats toward Victor, demanding that you be sent to him.”

I closed my eyes. “Remember the vamp in the loading dock?” I asked.

Maru nodded. “Yes; he said he was coming for you, but at the time, we thought it was a threat.”

“It was a promise,” I breathed. My mind spun. Enoch already knew I would make it home… and he found me. But surely, Enoch already knew where the Compound was. The vamp in the loading dock said he hadn’t been able to find me, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t been looking. I needed to tell Enoch exactly how to find me, because if I was going home, I wanted to land in his arms again. I wanted to walk out of the city holding his hand. Together, we could make a new future.

“Maybe Victor had to fake the attacks because Enoch, Asa, and Terah told their sires to stop attacking,” Titus mused. “If they pulled back, Victor couldn’t rule by inciting the fear of the vamps.”

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