Page 51 of High Noon

Enoch sat up straighter and gave me his full attention. “Before you pulled me from the water, I saw myself and saw that I’d been turned into a vampire. I was home, at the Compound, in an arena we use for fights. Terah and Titus lay dead to my left. Asa and Abram to my right. Then you and I faced off.”

“I would never fight you,” he vowed.

“You did, and you should have. But I won. I plunged a stake into your heart and watched you die. And what’s even more upsetting is that I was relieved when you did.” My chin quivered as I bit my lip and waited for him to say something in response.

“Eve, it was only a vision. It doesn’t mean it will come true.”

“Yes, but it doesn’t mean it couldn’t.”

“I would never let anyone turn you against your will.”

“You might not be there to stop them. You can’t be with me and can’t protect me all the time, Enoch. Not that I can’t protect myself. I can and will.” I debated telling him this next part. “When you went to find Titus last night, I ran back to the spring. It gave me a second vision.”

“Better, or worse than the first?”

Nothing felt worse than me killing Enoch, but the second one came with more bloodshed, courtesy of yours truly. “I was turned, but I could still travel. I came here to this time, looking for you so I could kill you, but instead I found Kohana, Hotah, and their tribe…”

He closed his eyes. “Kohana saw it, too?”

“How did you know?”

“He has always had visions, some stronger than others. But the way he looked at you… I should’ve known.”

“He saw me slaughter him and everyone he loved.” Just like the clone army with Enoch’s people. Just like Abram did…

“You wouldn’t do that.”

“I wouldn’t. But what would vampire Eve do, Enoch? Would I be the same person?”

He pinched his lips together. He wanted to say yes. So did I. But neither of us could say it and actually mean it.

“Then there was the other thing…”

“What thing?” he asked, his eyes snapping to mine.

“Just now, I had a dream that felt very real to me.”

“What was it about?” he asked, stroking the back of my hand.

I closed my eyes. “Maru and Titus wanted to talk, so we left the saloon and walked until we came to a hill covered with trees and boulders.” I paused, meeting his eyes as I continued. “Terah was there, waiting for us. She attacked Maru, then Titus. And I…”

“You killed her,” he inserted quietly, his thumb stilling over my tech.

“I killed her.”

“It was a dream, Eve.”

A dream, yes. Apparently even my subconscious is fighting battles and trying to survive.“But what if it’s not? What if it happens? What if it was a vision?”

He took a deep breath. “If she attacks you, you’ll have no choice but to defend yourself.”

I scoffed, “It’s one thing to say that, Enoch, but it’s quite another to mean it while your heart mourns the loss of someone you loved.”

“I do mean it, Eve, but I’d prefer if you remained close to me. I’ll make sure it doesn’t have a chance to happen.”

“You can’t guarantee that. Don’t you get it? None of this is in your control, and it’s certainly not in mine. It’s not in anyone’s.” Except maybe Victor’s or Kael’s…

He stiffened his posture and narrowed his eyes, his spine straightening with resolve. “Then we take control.”

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