Page 54 of High Noon

Asa’s anger began to subside with the topic of our sister’s whereabouts. “I don’t know. She was here last night, but I haven’t seen her since. Why does it matter?” he asked petulantly.

“Eve just had a dream that she killed her.”

A slow smile blossomed over Asa’s face. “That’s the only way she could. Don’t fret, brother. I’m sure our sister is more than capable of defending herself against these Assets and their pointy wooden stakes.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“You nearly killed her! Why the sudden concern for her well-being now?” Asa challenged, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I made a mistake, Asa. I lost control when I shouldn’t have.”

He nodded. “Yes, you did.”

I inhaled a long breath. “I owe you an apology, too. I was impulsive, believing I was doing you a favor when I wasn’t.”

The earth trembled underfoot. A slight vibration, but one that emanated from him.

Asa’s face was carefully blank. “Are you apologizing?”

“Yes. I know it’s long overdue, but I’m sorry. Now that I know what it is to love, I understand how I hurt you.”

Asa scrubbed a hand down his face, turned on his heel, and walked away. Two men building the general store next door climbed down from the roof they were nailing together, remarking about the earthquake they’d felt.

I wasn’t convinced that I should have bothered to apologize, but I did think Asa needed to hear it.

“I’ll find Terah and talk to her,” he muttered, knowing I could easily hear him.

My shoulder muscles relaxed when he spoke to me. I’d lost my brother for a time due to my rash actions, but maybe I could earn him back. Truthfully, I needed his help. Wading through all this was difficult alone, and Eve made it clear she couldn’t and wouldn’t stay.

In a matter of days, a paltry number of hours, she’d leave. She’d either jump or Kael would pull her home.

Unless I did something about it.

The thought of tearing her tech from her hand crossed my mind, and not for the first time. The only thing stopping me was that I knew she’d loathe me if I took away her free will. It was all she had left after what Victor and Kael did to her.

* * *

Eve

The conversation was eerie. It was as if my dream had come to life, not in the woods with Terah lurking nearby, but in the boarding room above Asa’s saloon. Maru paced the room and told us about his concerns regarding the Haven and his reservations about Enoch, warning me away from him. He was antsy to get home to Yarrow, to protect her in case Enoch wasn’t caring for the humans as he promised, but was actually plotting to make them his army; to fight Victor Dantone with his own citizens: freshly turned vampires.

“He wouldn’t do that,” I argued again, just as I had in my dream.

Maru commented on Enoch’s intense feelings for me. I felt them, too. That didn’t mean I would let myself be turned into a monster. It was the last concern they addressed, and the only fresh addition to the conversation from my earlier dream.

“You can’t turn for him, Eve,” Titus asserted. “I guess I’m gonna have to say it, but you shouldn’t stay in this time. I know you’ve been thinking about it, not only now, but in the past years we’ve seen.”

Maru looked horrified. “You’ve thought about staying with him?”

“Of course I have!” I snapped. “Didn’t you think about staying with Yarrow?” That shut him up. “You don’t know her any better than I know Enoch, and yet you hesitated. You thought about staying with her in the Haven. To make sure she was okay, and that Enoch did as he promised. Gave shelter. Food. Protection.”

“I’ll admit that I worried for her, that I am worried for her. And I’ll be honest…I want to link together and get the hell out of here and back to her,” he said. “But I never, ever thought about not coming after you.”

I wanted to say something hurtful. Something like… Well then, you don’t love her as much as you think. Or that he should’ve stayed with her. Why bother coming here? But in the end, I was grateful he came, even though traveling to this time put him in grave danger.

Maru continued, “I understand how powerful the feeling of love can be, Eve. But you can’t throw away all reason for a moment’s emotion. You have to think, in addition to feeling.”

“I am thinking,” I grumbled.

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