“Why not? We’re teammates, right? We’re always honest with one another.” The words sounded as bitter as the bile in my mouth.
He closed his eyes tightly. "I'm really sorry."
"It's fine."
I could tell he felt bad for hurting my feelings, especially after Terah had just shoved me down a flight of stairs, but he only said what he felt was true. And maybe it was. Maybe Enoch was more loyal to his siblings than he would ever be to me. I hadn't been in his life very long, after all. Not that time mattered. In the end, what mattered was love, and love was rooted in loyalty.
Case in point: My arm had just been broken and Titus was the one who came to my rescue, like he always did. Titus was loyal.
I blotted my mouth with the towel and took another drink of water, swishing it around and spitting it out.
Titus caught my arm as I walked by him. "I really am sorry. I'm an ass."
"No you’re not." He was about to argue that he, in fact, was ass-material, when I stopped him. "Let's go eat while it's still hot."
He nodded and followed me inside.
"Thanks for helping me," I muttered, ashamed I hadn't thanked him for what he'd done yet. Not that thanking him while hurling was an option, but still.
"I've got your back," he said sternly. "Always have, always will."
I wondered if the same force that brought me and Titus close, that made us fierce friends, was the same one that drove Abram away. Did Victor manufacture the rift between us, or did it form naturally?
Dinner was quiet. And awkward. And uncomfortable. Almost torturous. While Asa was calm, Enoch fumed. Terah sat quietly and stared at her plate, refusing to eat. She probably didn’t want to dine with me. Well, guess what, honey? The feeling is mutual.
I picked at my plate, still feeling nauseous, while Titus ate until he couldn’t anymore. He enjoyed the food and the tension, watching the Nephilim carefully. Maybe he was afraid he’d miss the spark that made them explode again.
After dinner, we excused ourselves to give the siblings a semblance of privacy. I could hear what they were saying, or rather, what they weren’t saying. Our absence didn’t shatter the silence. At the bottom of the steps, Titus scratched his head and yawned. “I’m so tired.”
I grinned. “Well, yeah. Your belly is full. It’s nap time.”
“I wish they would have fed us like this at the Compound.”
“We couldn’t have trained to become the killing weapons we are without the mushy cardboard-like sludge they fed us. Then what would they have done?”
“Sent someone else and let me live out my life in peace?” He smiled. If only it were that simple. He stretched his arms and let out another yawn. “You ready to turn in?”
“I think I’m gonna go outside for a few. I need some fresh air.”
“You mean you need to avoid sleeping,” he surmised.
“Fine. Yes. For a little while, I do. But I promise I’ll get some rest tonight.”
He quirked a brow.
“I promise.”
“Fine,” he said on a third yawn. “You have your stakes?”
I patted my holster through my skirts. “Never leave home without them.”
“Good girl. Yell loud if you need me.”
“I will.”
I waited until he climbed the steps and then pushed the front door open. The sound of cricket song could be heard from the porch, but otherwise it was quiet and peaceful. The sky was blanketed by a thick layer of clouds, bringing the promise of rain. The acrid tang of it hung in the air.
A pair of hands gently gripped my waist from behind. Enoch placed a tender kiss on my neck, nuzzling into it, and then wrapped his arms around me as I leaned back into his touch. I wasn’t sure I could ever get enough of his kisses, of his touch.
“I apologize for Terah’s behavior. It won’t happen again.”
I sighed, disappointed that the calm serenity of the night was shattered. “That’s what Asa said the night she came into my room uninvited and hid in the corner, in the shadows. And that’s what he said again after I was trapped inside the burning room, when Titus asked her for help and she walked away. She’s not going to stop, Enoch, and it doesn’t matter how many times you or Asa order her to leave me alone, or how many times you say she won’t hurt me again, she will try.”
“What would you have me do?” he asked, his grip tightening.
“Nothing. There’s nothing you can do, Enoch. You aren’t Terah. You can’t climb into her brain and give her a command to stop. She’s not one of your sires. And you sure as hell can’t promise she’ll leave me alone.”
“She gave her word –”
"Which means absolutely nothing,” I interrupted, whirling around to face him. “Terah does what she wants, when she wants to do it, with no consequences whatsoever. She's out of control, which is why I don't understand why you continue to defend her."
"Because I understand her," he replied. My mouth gaped open, and he rushed to clarify. "Let me explain before you jump to conclusions. I'm not defending her actions, but my sister does not process things the way that Asa and I do. She's always been more emotional, and felt things more deeply, more profoundly than the two of us have. It's something she's struggled with her entire life, something she struggles with every day, and will continue to battle until she dies. She can't help how she is, any more than I can. I suppose I can be empathetic because I know what it's like to feel unbalanced."
I held my tongue. Although he claimed he wasn't defending Terah's actions, in the end, he justified them, which was a defense in and of itself. It reminded me of the time she attacked the sailor on Enoch's ship. She killed the man while he slept, and what did Enoch do? He threw the man's body overboard, like that somehow erased what she had done. Terah never faced the consequences of her actions, but that was about to end.
Enoch could either stand by me or choose to defend her, but he couldn't do both.
“I think I need some fresh air,” I said, pulling out of his grasp and walking down the porch steps. When he started to follow, I added, “Alone.”
Chapter Fourteen
Eve
I walked into the garden and strolled through the pathways. The sun had set, but it wasn’t fully dark. Twilight was one of my favorite times of the day. Sometimes, Maru would tell me to grab our dinners and meet him on the roof. He liked to watch the sky and comment on every hue, but burnt orange was his favorite. I wondered if I would ever make it home, and if I would ever see Maru again. Not only did I miss him, I worried about him. He wasn't safe in the Compound. He wasn't safe anywhere near Victor or Kael.
Once I ducked into the short maze of tall hedges, I pulled out a stake, removed the vial of holy water, and then slid it back into the holster. The small glass vial warmed in my palm.
I smelled her scent before she stepped out from between the formed vines.
"Do you want to know why I did it?"
"Did what? You'll have to clarify, Terah, because you've been trying to get at me since I landed, and I'm not sure which 'it' you’re referring to." I turned to face her. Her hair was still golden brown, still beautiful and shiny and perfect, but hatred marred her face.