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I took my time drying my hair, wanting it not to just be dry, but be straight. Enoch seemed different today, less angry at me for existing, and I wasn’t ready to face him. He was going to ask questions about Clara and I didn’t know if I wanted to tell him or not.

I used the blow dryer to air out the shirt I had been wearing a little. It was pointless, but it made me feel better on some unconscious level. Really, I was just stalling.

I sighed loudly and got dressed, stalling no more. Cracking open the bathroom door, I didn’t see him in the room. I fully opened the door so fast and so hard that it banged on the wall, leaving a hole in the cheap sheetrock. The hotel door was yanked open then and Enoch stormed in. “What? What happened?”

“Where did you go?”

He squinted. “I was checking the motel’s perimeter before we left. Making sure we hadn’t been followed.” He said the last part slowly and looked at my throat and then my chest. He was taking note of my breathing, I realized, which was erratic. I tried to calm down. “Where did you think I had gone?”

“Nowhere.” I moved to put my shoes on, but he grabbed my arm by the elbow and
stopped me. “Will you stop manhandling me like some—”

“Where did you think I went?” he asked again, so close his breath swept across my eyelashes. His eyes were lidded, grimacing, like he was working something out in his mind.

“Let me go. Don’t worry about it. You’re here. It doesn’t matter.”

“Answer me,” he bit out.
             

I huffed. “I thought you left, okay! Everybody leaves,” I breathed the words
vehemently and hated being so open and vulnerable to him of all people. He didn’t care about me. Yes, he saved me. Why? I didn’t know, but it wasn’t because he cared. There was a reason and he was going to tell me soon enough. He was a calculating person. He didn’t do things without having a plan and purpose.

He didn’t let go;
in fact, I could have sworn he moved a half an inch closer. “You thought I left for good. You thought I abandoned you last night, too.” I looked away, down at his neck, but the cords of skin and muscle did nothing to help with calming my breathing. “Why would I save you, twice, just to abandon you in some random spot on the trip? I think it’s obvious that there’s something more going on here, and you know it.”

I sucked in a small, quick breath and looked up at him. He was so close I couldn’t breathe.

“Clara?” I sneered and wanted to laugh at how jealous it sounded.

He swallowed and I saw the clouds roll in behind his eyes.

“Clara has nothing to do with the fact that you know what I am. I didn’t know you knew Clara when I saved you the first time. Now did I?” I pressed my lips together, but couldn’t look away from those violet eyes. I shuddered and shook with goose bumps, causing his eyes to travel down my neck and shoulders. He sighed. “You’re killing me, little human,” he whispered.

I
stared up at him, stunned that he was being so bold with me. He usually acted as though being in the same room with me was a chore in itself and now he was actually letting me
see
him. He was affected by…me? I didn’t see how that was possible when he was this beefy, worldly, not-human devourer and I was a very human and sometimes neurotic girl whose sadness he could literally taste. How was there anything appealing about that?

I shook my head and steeled my back.
“How do you know my sister?”

He seemed surprised and released my arm gently. “Sister,” he repeated and crossed his arms. “Put your shoes on.” I glared up at him sullenly and he tacked on a, “Please.”

As soon as we were sitting down at the cheap diner, he began to ask his questions, which didn’t surprise me in the least.

“So you’re the sister that joined the military and left Clara to live with the pastor and his family.”

That wasn’t really a question, but he was definitely implying some things he wanted me to answer. I sighed and swallowed down the guilt, hoping he couldn’t already taste it this early in the conversation. I scoffed and shook my head. Wow, I was so calm about all this devourer business. I looked up at him and saw him watching me closely.

“Yes. I’m
the sister that freaked when our parents died and abandoned her little sister to live with the pastor so I didn’t have to deal with her. She was our parents’ favorite and I didn’t want to have to console her when I didn’t even know how to console myself. We had nothing. No money, no house, no car. Everything was gone. All I got was a lousy thirteen hundred bucks from the stuff that sold after all the bills were paid. Clara and I both were a little spoiled by our father. He tried to pretend that we had more money than we did. He was a good man, but we had no idea how to take care of ourselves. So I took that little bit of money, all I had left in the world, and I ran like the coward I was and didn’t look back.”

I felt a tear race down my cheek as I stared at the tabletop. So much for not letting him taste my sadness so early
on, huh?

“What can I get you…folks?” I glanced up at the waitress to see her sympathetic gaze
and wiped my cheek. “Oh, honey. It’s not as bad as all that, is it?” She sent Enoch a small glare and a nod. “Is it this one?” Enoch was still looking at me and hadn’t spared her a glance. “I’ll toss him out on his keister if you say the word.”

I shot my gaze over to Enoch at that, who was chuckling silently.

“That won’t be necessary.” I looked back up at her. She was tall and thin, middle-aged and so normal looking. She was someone’s mother for sure. “But thank you. I’ll just take a coffee and whatever’s on special.”

“Okay, sugar.”

“She’ll have pancakes, a side of bacon, and bring us some fruit, too, please,” Enoch interrupted, his voice as smooth and creamy as the coffee I was craving. “I’ll take the same exact thing, just double it.” He winked at her. “And thanks for looking out for her. She’s having a rough time right now. It’s hard for her to let people look out for her so I appreciate the help.” He reached over and rubbed his thumb over my chin to collect the last tear. I gasped so quietly, it didn’t sound like a gasp at all but more like an inhale. He smirked at my shocked expression. “What? I remembered your pancakes and bacon.”

“I can see that.” I wiped my fingers across where his fingers had just swiped. Was he purposely trying to toy with me?

The waitress looked more stunned than I did. “Uh…I’ll just put this order in then.”

“Thanks, Patricia,” he said, still looking at me.

“How did you—”

“Nametag.” He turned with a smile and nodded his head toward it. “You’re wearing a nametag, Patricia.”

“Oh, right.” She took her beet red cheeks and sprinted to the back to put our order in.

“You did that on purpose,” I said, but smiled a little. “You know you have this effect on people and you do it on purpose to see if you can get a rise out of them.”

His smile was crooked, like he knew it, but there was more to it. “You see, that’s the way it used to be. But then this girl named Fay came along.” I grinned down at the table, unable to stop it, even though his antics were clear. “And she was good at not falling for my charms.”

I met his eyes and went for it, decided to let the old Fay come to the surface—the Fay who wasn’t afraid of anyone or anything, the Fay who got what she wanted. “You used your charms on me?”

He leaned back in his seat and smiled the smile of a caught man. “You know what I mean.”

“Not really. You’ve been barking orders and
acting like I ran over your dog since I met you.”

He licked his lip and actually looked a little guilty. I didn’t think that was possible. I felt my eyebrows rise as he said, “When you’ve lived as long as I have and been brought up a certain way to believe certain things, it’s going to take more than one night and a beautiful girl wi
th a golden soul to make you change. But I am trying,” he grated out, his words sounding as if they were being dragged over concrete.

But the only thing I heard was… “Beautiful
?” I barely whispered. Why had I said that? “I’m…sorry.” I looked up from the table to find his mouth slightly open as he watched me, his violet eyes half open. I slid out and stood.

“Where are you going?”

I scoffed with a smile. “Anywhere but here?” He smiled and huffed a laugh. I sighed. “The bathroom. I’m going to the bathroom.”

“Okay, Fay.” As I passed him I heard, “Don’t stay gone on my account.”

I groaned and wondered why I was so weird all of a sudden. I used to be a dating guru. My friends all came to me for advice because I was good at it. I had dates every weekend in high school. It was never an issue for me. And now, there I sat, babbling about…
am I beautiful
? I scoffed. Who cares if he thought I was beautiful or not. It was obvious he disliked me a great deal. Or woman in general. Or maybe just dating in general. Whatever.

And Clara. What if it was Clara? What if she had broken his heart?

I sighed and rolled my eyes as I washed my hands. Enough. I was going to go out there and get this over with.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I was pale and had no make-up. I pinched my cheeks a little to give them s
ome color. I scoffed. Beautiful? That was lifetimes ago.

I sat back down and was sad to see the food still wasn’t there. I got right to it, staring at the table.

“Clara is my little sister. She’s three years younger than me. I joined the military and she stayed with Pastor and his wife. I don’t really know much about what has happened to her since I left. We haven’t…talked much. I know she got married.” I can’t help but choke up a bit at that. That I missed my sister’s wedding and will never get to go back and do that again. In truth, I didn’t even know about the wedding until it was too late. I had moved from the base and neither Clara nor the Pastor knew it. The invitation took too long to reach me and by the time it did… But that’s on me. If I had just kept in touch, they would have known how to reach me. I keep going because I’ll cry if I don’t. “I don’t even know what this Eli guy looks like or how old he is or if he’s good to her.”

It’s quiet so long so I look up. He’s watch
ing me again. Just watching. His lips smile, just barely. “Eli is a good looking guy. I can tell you that much.” I squint, confused, but before I can ask he continues. “And he’s good to her, by human standards I’m sure. By devourer standards, it makes me want to puke. As for how old he is, I don’t think that really matters. Love is love, right?”

“I can’t imagine her in love. Not really. She was so…shallow and all over this stupid meathead from school. For this turnaround, so quickly…it scares me. It makes no sense for Clara to act this way. This isn’t my sister at all. Which leads
me to wonder…what the hell did this Eli guy do to her?” I ask softly.

His lip curls a little. “He fell in love.” He looked me in the eye. “And he took her down with him. It’s true. Honest to God. I saw it
for myself. All the barf-inducing, sugary sweet crap. It was all real.”

“Why did they have to move into the freaking woods in the middle of nowhere? What has she gotten herself into?” I whisper to myself, but look up at him. “Does this have something to do with your kind?”

“Not just my kind.”

“There’s more?
” I whisper in a small shriek. He leans on the table, sighing and closing his eyes for a second longer than normal.               “Fay,” he groaned. “Please.” He opened his eyes. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I’m going to get you to your sister. That’s a promise.”

“Why?” I leaned on the table, too, and into his space. “Why are you helping me? It’s obvious you don’t like me. Is it Clara? You and Clara had a thing and you’re going to break them up or something?”

He scoffed so loud and glared. “No,” he boomed. “Absolutely not. Clara Hopkins ruined my life.”

I sat back in surprise. “Um…”

“She is the reason that I can’t feed the way I need to,” he bit out. “She is the reason my brother was taken from me. She is the reason the Horde is chasing us all.” He shook his head. “No, no. I’m closer to hating Clara than loving her.” I sighed and swallowed. “Sorry,” he said and shrugged, “but you asked.