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“Oh look, they’ve got a roast today,” Raquel squealed.
She picked up a plate the size of her head and filled it full within seconds, not even making it halfway down the buffet line. I followed behind her, adding a little bit of each dish to my plate. It was a shame not to try them all. By the time I was done, my plate was nearly as full as hers.
We went to an empty round table in the back and sat down. It was early for lunch, so only a handful of people were there to eat. Raquel dove into her plate like she hadn’t eaten for weeks.
“You have to try these baby carrots,” she said between giant bites. “They’re to die for.”
Before I could find the carrots on my plate, three people plopped their plates on the table across from us. The first was a young black woman with high cheekbones and beautifully crimped hair that fell past her shoulders. The second was a twenty-something year old fit Asian man with short spikey black hair and a devilish smile. Ashley sat in the middle. She sneered at me and delicately unfolded her napkin, placing it on her lap.
“Is the human still mooching off us?” Ashley fingered her steak knife and twirled it deftly between her fingers. “I thought she’d finally gotten the clue that we didn’t want her around and left.”
“Get off it, Ashley.” Raquel swallowed the bite of food she’d been chewing on. “The only one that doesn’t want her around is you. And my guess is that’s because Gabe likes her better than you.”
I’d never seen anyone turn such an ugly shade of fuchsia. Ashley’s perfectly tanned skin took a full minute to return to its normal shade. During the awkward silence, she glared at Raquel over the water glasses. The guy beside her picked up his silverware and winked at me.
“Lizzy, this is Bree and Dominic.” Raquel pointed her fork at each of Ashley’s friends. “They’re both in training with Ashley and me. This year, all three of them are becoming warriors during the ceremony.”
I could detect a hint of jealously in Raquel’s voice, but none of us mentioned it.
“So, you’re the one they plucked out of the woods?” Bree asked. She had the slightest hint of a British accent. “The human sacrifice?”
I frowned at her. The last thing I wanted to be known for was “the human sacrifice.”
“Yeah, the one that saved Gabe,” Dominic added. He tilted his head at me and grinned. “You must be quite the warrior to save him. I don’t think he’s ever needed help in his entire career as a gatekeeper.”
“The lone wolf.” Bree flung a strand of hair over her shoulder. “If Gregory hadn’t pleaded to go on patrol with him, he’d probably still be alive. Gabe works best alone.”
“Gabe only works with a select few. I’ve been on patrol with him.” Ashley lifted her chin and locked eyes with me across the table. “Just because she got lucky, doesn’t mean she’s some big hero. What we do every day is far more dangerous than fending off some townspeople and their pitchforks.”
Dominic dramatically rolled his eyes, drawing a small smile from me. Ashley whipped around to face him, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. He raised his eyebrows at her innocently and returned to his salad. I liked this Dominic. Anyone that could make Ashley angry like that was a friend in my books.
“Are you going to be sticking around the manor?” Bree asked me. She plucked absentmindedly at the multiple beaded necklaces hanging from her neck.
“I’m not sure…”
Raquel had assumed I’d be staying forever, so I hadn’t brought the topic up. But the way she’d forgotten her mashed potatoes to stare at me told me she was waiting for an answer.
“What would she do around here?” Ashley asked. “There’s no need for a human at the manor.”
“That’s not true.” Raquel dropped her fork on the table. “Laramie’s great with the stables. Before she came here, the stables were only half that size.”
“Wait, Laramie’s human?” I hadn’t even considered the notion, but it made sense. She didn’t look like the other Nephilim with their tall athletic physiques.
“Yep,” Dominic answered. “There’s Lyla in the kitchen. Frank’s one of the gardeners. And Terrence works as an assistant to the board.”
My jaw dropped nearly to the floor. All this time I’d thought I was the only human on the grounds.
“Once in a while, we get a few more to work events,” Bree added. “There’s a company out of Rapid City that knows how to provide discreet employees. They’re the ones that handle the cleaning of the manor.”
I’d have to hunt down these humans and see what they were all like. It’d been so hard for me to accept the concept of the Nephilim and what they did. I couldn’t imagine coming here by choice to work among them.
At that moment, Gabe walked into the dining hall alone. I nearly choked on my roll at the sight of him. He was stopped by a couple of Nephilim at the buffet table, his back to me.
“There was also Uncle Luke’s wife.” Raquel waved her spoon in the air. “She was human. I liked her a lot.”
My attention was drawn back to the conversation at the table. A Nephilim married to a human? That didn’t seem like a very good idea. With the huge difference in life spans, I imagined it didn’t happen very often.
“I didn’t know her, but my parents were super upset when she disappeared,” Dominic said. “I’ve never seen my mom so worked up.”
