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Even though she had no powers, Yesenia had the slightly pointed ears of her kind. Of course the vampire female had noticed. "No," she replied slowly. She searched Nora's eyes—noticing for the first time how one was blue and the other green—before continuing, "He's a vampire. A powerful one. In the US, at least."
"I'll admit I don't know much about America. My whole life is in London, so that could be why I've never heard of him."
Before Yesenia could think of what else to say that wouldn't be repeating herself, they stepped into a large bathroom. The tub was an old-fashioned kind, with fancy clawed feet and no shower. But it was the toilet, one with a box high up on the wall with piping leading down to the bowl, that made her blink. "Does that thing even work?"
Nora nodded. "It's the newest design available, and my brother gifted it to me for my birthday. And since that was only a few months ago, of course it works." The vampire studied her a beat before asking, "Unless you prefer a chamber pot? I can find one, if you like. Toilets can be a bit intimidating if you've never used one before, but I assure you it won't harm you or suck you down, as some fear. It's fairly straightforward. The most difficult part is hauling up your skirt and its multitude of layers currently in fashion."
She frowned. Who the hell in London had never used a toilet? But it was another piece Nora had said that caught her attention. "A chamber pot?"
Yesenia really needed to stop echoing everything or this female would think her a complete idiot, if she didn't already.
Although as Nora turned up the lamps—gas, maybe, as they had flames—Yesenia got her first real look at the female's clothing. She wore a long, full skirt with a white blouse of some sort tucked into a most definitely corset-defined nip at the waist, the sleeves of the shirt were puffed and enormous around her upper arms. The neckline was high, with plenty of flounces on the chest, and a simple chain with a locket visible completed the look.
But it was definitely something you wouldn't see outside of a play, a TV show, or maybe Halloween.
All the little things she'd seen started to add up—horses and carriages, no electricity, a toilet that belonged in a museum, old-fashioned clothing, and no knowledge of Las Vegas.
It was almost as if Yesenia were in a different time, one where there was no internet, or cell phones, or streaming services. A time before electricity and cars.
In other words, the past.
No.That had to be crazy. Yes, time travel was possible with the right kind of magic. However, a time-wielding fae witch hadn't been alive in nearly two hundred years. It was one of the rarest of all fae witch magic, one many had thought lost to them and had dismissed as more legend than truth.
A small voice in her head whispered,One they most likely wouldn't know how to diagnose when you came of age.
Yesenia staggered and leaned back against one of the walls.
No, no, no.She had no magic, no abilities. That was a fact, one she'd come to terms with over the years.
And yet her mind murmured,What if…?
There was one more concrete fact she needed to hear before she went crazy. Yesenia's voice was barely audible as she asked, "What year is it?"
Nora's brows knitted together with concern. "1890. February, to put a finer point on it. Are you sure you're well? Maybe I should fetch the fae witch doctor again."
The year 1890repeated over and over inside her head, almost as if the words would somehow make her whole situation more normal. She nearly laughed hysterically at that thought.
As if grasping for the last chance to prove she was merely being paranoid and not mysteriously in the nineteenth century, Yesenia blurted, "Do you know what Google is? Or Amazon? Or Honda?"
Nora tilted her head a fraction. "No, are they your family? Although come to think of it, isn't Amazon the name of a river in South America? Geography was never my best subject, but I think that's right."
Yesenia slid down the bathroom wall and plopped onto the cold tile floor, uncaring about more seams popping in the dress. She stared ahead at the tub, her gaze turning unfocused, as she tried to convince herself it could be a possibility.
She'd wished with everything she'd had that she could avoid marrying Derek and could instead find her own happiness and a male of her choosing.
But even so, why would she end up here, if it was indeed 1890?
And more importantly, if she were in the nineteenth century, could she get back to her own time? If she wasn't the one with powers—and Yesenia still didn't believe she had any—and some other time-wielder had sent her to this place, she might be stuck forever since time travel was one-way, except for the time-wielder and their bloodline.
Trapped in this place, unable to protect her younger brother and sister, made her heart race and dread weigh down her belly. If she hadn't fulfilled her contract with Derek, anything could happen to her siblings. After all, Derek had an entire vampire mob army at his command. It would merely take a snap of his fingers for them to retrieve Meadow and force her to marry Derek in Yesenia's place.
She placed her head in her hands and tried to take a few deep breaths. Regardless of what the situation was, she needed a clear head to listen to her instincts and form a plan. Yes, that's right. Yesenia may not have any magic, she might've been shunned by most of her kind back home, but she was good at plans and finding a way out. She couldn't give up hope.
Yet.
The air shifted as Nora knelt in front of Yesenia and the vampire gently touched her forearms. "You're distressed, and I have no idea why." She squeezed Yesenia's arms in a comforting gesture. "I know we just met, but you can tell me anything. I almost never leave this building, so your secrets would stay within these walls, I promise. And since vampires never lie without suffering pain, you know I'm telling the truth."
If it were a normal day, she might question Nora's odd words about never leaving the building. But since Yesenia was trying to decide whether she were dreaming, or crazy, or had hit her head harder than she thought, she couldn't see past her own predicament.
