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Plan in mind, River ran and jumped over the low wall toward the water's edge. He nearly made it to the shore before however many sets of hands grabbed him and pulled him back. They quickly spun him around and one fist crashed against his jaw. Another pummeled his cheek. And then someone slammed a foot into his middle.
His magic tried to heal him, but as the vampires tossed him on the ground and continued to beat the shit out of him with fists and boots, River's abilities couldn't keep up.
He was pretty sure his ribs were broken, as well as his arm, and there was some internal damage he didn't even have enough strength to diagnose before his body gave up, exhausted. And as River slipped into darkness, he wondered if his sisters had suffered the same fate.
ChapterTwo
Late April 1890
London, England
Lenora "Nora" Yates took one last look at the menu for this evening's supper and went in search of the cook in the kitchens.
Even though she normally did weekly menus each Sunday, she wanted to make this night special. After all, her new sister-in-law, Yesenia, should be using her magic to bring her first person through time any minute now.
Even if Yesenia was still learning how to harness her powerful abilities, Nora had faith the fae witch—one who possessed a rare type of magic that could manipulate objects and people through time—would succeed. And if something didn't go to plan, then Nora wanted to ensure her sister-in-law had all her favorite foods to lift her spirits, just in case.
Well, the foods that could be made in this time, at any rate. Yesenia was from the twenty-first century and sometimes her words or requests were strange and meaningless.
However, the fae witch from the future had ended up being her older brother Leo's fated bride. And now the pair were married, in love, and doing their best to balance their lives here in 1890 while also trying to help Yesenia's brother and sister in the future; both were being threatened by some dangerous vampire named Derrick Yates.
Sometimes Nora wondered how Yesenia had given her brother Leo any chance at all, let alone had fallen in love with him. In the beginning, the fae witch had been afraid of any vampire, and then had done everything possible to irritate Leo while also trying to find a way back to the future.
But it'd worked out somehow. And even if Nora never wanted to find her own fated lord—she'd experienced firsthand the cruelty and pain males could cause during the ten years her father had leased out her body to strangers—she was happy for Leo. Her eldest brother was the vampire Dark Lord of London, meaning he was responsible for all vampires not only in the city, but the entirety of the south of England. It was a demanding role, and he deserved some happiness for a change.
Nora had just reached the stairs that would lead to the kitchen when she heard Leo shouting, "Nora! We need your help."
Turning, she noted Leo running with a frantic look on his pale face.
Given how unflappable the Dark Lord of London usually was, dread pooled in her belly. "What's wrong?"
Leo skidded to a halt in front of her, his dark eyes full of worry. "The person Yesenia brought to the past is her brother, River, and he’s in bloody bad shape."
Yesenia was much more than her sister-in-law; she was one of Nora's only friends. The thought of Yesenia losing her brother after just finding him made dread pool in her stomach. "How can I help?"
Leo gestured upstairs, to the sitting room Yesenia used for her magic lessons. "Do whatever you can to keep him alive until we can fetch a fae witch doctor. I already sent a runner to find one."
Nodding, she picked up her skirts and followed her brother up the stairs. She spotted her brother's dark-haired man of operations—Leo ran a gaming hell—John Sakamoto, and shouted, "Have them bring my medicine chest to Yesenia's parlor."
John nodded and dashed off.
Leo ran and Nora tried her best to keep up, although by the time she reached the outside of the room that had become Yesenia's practice space, sweat trailed down her back. Since she was in her vampire frozen state—when a vampire's heart stopped beating and froze until finding their fated one or ones—she couldn't be out of breath. But she was still plump and unused to exercise.
It took her a second to stand up straight again and then rushed into the room.
She instantly saw the heap of what she assumed was Yesenia's brother on the floor. The mixed stench of body odor, charred skin, and putrefied flesh hit her nose.
Even if she wasn't a fully trained doctor, she knew those smells could easily mean death for a fae witch—the most physically fragile of all the paranormal species—especially if he didn't receive magical healing. And soon.
She dropped to the ground near the male, opposite Yesenia. She barely noted his pale, battered, and burned face before she placed her fingers on his neck to check his pulse.
The instant her skin touched his, a crash sounded inside her head, as if an entire sideboard of bottles and glasses fell and shattered on the floor.
Then it happened again and again, the excruciating noise reverberating through her head, each pound making her want to scream for it to stop.
Gripping her head, Nora lost her balance and fell back onto her bum. In the next second, her lungs burned. She drew in a deep inhalation of air, and then another, as if she were starving for it.
As if she'd die if she didn't have it.
