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He shrugged. "I barely remember her. My mom's name was Maribelle, and I recall some singing as I sat on her lap in a rocking chair, but that's about it. From what others have told me, she had been naïve and young and so full of hope. My father married her at twenty, immediately got her pregnant with me, and leveraged her magical powers for a fee so he'd never have to work. My father's powers weren't great—he could attract fish and other creatures in the ocean at will—and without spending his life at sea, he couldn't earn a living.
"My mother, though, could coax plants to grow faster and produce more. Flowers, fruit, vegetables, you name it. Not only that, but her powers could improve the taste of something like grapes, which made better wine. Even from the get go of marriage to my father, her powers were in high demand despite not being fully trained yet."
As he paused and stared off into the distance, she wondered if he had ever watched his mother use her magic. Or, if not, had always wondered. Even if she was a vampire and not a fae witch, sharing something so personal with your family had to bring joy.
Something else River had been denied.
He spoke up again and Nora focused. "But one of the biggest drawbacks to fae witch magic is you have to recognize your limits and fucking stop before you burnout, or you'll fall into a deep coma. If you do wake up eventually, you can be different, almost insane. And because my father constantly pushed my mother to do more and more, she burned out not long after Meadow was born. When she finally woke up a year later, I vaguely remember how she didn't recognize me."
Her heart squeezed at the thought of a child not understanding why their parent didn't know their own baby. "Oh, River."
He shook his head. "But that wasn't the worst of it. No, she showed signs of mental decay and eventually she went mad and jumped off the roof of a building in Boston. At least she died instantly on impact and didn't have to suffer."
At the choked sound of his voice, she brought his hand to her chest and held it tightly, wishing she knew what to say.
She could only imagine what he was remembering, or if he was wistful about his younger days. Nora didn't have memories of her mother since she'd died shortly after her birth; the term didn't hold a lot of meaning for her.
However, everyone knew of fae witch burnout madness. The council here had rules to prevent it. To lose someone you loved and who loved you to something preventable? It had to be devastating.
Her fated lord was turning out to have a much more complicated past than she'd initially thought.
Right then and there, she wanted to know everything about him, hear his burdens, and aim for a true partnership like her brother Leo and Yesenia had. Nora didn't know if she could trust enough to love River, but she could at least be his friend and confidante.
He swallowed and then blew out a breath. "It was all so fucking long ago. But I still feel for my mother being tricked into marrying my asshole father, and then being stuck with him and his controlling ways. At least word got out about what he'd done to my mom after her death—and to a lesser extent, Yesenia's mother too—and he was never able to remarry since no female wanted anything to do with him." He finally looked back at Nora, his gaze unreadable. "Which is why he focused on exploiting his children as soon as they came into their powers."
She opened her mouth to ask what his father had done—Yesenia had only briefly touched on the topic with her—when someone knocked on the door. Not caring how irritated she sounded, she shouted, "Who is it?"
"It's Yesenia. Leo said you guys were taking too long and sent me to get you. Unless you need some private time?"
Nora cheeks heated. "Er, no, it's not that. We're just talking. You can come in."
River silently laughed and kissed her inner wrist. Even through her glove, the tingle raced down her spine to between her thighs.
Something about this male kept affecting her in bloody inconvenient ways.
She stood and tried to release River's hand, but he rose with her and held on tightly.
Opening the door, Yesenia grinned at her. "So, I hear we're soon about to become sisters twice over?"
River snorted. "Couldn't wait, could you?"
Yesenia raised her brows. "Of course not. Hearing the news made me rethink how much I dread bringing another fated one here as practice. I mean, maybe it works out for everyone brought together via time travel magic in the end? And if so, then I finally understand how profitable time travel matchmakers can be."
Despite everything, Nora laughed. "Leo, Laurie, Joseph, and I have told you that repeatedly."
She shrugged. "I know. But it's sort of a weird idea for me." She shook her head. "But we can talk about my business plans later." Yesenia looped her arm through Nora's free one. "Tell me when and where your wedding is going to take place. And all your plans about moving to the fae witch territory. Because I'm going to help you move and finally see it for myself. I'm tired of Leo saying I can visit it someday, especially since Dark Lord Khan said I was welcome at any time."
As she and River answered Yesenia's basic questions—they still had a lot to decide and let her know that—Nora expected panic to rear its ugly head. After all, not long ago, the best way to protect herself had been through routine and an avoidance of change.
However, just sharing a few exasperated looks with River about Yesenia's extremely detailed questioning made her decision seem more the right one, if anything. She'd always been guarded yet secretly longing for closeness. Maybe with River Vale, she'd finally have it.
For the first time since she entered her frozen state, Nora didn't fear the future.
ChapterSeventeen
The dinner had mostly been Leo and Yesenia interrogating River and Nora. It wasn't until the next day, after a peaceful sleep that had healed him nearly to full strength that River could finally talk alone with Nora again inside her sitting room.
And after kissing her gently for a few seconds—he fucking loved how she didn't hesitate when he leaned his lips close to hers any longer—River laid down his stack of papers, ink, and metal pen nibs on the small table between them. "Okay, as much as I could devour your lips all day, we have some shit to sort out. So no more kisses until we get the basic rules written down."
