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Sadness, despair, hopelessness, and a longing for when things were simpler crashed over her. Before she could stop it, tears flowed, followed by wracking, never-ending sobs.
ChapterThree
River was used to pain. For months he'd been kept in a limbo between life and death, his captors trying to break him and make him sign a contract in blood to become their very own personal torturer.
But he'd resisted. Through all the cuts, and electric shocks, and his skin being branded by hot metal rods, he'd held his ground.
And even though his mind had sealed off the memories of his torture itself each time he fell asleep—healing magic acted out of self-preservation, including the mind—he'd never been able to keep up with their fucking determination and erase his injuries completely. Especially as he'd been slowly starved, with less and less energy to spare.
Although as the days, weeks, and months went by, River had started to think death might be a better option, no matter how much he fucking hated quitting.
However, as his awareness started to fire bit by bit, meaning he wasn't dead and would fucking wake up again, he did his best to resist opening his eyes. The longer his captors didn't know he was awake, the better. He might not remember the specifics of how he'd gotten his injuries, but he didn't need any more new scars, burns, or who the hell knew what sort of reminder they'd leave on his body.
Although as he came awake, one thing became quickly apparent—his pain wasn't even half of what had become his new normal. Instead of a blanket of agony and numbness, there were only a few aches in certain spots, not even covering his entire body.
He tried shifting his arm a little to further judge his injuries. That went fine, without even a twinge. But when he tried to move the ankle they'd broken not long ago, a groan escaped him and he mentally cursed. Now the fuckers would know he was conscious and would gleefully get to work again.
Steeling himself for what was to come, he still reflexively bucked as a hand touched the back of his. Although when a female British accent asked, "Are you awake?" River's curiosity got the better of him and he opened his eyes.
Above him was a curvy, pale-skinned female with mismatched eyes, dark hair, and a hint of fang peeking from her lips.
It seemed the fuckers were going to try using a pretty female to soften him up.
But fuck that. River hadn't exactly worried about his dick or getting laid in months, what with all the damn pain and torture.
Even if it sounded fierce in his mind, his voice wasn't more than a whisper when he demanded, "Who the fuck are you? The good cop come to woo me with your pussy so I'll do anything you ask?"
She blinked. "Pardon?"
"Don't fucking play dumb with me, vampire." He shut his eyes. "You may as well tell them to kill me and not waste your time."
After a damned long pause, she said, "Maybe I should fetch Yesenia for you."
His eyes popped open again. "You have Yesenia?"
The female's dark brows came together, highlighting her unusual eyes—one blue, one green. Heterochromia iridium was rare.
Not that River should care. Although actually pulling a fact out of his brain for something related to his doctor studies felt good, and gave him a bit of fire to fight back for the first time in weeks.
If he could get free, somehow, he could try erasing these months of hell by getting lost in his work and helping others. Almost like a fuck you to Derrick Yates and his mob lackeys, doing the opposite of what they wanted of him—healing instead of hurting.
The female vampire nodded. "Yesenia's here, but she's not a prisoner. She's married to my brother."
If his face didn't ache, he might've frowned. "Now I know you're a fucking liar. Yesenia's not married."
Or at least she hadn't been. But no, his sister would've told him about such a life-changing event. Even if they were technically half-siblings sharing the same father but with different mothers, they'd never made that distinction. Yesenia loved him and would've shared that bit of news.
Unless it'd happened during his captivity.
The female walked to a rope hanging by the bed and tugged twice before dropping it. Then she turned toward him, her spine ramrod straight, and he finally noticed the long skirt and giant, weird-ass puffed sleeve things on her shirt.
What the fuck was she wearing? A Halloween costume?
Her voice distracted him from asking that. "I understand you're from the future, and expectations are different there. But I'd ask you to refrain from cursing so profusely in my presence."
A half-strangled laugh escaped his scratchy throat. "I don't fucking care if my words offend you, vampire. Just be grateful words are all I can use right now and I'm not strong enough to try and escape. My magic could crush you in an instant, and maybe if I was in a good mood, I'd leave you alive."
Fear flashed in the vampire's eyes and she backed away until she tripped over a low table near the fireplace. She fell over and braced her fall, crying out as she hit her arm on the table.
