ChapterFourteen
Yesenia was grateful that her day's magic-gathering practice had been shorter than usual. Apparently Dark Lord Khan had wanted her to be alert for their meeting.
Not that Rebecca had revealed anything else about what the fae witch male had wanted to talk to her about. As open as the female was when it came to magic-harnessing techniques, she was pretty much close-lipped about anything else.
Yesenia might be a fae witch, but she was still an outsider in this time.
Considering she'd been an outsider her entire adult life, it didn't bother her too much. At least, not yet.
In fact, Yesenia was in fairly good spirits since she'd whittled down the time needed to contain magical power to roughly ninety seconds. Another few days, and she'd start moving inanimate objects a few seconds into the future.
She had no idea if she'd be as skilled with actually using her magic versus merely gathering it. But she hoped she could master her abilities at least enough to warn her brother and sister to do their best to stay out of Derek’s reach until she could help them fully.
A knock on the door made her jump to her feet and stand tall. She'd never had to deal with powerful fae witches back home. Most of her kind only met those in the American Fae Witch Council after mastering their magic, or if they needed to face punishment for some sort of transgression. Yesenia hadn't dealt with either situation, so she really didn't know how to act with Dark Lord Khan.
Not that she would cower; she'd been a fighter for too long. She'd be polite and determined and go from there.
A tall male with black hair and medium-brown skin waltzed into the room and moved to stand near a far wall. He leaned against it and crossed his arms. As soon as his near-black eyes fixated on her, he ordered, "Sit down."
She frowned, wondering if Dark Lord Khan had some sort of bias against those from the future, or maybe because she was American.
Regardless, she sat and waited. Rebecca had suggested it was best to let Khan speak first, as a sign of respect.
But the longer he studied her, the more she tapped her foot and strummed her fingers on her leg. His attempts at a power play were obvious, and it annoyed her.
When the corner of Khan's mouth ticked up, softening his features a little, she froze. He was a lot more handsome without the foreboding stare. Not quite as sexy as Leo, of course, but definitely movie-star worthy.
His hint of a smile vanished as he cleared his throat. "Rebecca has told me much about you, Miss Vale. I still have trouble believing a time-wielder materialized here, of all places. Or that you blooded Yates. However, let me say something before we move on to matters related to your magic.
"Firstly, you will always have a safe place inside the fae witch territory of the East End. If you fear for your life or come to harm at the hands of the vampires, I don't care about the truce, I will protect my own people, no matter when they might hail from."
She blinked at his fierce tone. "Um, thanks. Although I don't think it'll come to that."
He tilted his head a fraction. "Next, as you know, fae witches can't see a vampire's bite claim. Has it already happened then?"
She tried to keep heat from her cheeks but failed. "No, sir. It hasn't happened yet."
He stared at her again. It took everything she had not to look away, but Yesenia knew her type of magic was one of the most powerful among fae witches. Even if she were the guest and she owed a lot to Dark Lord Khan, she knew to set boundaries early with any paranormal males, to define their relationship. One where he would probably want her help some day, if she managed to master her abilities.
Khan cleared his throat. "Well, I suspect it won't be long before Yates acts. At any rate, I'm more interested in your abilities and what you plan to do once you have control over them. Will you stay in this time? I rather hope you do, as you know the former time-wielder died some time ago and it would be nice to have one available again."
Ah, the question she usually avoided trying to think about: Would she stay here, go somewhen else, or attempt to live under the radar in the future?
While Yesenia was fairly certain the twenty-first would be out, given Derek Yates, she still hadn't decided between the other two choices.
Not wanting to elaborate on something she hadn't even figured out, Yesenia shrugged. "I don't know yet. I'm sure Rebecca has told you about how I need to help my brother and sister first."
He nodded. "No matter where or when you decide to settle, keep the Code of Fae Witches in mind, understood? Some would like to know the future for their benefit, but violating the Code would mean I'd have to punish you. And I'd rather not have to do that."
The code he spoke of was one of the texts she'd read since arriving in 1890. It was similar to the Fae Witch Laws back in the US in the twenty-first century, stipulating what fae witches had to keep secret from other species, what services they could sell without being punished, and tons of other rules she could never keep track of. "I have no plans to sell secrets about the future. Although it did make me wonder…"
Yesenia trailed off and bit her lip. Maybe it was too soon to ask the Dark Lord for even more information.
His face softened. "I may be the Wielder of Nightmares, but I have a heart, Miss Vale. I don't punish my people for asking reasonable questions."
His tone gave her the courage to blurt, "Given the way the other fae witches have spoken of you, cruel isn't a word I'd use to describe you. Well, provided I don't get on your bad side."
He gestured between them. "Even when you're on my good side, I keep this distance to protect you. Now, ask me your query."