Fractures of Eternity

There was another abrupt break before Alistair and Lucas came out for their match in the semi-finals. The older princes, who seemed somewhat out of it, jaw dropped upon seeing who his next opponent was. All the while, Lucas appeared to have a fire coming from his eyes. Before the matches, the referee always gave the challengers a moment to speak, as both parties would usually stay quiet or bow in respect to one another, yet this time the blond had other plans.

“Why… Are you here?” Alistair questioned, wincing soon after.

“Now you want to talk? I thought you were going to stay quiet this entire time, too.” Lucas huffed as his red gaze shimmered towards the unwell boy standing before him.

“Argh… Just forfeit.” Alistair held onto his blade, trembling, which made my heart ache.

I could tell this boy wanted nothing to do with this fight, yet had his reasons for staying—something shared with his lover, who didn’t appear like he was about to back down either.

Is… the stress really all there is? Oswald said he was fine and free of magical influence… But this… Can it be… parts of the diseased claiming many purebreds? But… Leonard wasn’t…. Argh…

“No, I won’t back away this time, Ali. If you lose to me, then you lose your chance at the crown, which will make you a free man!” Lucas snapped back, gripping tightly to his sword.

“You don’t know what you are talking about! I don’t want that freedom!”The prince declared, as the blade in his hands appeared to want to shatter into a million pieces.

“I don’t care! Maybe you should have talked to me about it instead of shutting everyone out! Do you even know how it feels not to know a single thing about you, even though we’re so close?! Everyone asked me about you and I… I couldn’t…” Lucas trailed off, biting his lip before shaking his head.

Alistair stood there for a moment before dropping his head. “None of that matters. Prepare yourself.”

A second later, the match began in a flurry of blows and sparks that my eyes couldn’t keep up with. Once again, I was reminded of how unfair their speed was, but when they clashed, I caught glimpses of the two in different spots, while Lucas was actually keeping up with the eldest prince. The only reason the blades stayed in one piece was that they were made of etanil, which prevented them from shattering under their mighty blows. Although flashy, it wasn’t long until Lucas fell onto the floor, heaving for breath, with Alistair pointing his sword at the downed vampire.

I hadn’t realized when I got up on my feet, while I clasped my chest.

Please… No more!

“Forfeit!” Alistair demanded, voice shaking as he appeared barely holding it together.

Utter silence veiled the stadium, as the tension felt like it could be sliced with a knife.

A soft smile came on Lucas’s lips. “Hah… Do you even know how many times you’ve hurt me?”

“I…” The prince bit his lip as he appeared ready to burst, crying.

“Hey, will you add another scar to my body, Ali?” The blond didn’t stop, as the moment those words left his mouth, his eyes widened before taking a few steps away from the downed vampire.

A hand rose to his head before wincing as I felt a throb rush through my entire body when a soft, barely visible shimmer of light left his core.

Eh?

It was too quick to identify, though, and it could’ve come from the blaring lights from above before it faded, as it never happened. A second later, it seemed like the elder brother froze where he was, as Lucas took the chance to try to disarm him. It only took a second for the blood to splatter on the stadium when Alistair sliced the blond’s arm clean off before he even realized what he had done. The moment the prince saw what he had done in a split-second action, he appeared mortified, along with everyone else who saw it happen.

Almost as if a child running away, he retreated from the stage quicker than I could see, while the medics on standby took Lucas for emergency care. Luckily, it was nothing that couldn’t be attached, yet Alistair’s face was burned into my mind.

“It seems the pressure is getting too much for Leonard’s eldest son,” Rem commented to Alijah, who grabbed hold of her hand.

“He’s just a kid, too, Rem.” He sighed, unsure of what was happening to him, too.

Sitting back on the chair, I could barely hold back the desire to run towards the eldest brother, as he needed someone beside him. However, with all the security around, it was doubtful I would’ve made it past the entrance to where he was. I had to remind myself that Gerta was with him.

But is she enough for you? Why… do you look so… Argh… This is heartbreaking! Why didn’t… No… how could you rely on me? I’m just… You don’t know who I am.

After cleaning up the stadium, the second semi-final match began, where Lexi was Loki’s opponent. After the last events, the audience was quiet enough to hear the conversation between the two semifinalists.

“Ready to get your ass handed to you?” Alexandria huffed, twirling the blade in her hand.

Loki chuckled, shaking his head. “You think you can beat me?”

“Of course, you’re nothing but child’s play without your familiar. Don’t forget, I’m a general in the royal army!” She replied, as their egos matched each other perfectly.

“Even if you beat me, winning the tourney won’t get you the crown. I hope you know that.” Loki shrugged.

“Seems you didn’t read the rewards for winning for some of the contestants. Well, the queen changed them last night when I joined. Otherwise, why would I waste my time in this silly game?” She smirked, as in her eyes, this was nothing more than a ladder for her to climb.

“What?” Loki mumbled, narrowing his gaze at her.

The previous night, he had spent it with me, as we had made each other lose it, which meant he was blissfully unaware of any changes.

“What the…” Oz trailed off beside me, prompting me to shift my gaze at him lightly to see him scrolling on his phone.

It seemed even the studious prince had no idea about this.

“If the winner is a fertile female, she can pick to marry one of the princes, and her chosen will be made into the king. Of course, no female could ever beat you or Alistair. Well, unless it’s me.” She smirked, pointing the sword at Loki.

“You’re fucking crazy, if you ever think I’m going to fucking marry you.” My prince huffed, gripping his sword tighter. “And Alistair certainly doesn’t deserve you to be his wife either.”

“Aw, it’s cute you think that, but Queen Andrea added that last night. It’ll be pretty to see you or your big brother become my fertilizer, and maybe that human lover of yours will be my morning wine.” She smirked, prompting a flash of pure indignation to flash in his face as his nostrils flared while his eyes shimmered brightly.

“Oi… Watch your mouth, or I won’t be nice.” Loki warned, glaring at the female vampire.

In her gaze, he was nothing more than a plaything, which he also knew from the way he spoke, yet ever since my kidnapping, he would never allow anyone to come near me. It was why Oswald was babysitting me today.

“Oh, am I? You know, I don’t care if you’re with her or even if you impregnate her. All I want is an heir from one of you. We don’t even have to have sex for it. Isn’t that a good deal for you?” She continued, as I squished Eli in my hands.

I couldn’t judge this girl’s wish to climb out of the binds society had placed on her, yet the cost was beyond her reach.

To dare claim what is mine isn’t an option.

Instead of waiting a second more, he clashed swords with her, as he was obviously stronger than she was, yet her swift movements outpaced him, forcing him onto the defensive. Unlike him, she had actual battle experience rather than friendly spars—a war against my kind. She was a woman who hunted us for a living, as all the races did. Their fear of what we were united against us, while we kept to the shadows, attempting to survive.

Lexi wasn’t scared of hurting Loki, and that much was obvious, as she outpaced him to the point he could barely catch himself. With each clash of the swords, I could see he was tiring, unlike her, who had the training to endure long periods of battle—a sharp contrast to her opponent, who was a sheltered prince. From her swift movements, she was almost wiping the floor with Loki, as she showed him into the ground, causing him to drag on it before finding his feet quickly after.

At that point, she laughed at him while he appeared short of breath, “Oh? Are you tired, your highness? Perhaps you shouldn’t have avoided your training when you courted that maid.”

My heart was feeling something I had never felt before.

This isn’t happening, right? You can’t lose to her. You’re...

“You better not lose, Loki!” Rem yelled beside us, waving her hands in the air.

I had not noticed when the Luma got up from her chair to shout his name, as it seemed the fight had riled her up, too.

Hah… It’s almost as if you stole the words from me.

Though Thea, who sat next to Oswald, grabbed onto my hand, urging me up, too.

“I bet my brother wants to hear your voice. Cheer for him! It’ll give him the strength to overcome that bitch!” She smiled at me.

“Yeah, I bet he wants to see you, too.” Lola grabbed onto my shoulder.

Her red eyes and silver hair caused me to shiver a bit, as, unlike the black wolf, I was still not used to this new girl being so friendly to me, but it seemed it was in her nature. He had gotten up to root for his nephew, too, while Oswald smirked, noticing his family cheering on his troublesome twin before joining them, too.

“Hey! Dick head! You better not lose to this crazy bitch!” Oz shouted at his brother.

Alijah was the only one who stayed sitting down, yet his glare towards Lexi was murderous. Not that the female vampire had time to care for it while she glanced at Loki, like her victory was in sight. A rush of fear coursed through me.

If she wins… Does that mean she owns Loki? There is no way Rem would allow that. No… She has to be lying yet...

My heart stung in ways I never knew it could.

No one can win you! You’re mine, Loki!

“You better not lose you, stupid, horny, idiotic vampire!” I let loose, triggering utter silence to come into the stadium, as my cheeks burned because of my outburst.

Ah… Uh oh… Did I actually say…

Eyes were piling up on me while Oswald and Thea cackled beside me. Even Lexi was glancing towards me, stunned by what I had said. Eli slithered onto my shoulder before pressing his snout against my ear.

“I love you, Vivian,” Eli whispered into my ear.

As the distracted female vampire allowed Loki to make his counter, when he wasted little time on dashing towards her as she swiftly dodged him, only to misstep soon after, allowing a kick to send her flying across the stadium and into a wall, cracking it the moment she impacted it. She hit the floor out cold as he hadn’t held back.

“For a general, you surely get distracted easily. Though I don’t blame you for wanting to gaze at her beauty, she’s mine.” Loki stuck his tongue out at her before appearing drained after that fight, yet there was still one match left, which left my heart feeling empty.