Fractures of Eternity

Once we stopped by the door to the showers, I sat down by a bench nearby with Loki's belongings. He went inside for a quick wash and to change his clothes. This was a shower for those of royal blood alone, as there was another at the far side for commoners. There was one for princesses and for princes, too.

To my knowledge, there wasn’t any female princess this time around, which meant the princes were the only ones using them. However, if the queen ever decided to practice her skills, the bathroom would be ready for her.

I took a deep breath, only to notice Eli stayed with me, who was protectively coiling around one of my arms.

Huh… It appears Loki doesn’t trust Alistair with me.

I glanced around to see who was around, but it was just me and the little snake in this space. It seemed the others were still with Alistair, who, while not against Loki, was a force to be reckoned with. Unable to help myself, I grabbed onto Eli's soft body, pulling him onto my lap.

"Why... are you here?" I mumbled, fidgeting with his scales.

"I didn’t want to leave the lady alone with a bunch of brutes," he announced as I rubbed my fingers on his little cheeks.

For a snake, you sure are warm.

However, that moment of tranquility quickly changed when he shivered within my grip as a shriek came from the bathroom where Loki was. Lucas and Alistair both came running from the side as I, with brief hesitation, opened the door, rushing in. For a moment, my eyes locked with my link, who covered himself with a towel.

He wasn’t alone in the room. A random girl was on the floor crying near him, while in his eyes, there was only pure disgust as he glared at her, who was utterly naked. Alistair and Lucas both came in behind me to witness the scene, too.

Eli rushed towards Loki, who appeared shaken by what had happened.

Hah… How dare this girl…

"What the fuck is going on here?" Alistair mumbled, shifting his eyes from his brother and then to the unknown woman in the room.

The girl, who was a vampire, stood up to run past us, only for me to use magic to cause her to slip and tumble against the wall where the three of us stood. Luckily, there were no Lycans in the building to realize a spell had been cast, as Lucas and Alistair both couldn’t help but laugh at the girl.

It was easy to dismiss any foul play since the floor was wet from Loki’s shower, so the fall only appeared like a clumsy attempt to escape. However, their cackle soon ceased when I walked over to the recovering girl before throwing a towel onto her naked body.

“Thank you.” She mumbled, still dazed from the fall.

Hah… you pathetic little pig… You dared touch my link! My precious…

The moment her eyes met mine, I could see hers dilate as I grabbed hold of her wet locks.

"What does a little pig like you think you were doing?" I asked, voice running ice cold.

This girl, although a vampire, had nothing on me. The thought of being a human never crossed my mind, as it didn’t matter to me that she could easily hurt me. She was a molester, though, and already being caught meant she was about to be charged for it too.

The last thing she needed was more trouble for hurting someone else, yet that never mattered to me. However, something in my expression stopped her from even trying to escape. It was as if she were trapped in a lion's grip, and unfortunately for her, I wouldn’t let go until I was satisfied.

Any movement meant certain death for her, and she could feel it as my divinity reached her soul, while everyone else was ignorant.

"I’m sorry! Please! Let me go! I’ll never do it again." The girl pleaded, hoping I would leave it at that.

Instead of her words, all I could see was how troubled Loki was before we came in. I wanted to see her burn. Sadly, that was a desire I couldn’t give in to, but it was fortunate that my back was towards the boys.

They couldn’t see this ugly side of me, yet my voice was filled with venom that anyone could feel.

"Ah... I don’t think I’ve ever seen living garbage like you before." I grimaced at the girl, letting her go, only to take a few steps backward towards the boys behind me without being able to look away from the wench.

Everyone in the room was quiet as I bit my lip and clenched my hands into fists.

Breathe… Vivian… Let it go and… You know what? Fuck it!

Unable to contain myself, I kicked the unsuspecting girl's face right at her temple, prompting her body to rag doll to the side. Surely, a typical noble vampire would have broken my leg clean off, but from the dirt in her hands and the scars on her body, I knew she wasn’t one.

If anything, she was a peasant who hoped to seduce the prince. Sadly, even peasants were immune to the royal’s blood magic, which left Loki unable to use anything more than his strength to keep her at bay.

Utter dirt… A bug that deserves to be pulverized!

After the girl fell to the side, Alistair, who was closer to me than Loki, grabbed onto me, pulling me towards him.

“Woah, little lamb, you’re going to get yourself killed!” He warned, holding me back as I couldn’t stop glaring at the unconscious girl who was motionless.

Lucas went quickly to check on her as she still was in another plane of existence after my blow. Barely anything would handle an unsuspected hit to the head, and I didn’t hold back at all.

"Holy shit! She’s more badass than Gerta!" Lucas gushed, smirking at me from the poor girl’s body.

I huffed, feeling a fire burn within me differently than before.

How dare you touch my protector?

If he wanted it, it would have been different, but he hated it.

He’s pure! How dare this filth touch him?!

I could barely hold myself together before I noticed what I had done.

Oh…

Catching myself, I glanced over to Loki to see him in utter surprise as no other emotion lingered in his eyes anymore.

"Damn, little lamb, you’re a fighter." Alistair chuckled, holding me by my arms, preventing me from smashing the girl's face.

“She deserved it for doing something this despicable,” I grumbled, wishing to stomp on her face a little more.

Crap... How to recover from this? Well... It seems Gerta would’ve done something similar. Perhaps that’s my way out.

Lucas poked the woman’s face as Loki appeared to catch his breath. Eli was with him, which meant he was safe from his kind, too.

"How many times has it been this year?" The blond asked, shifting his gaze toward Alistair.

"Three. The guards don't know how the fuck they get in and we can't just install cameras here. Someone would get to those, too." The eldest brother answered, gazing at Loki.

"Are you okay, bro?" he questioned.

"I’m fine. I just wasn’t expecting this today out of all days." My vampire rolled his eyes.

Eli stayed behind; that’s why. You’re so stupid. Hah…

"Well, you usually catch them before they get too close for comfort. Getting rusty?" He chastised his baby brother only to receive a glare.

"Shut up." Loki hissed as I finally calmed down enough to gaze at my captor.

"I won’t hurt her again. Can you let me go?" I mumbled, wanting to be done with the situation that had arisen.

"Sure, little lamb, for a sweet kiss." Alistair teased me, prompting my eyes to twitch.

Hah?

"Oi... Let her go." Loki growled from the side as Eli’s eyes shimmered.

“Okay, okay, don’t seek that snake on me.” He breathed, letting me go.

Without saying anything else, I took the opportunity to leave the boys alone in the bathroom. If I even glanced over to Loki's semi-naked body again, I would’ve killed the girl without a care for who was there.

"Excuse me, I’ll go call guards. Please keep an eye on the trash in case it regains its awareness." I announced, closing the door behind me and pressing the button near the entrance to the bathroom that alerted the guards to come in.

Luckily, this wasn’t a one-time ordeal, as there had been plenty of attempts like this. Usually, Loki would notice them thanks to Eli's watchful eyes. However, this time, the girl waited until he turned on the water, which masked her footsteps.

Despicable, really.

In the adrenaline-filled moment, I didn’t notice how I sprained my ankle when I had kicked the girl's face, leaving it aching. Even though the slut wasn’t from royal blood, a vampire was always a formidable opponent. It was nothing I couldn’t handle, though.

When Loki was done dressing, he quietly sat next to me on the bench while the officers took the naked assailant out of the restroom.