Fractures of Eternity

My gaze swiftly locked on Loki when he grabbed hold of me, but before he could say a word to me. Oswald busted into the room with a book in his hand, alerting us that this entire time, if he wanted to come in, a simple chair wouldn’t stop him, as the chair had magically moved away. Instinctively, I tugged away from the playful twin to face his more ill-tempered brother, who strolled in with a cup of coffee in his hands.

“Oi, what the fuck?” Loki growled as Oz ignored him, picking up the chair and pulling it to he desk before sitting on it.

Zephier soon joined Eli on the bed, who watched on without uttering a word.

“Hey! Why are you here?!” My vampire huffed as I took the chance to gather the clothes that I had stored away in the morning hours.

Upon hearing the question, his brother placed his cup of coffee to his lips, taking a sip, watching his brother steam from where he stood. After a gulp, he placed the metal cup down hard enough to startle me from where I was.

Why does it feel so heavy here?

“Well, if I can’t have fun tonight, why should you? You two are fucking, right? I mean that bruise I saw on your collarbone a day ago. Surely, wouldn’t be there otherwise.” Oswald smirked at Loki. “Congrats on finally losing your V-card, I guess.”

The atmosphere turned so thick that I could feel the pressure this warlock was exerting on everyone in the room. His twin appeared about to break when he said that, while I froze where I stood in front of the bathroom, slowly turning to Oz, who studied me carefully. His eyes were icy and lacked any emotion.

Crap… This is way more than…

“Oi… don’t say that like that in front of her.” The vampire huffed, walking over to his brother.

Oswald shrugged, standing up from the chair. It was clear he wasn’t interested in taking prisoners today, and it didn’t help that it seemed like he was having one of the awful headaches. Then again, this twin always appeared on the verge of having an aneurysm, which the caffeine in his system didn’t help.

“Well, you both strolled on me yesterday. So, I think pleasantries are out of the question. Don’t you think so, brother?” Oz stared at Loki before tapping his fingers on the table.

“Even knowing our situation, you bedded a random girl you barely know. It’s quite worrisome,” he questioned the vampire head-on.

My prince winced at Oswald’s harsh tone. “She… isn’t going to hurt me, Oz.” He sighed, shifting his gaze away from him and towards me briefly before snapping back onto his twin..

“Hah… That’s where you’re wrong, dear brother. They’re all going to hurt you. Women are nothing but a good time.” Oz announced before using a small knife to cut his thumb.

In an instant, chains that came from the ground surrounded me, wrapping around my body in such a way that it would be impossible for me to escape. Well, unless I undid the spell—something I could do in an instant, but to do so would expose me even more.

“Sorry, little love, but I can’t afford to be nice.” The warlock added as the chains tightened around my body.

All the while, my prince appeared like a deer in headlights, shaking his head as if that would rewind time.

I clicked my tongue, “Point taken.”

Was this what was planned all along? Or is it something else? No, you seem taken aback by your brother.

On the bed, Eli also appeared ready to strike when Zephyr sat on him, preventing him from moving from there.

“Oz! Stop! She saved me from those shadow demons!” Loki snapped out of his initial surprise.

I closed my eyes as a soft giggle left me.

So, you didn’t tell Oswald a thing. No, this all came from you not healing your… Well… It’s my fault too. I shouldn’t have been so possessive last night. Hah… What to do?

“Oh, I know. It’s what placed her in this current living situation. The video they took while they were hiding like cowards under the rubble shows how brave and devoted this human girl was to you, but just who is she?” Oz sighed, shifting his gaze back onto me. “I can’t help but think that her rash actions were more than devotion to you, Loki.”

Well, my other link seems to be carrying the brains for the two.

“You know… Vivian’s such a wonderful name. It means life, and I can’t help but wonder if you were named after a certain ominous god. Have you heard of the Book of Life?” Oswald questioned, prompting me to stiffen up.

Are you fishing? How much do you actually know? Is it over? Will this be it? Or… can I… somehow move past it? Where is the…

Though hearing him call me evil was something else, even though he wasn’t Loki, he wore a similar face and tone of voice, which meant everything he said stung more than I wanted to admit.

“Oz… Please, let her go.” Loki tried to keep the peace, but his twin was out for blood.

His life was in peril once before when the gates disrupted their daily lives, and he wasn’t ready for it to happen again. Unfortunately, he had every right to be paranoid and protective of his brother, and I was the intruder in this scenario.

“Damn, Loki! I’m just wondering how much this girl knows! I mean, her blood’s special and she’s a female! Did you even check anything before you bedded her?! Do you even know?!” She snapped at Loki, who shifted his gaze away from him. “Oh, shit... You know!”

“I… I… Just…” Loki trailed off, biting his lip.

Ah… You’ve been my partner in all senses of the word. Crap… This is all my fault for not staying away.

“Wow! Well, do entertain me with this silly thought, your crazy brother just had! It’s fucking hilarious to think you’re fucking the being that destroyed our family, right?! I know you wouldn’t be stupid enough to do that! Right, Loki?!” Oswald snarled at his twin, who flinched.

Hah… I’m right… This love’s poison that’ll destroy everything you hold dear. I…

Even though it wasn’t Loki who said that, it stung much more than I thought it would, hearing it in his voice.

I… We… are just a moment.

“Oswald, no, I—” my prince tried to speak, only to be interrupted by a raging warlock.

Hah… My blood is what caused all of this, didn’t it?

“Fuck it, doesn’t matter. If she’s fucking you and staying here, there is no use in hiding anything from her because if she isn’t part of the fucking danger, then she surely will be in it.” Oswald confronted, prompting Loki to bite his lip.

Oz turned to me again, walking a few steps towards me as his eyes only reflected a freezing breeze as they calculated any reaction from me.

“This idiot’s life here is in peril, all because a fucking book said he was going to die at our half-brother’s hands, and that I’ll go to jail because of it. That is debatable because right now I feel like murdering my twin myself, but anyways, our mother linked us to this monster, and now that means I’ll die too when—” he continued to rant, only to stop when Loki grabbed onto his shoulder.

“Oswald! That’s enough,” he tried to stop the entire thing that was happening.

Monster… Hah…

Unlike the warlock, he knew everything and probably knew I was about to break. His kindness shattered me, but the icy glare from Oswald only empowered me, which meant I wouldn’t back down. If Loki wouldn’t give me away, then I would fight to stay, even if it would end up killing me inside later.

Compartmentalize… Endure… Close up… Everything doesn’t matter. The only important thing was that I survive!

“It isn’t enough! We don’t know if that fucking cult caused that attack! If anything, I’ll erase her memories from this!” Oswald growled at his twin’s intervention.

I took a deep breath upon hearing his intentions.

Such a naught warlock. Erasing my memory isn’t something you’re allowed to do.

His magic could mistakenly cross with mine, making a synergetic effect that could turn me into a toddler or worse. Luckily, superficial spells like the chains weren’t as chaotic as long as I didn’t have any energy pulsing out of me.

Endure…

Closing my eyes, I placed the lids on everything I had allowed to escape when I was with my vampire. My opponent today wasn’t Loki, but Oswald, whose hatred for my coven and my being were present in his eyes—something that had been missing in the boy who had crawled his way into my heart.

Don’t think… Just speak.