Fractures of Eternity

Facing the more sane twin, I couldn’t help but ignore the sweet one, who still had his hands on me.

“Oswald, can we put him somewhere where he’ll be safe? While also out of our hair?” I questioned, catching both boys off guard.

“Hah?” Loki breathed, “You don’t mean that, Vivi.”

I turned my head away from my prince while Eli snickered.

“Hm… That’s an interesting premise, but since they linked us to the book, we can’t place him in the soul cairn or else the dead gods, well, you saw what happened before. Though it would’ve been a great place to hide him in.” Oswald answered, catching the more robust brother’s attention.

In an instant, I regretted my question.

No… That place…

“Oi! Wait! You considered that once?!” Loki asked, eyes twitching.

Though he quickly cooled off when I lay my head against his arm, smothering myself on his shirt. That would be the last place I would ever send him, since it was full of the gods who fought in the war, much like Oswald had pointed out. They either hated me or wanted to control me.

“Anything… but the soul cairn,” I mumbled, trying to soothe the void that had opened up in my chest with his scent.

I guess the tone in my voice caused Loki to calm himself before leaning into me, too.

“Oh? I’m not going anywhere, Vivi,” He reassured me.

It was pathetic since I had run myself into that question, yet he was the one comforting me.

“Pfft, I can’t even use it because of that. Well, I can summon shadow demons, but going to the soul cairn is out of the question. Grandma’s the only one who can do it safely, and that’s to a point. Lately, it’s been odd in there.” Oswald noted, rolling his eyes at our show of affection.

This was something he didn’t enjoy witnessing, but he couldn’t deny that we cared for one another. Our conversation took a drop, though, when Leo came running from a nearby store. He had gone to buy a game, which he would later play in his room. This was something I lacked the knowledge of; however, Loki was slowly introducing me to different types of entertainment, such as the recent movies he had made me watch in his room, while the other twin was more interested in books as a medium for entertainment.

“I finally got it!” Leo beamed happily, sitting next to Oz.

Unlike the warlock, the game caught my prince’s interest, as they spoke for a while about things I didn’t understand, while our food came soon after. The pup devoured his meal before turning to us.

“Oh, Mom’s coming tonight,” He announced, tail wagging.

I almost choked on the drink I was sipping on.

Rem?! Oh no…

“What?” Loki mumbled, scratching his head.

“Huh? She is?” Oswald cocked his head at his younger brother, who nodded.

We all knew she would arrive by tomorrow morning, but it seemed she had moved up her arrival. Loki and I had spoken briefly about Rem and how I needed to avoid her at all costs, but I never went in-depth on why.

“Yeah, she called earlier. She wanted it to be a surprise, but… You know I’m not good with secrets. So just act surprised later, okay?” Leo grinned widely.

Oswald appeared to shake his head, rolling his eyes. “Oh, right, Ma and Pa are coming to the ball, along with grandpa and grandma. Forgot about that. Hey, we’ll see our uncles too, who will probably embarrass us for good measure, too.”

“Yeah, but Mom wants to see you both tonight, before the ball. She had me plan this stupid thing to lure you there, but honestly, I don’t have the energy to do that!” The pup waved his hand with a slight frown.

“Ah… Well, tell her I have plans and that I’ll see her at the party.” Loki huffed.

Although he loved his adoptive mother, he also knew I couldn’t be near her and he needed to be near me in case a rogue vampire came my way.

Well, one that doesn’t believe Alistair.

Luckily, the false claims of the elder brother cooled everyone around me.

“What?” Leo tilted his head, “But… It’s mom.”

The family reunion was long overdue, since it had been almost a month since they last saw each other. Leo, being so young, probably missed his parents, though I was sure they spoke every night.

“I can’t drop everything just because Ma’s coming. She always expects Oz and me to stop our worlds for her, and we have other things to do. At least I do.” Loki didn’t back down, grabbing onto my hand underneath the table.

Hah… Are you worried about me? Is this to let you know that you’ll be on my side no matter what? Such a foolish boy.

I could barely stop myself from smiling, yet with Leo around, I couldn’t afford to allow my emotions to show. However, a little handholding wouldn’t be so bad either, prompting me to intertwine my hand with his as he quickly tightened his grip on me.

“Ah… Well, she doesn’t like to call you ahead of time because she thinks she’ll bother you.” Leo informed.

Oz didn’t seem to be fully on board with it either.

“Maybe she should. All I ever get are texts and voice messages from Pa. How does she expect me to know what she wants if she won’t tell me?” Loki huffed.

Oh… it seems Rem has a pattern, though… I think you always give in to her, but this time… Hah… I don’t want to be the gap between you all, though. Butif she touches me, will the necklace protect me from her power, too?

“I don’t know if Mom will be happy with that. She really wants to see you, Loki, especially with everything that happened.” Leo mumbled.

Loki rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “Well, if she shows up in my room, then I’ll handle it then.”

“Okay. I get it, but Thea and Luna will be disappointed, too.” The pup tried one last time to guilt him into giving in.

My prince paused, before shaking his head and shrugging, “They shouldn’t be. They’ll see me the next day.”

“Yeah, at the ball, with all those people. I was hoping we could have a family night today.” He scuffed, pouting.

Upon hearing those words, I loosened my grip on my lover’s hand.

No… This isn’t right.

“Well, she needs to know I’m grown now.” Loki didn’t budge as Oswald sipped his coffee, with Zephier purring on his shoulder the entire time.

“Well, I doubt she’ll listen.” Leo puckered his lips, shifting his gaze at me briefly before going back to his older brother..

“Oh? Pa will make her.” My vampire leaned towards me.

“Eh, I’m sure he wants to see you, too.” Leo wasn’t giving up either.

“Well, that’s an issue they’ll have to figure out. I have my relationship to look—” Loki tried to finish, yet I wouldn’t let him.

Pulling away from his warmth, I wouldn’t allow myself to be the excuse for this.

“Speak for yourself, Loki. Don’t use me to avoid your mother and father. I’ll be fine by myself for a couple of hours.” I snapped at the stunned vampire.

“Well, she can come. I’m sure Ma will love her.” Leo beamed, changing the conversation.

For a moment, everyone stayed silent as I stared at the naïve boy.

Your mother would murder me if she could.

“I-I… shouldn’t intrude. If anything, I’ll pass the time with Alistair.” I announced, gazing away from everyone.

My voice trembled a bit, which wasn’t because I feared being with Alistair alone. No, it was the thought of Rem catching me before I saved Loki. With her there, I couldn’t even go to my Plan B of taking the twins hostage, as it would lead to the living gods being alerted to everything.

My words caused Loki to grab onto my hand. “Hm… Nope, that’s not happening.”

“Well, it isn’t your choice! I can do what I want in my after-hours time!” I growled.

“Unless I ask for you and sweets, consider yourself needed all hours of the day,” Loki smirked.

I felt my eyes gloss before landing them on Eli, who was still on my lap.

“That’s…” I trailed off, poking the little snake on his snout.

He wouldn’t let me go. This would be a problem when the time came.

Crap… You won’t let me go. I know this is a problem, but… I feel happy.

“Leo, I won’t be meeting Ma tonight, and that’s final.” Loki finished, pulling me up from my seat.

“But—” Leo frowned, ears tilted downward.

“Sorry, baby boy, but you’re not getting your way today.” My vampire bid farewell before hauling me along to the castle.

The ball was only hours away, and I would have to dance not only around the nobles present, but also every enemy that was there. Rem and Alijah were the most concerning ones, yet I had no idea my current path was about to cross with the person I blamed for everything, stopping me on my tracks the moment I spotted her.

Although the hybrid who sometimes haunted my thoughts, shook my world, and labeled me as an abomination, I never blamed her for the death of Nene.

No… that’s…

“Tania!” Loki called out the moment he saw her by the castle entrance.

My world froze, as I didn’t know if I had it in me not to kill her. If she hadn’t chased us and cornered us, Nene would still be around.

Will I control myself for the sake of the one I love? After all, she’s your aunt. I…