Fractures of Eternity

The moment Rem saw Loki there, her gaze lit up like fireworks, much like Alijah had warned.

“What the heck are you doing here?! I told you to stay in the castle!” She snapped, eyes twitching.

“But I—” he choked, seeing her face warp in anger.

No matter what, she was his mother, and he knew the lecture he would get after everything was done, but that didn’t bind me.

“Stop! If he had come a second later, we both would’ve been dead! He saved us!” I stood up for him, who held me tighter to his chest in response.

If I took the wrong step, my mark would’ve been seen by her, yet while she placed him down, I couldn’t stay quiet. The Luma, who was nowhere near as adorable as her daughter, narrowed her eyes at me. Behind her, Alijah wasted no time realigning Thea’s break, stabilizing it with anything sturdy around and cloth. He appeared so caring, while his words only tried to soothe his baby girl, who was in distress over the pain coursing through her.

“Even if that were true. If I had been just a second later, I wouldn’t have lost Thea alone. I would’ve lost him, too! It would’ve been three lives lost instead of two!” She argued.

Surprisingly, I found the worry in her eyes was refreshing.

Touching… but that doesn’t change…

“Is that how you’ll play it? Then I’ll throw you the ball too. If he had never come, you would’ve been late for us, but that didn’t happen because of him!” I didn’t back down.

I was nothing like the girl she had met at the ball, prompting her to wince before gazing back at her little girl with Alijah.

“Argh… We’ll speak later. Return to the castle and stay there. The city’s crawling with shadow demons.” Rem chided, as a second later, they were both gone.

Thea held her injured limb as she climbed into Eli, while I stepped away from Loki to grab the weird black crystal that was on the floor. It was broken, and I had never seen one like it before. Yet again, I never knew how the core of homunculi worked. Without saying a word, Loki picked me up in his arms, as there were no more distractions, while Rem and Alijah were clearing the city, represented by all the purple flames that erupted from everywhere.

It appeared they had chased all the demons to the edge of the down. When we dropped off Thea by the gate, she was met by medics who would help her shattered hand heal faster. We couldn’t go the same way, thanks to the mark on my back. Even though they wanted to tend to me, too, Loki refused to even come close to the ground with me.

“I’ll care for her myself. She doesn’t seem to be injured too badly.” He reassured the doctors, who quickly tended to other injured people.

“Hey! I want to learn more about you, Vivian! Thank you for saving me!” Thea waved her good hand before wincing again as one elf reprimanded her.

I… don’t understand why you didn’t tell your mother about me. Hah…

Her voice caused me to snuggle into Loki, who shook his head.

“See you,” He breathed, as a second later, we were gone.

We entered his room through the windows, and Eli closed them behind us. I thought Oswald would be there, but he wasn’t. Before I could wonder where he was, Loki placed me down, allowing me to take a few steps away from him.

I… I’m finally safe.

“Vivi, tell me what happened to you? What did Thea mean by you letting him have his way with you?” Loki questioned, grabbing me by my arm, prompting me to shift my gaze toward him briefly.

“It was nothing, she was just exaggerating,” I answered, turning my eyes towards the bathroom door.

Ah… I want to shower.

“Oh, I’m painfully aware of how much you lie to me, but don’t shut me out like this, Vivian.” Loki sighed.

You might not want me after you know.

“I’m not! Screw this, I need to shower before Rem comes to question the living crap out of me.” I tried to push him away, but of course, there was no chance of that happening.

“Hm… Okay.” Loki hummed, leading me into the bathroom, as his grip on me was relentless.

Argh! Can’t you get a hint?!

“Alone!” I squealed.

Inside the bathroom, Loki pinned me against the wall. “Alone? We’ve been doing this for weeks now. So, why now, out of all the times?” he asked bluntly.

“Because… I—” I choked on my words, as I refused to face him head-on.

What can I say?! I have nothing to say to that! I allowed a man to handle me and kiss me, but… I didn’t have a choice!

However, he wouldn’t allow me to think thoroughly. Before I knew it, he ripped my rags off me, prompting a small, sharp yelp to leave my lips. Even with the dry blood on me, he noticed right away that the breast where Jin had touched had two new bruises he hadn’t left.

“Oi… Did he fuck you?” Loki breathed, lips twitching as his fangs flashed at me for a moment.

“N-No! He was going to hurt your sisters, and I couldn’t allow that.” I tried to defend myself, but he let out a heavy sigh before grabbing the crystal I had picked up.

He gazed at it before throwing it aside, but Eli caught it just in time to prevent it from falling to the floor. My breath hitched as his demeanor was different from the playful vampire I had come to love.

“So, this is what Thea was hinting at? Why would you do something so stupid?!” He chided, voice running cold, prompting me to shiver.

Suddenly, my words felt heavier than ever before.

“B-Because I couldn’t let anyone you care about die, and it was obvious the warlock didn’t want to kill me. He wanted to have his way with me, but that’s better than death!” I argued back.

My prince slammed his hand into the wall, startling me.

“Are you sure about that, Vivian?” He huffed, “I’ve heard that rape is one of the worst things that could happen to anyone! Do you think you would’ve come out unscathed?!”

“I made the choice! It was better for me to be damaged than for your baby sisters to be dead! So, what if his disgusting tongue was on me?! I'd rather be tainted by him than… For Luna or Thea to have been spiked or Gerta dying because I decided to stay quiet!” I declared, grabbing onto his jacket.

“Vivi,” Loki bit his lip, trailing his hand down my cheek.

“Are they alive?! Did they both make it?!” I asked, gripping tighter onto his vest.

He gave me a wry smile. “Yeah… They did. Grandma found them before they located you and Thea. They’re already back here with Oz. Thanks to them, I was able to sneak away from Ruz.” He informed me, finally allowing me to release a sigh of relief.

“You were late!” I growled, scowling at him and lightly slapping his chest.

He bit onto his bottom lip, pressing his forehead against mine. “I know, I’m sorry.” His voice cracked.

“Stupid…” I trailed off, going to kiss him, but quickly stopped before drawing away from his lips.

“Why?” he breathed.

“Do you still want me?” I asked, voice trembling.

For a moment, his eyes glossed. “What?” He sighed, prompting me to close my eyes.

“Never mind, don’t answer that. I don’t want to know.” I mumbled.

He grabbed onto my hands, “Oh, Vivian… Look at me, please.” He breathed.

Hesitantly, I did, allowing me to see one of the most tender expressions on his face as his eyes were full of affection towards me.

“Can I kiss you?” He asked with a soft smile on his lips.

I nodded as a heartbeat later, he claimed me for a peck before his tongue found its way into my mouth for a short moment. A soft hum left my lips when he tugged away, then licked them before pressing his forehead against mine again.

“I love you. That won’t change, no matter what happens, even if another man does anything to you. I’ll always love you, Vivian.” Loki confessed, cheeks rosy.

In an instant, my chest filled in ways I never knew it was possible.