Fractures of Eternity

On the way to the ballroom, where the rest of the family awaited us, we met Zoe and Leo, who were also headed there, and the moment the little witch saw me, she engulfed me in her arms.

“I’m so glad you’re okay!” She cried, as I couldn’t help but feel responsible for her tears.

Hesitantly, I hugged her back. “I… am,” I mumbled, unable to think of anything else to say to her.

Shaking the emotions away, she stepped away from me. “Leo told me you have a meeting with the Silver Fang family.”

“Yeah,” I kept my answers short as she grasped onto my free hand.

“It’ll be okay.” She assured me, prompting me to crack a soft smile on my lips.

“Mhm,” I tugged away from her, holding onto Loki’s grip even tighter.

After a moment, we moved on to the ballroom, which had been cleaned of any traces of blood, yet the battle that had ensued in these halls still left shattered decorations and cracked walls. There, I also met Gerta, who was with Asher. The poor old vampire appeared tired, as dark circles were present in his eyes. The moment his faithful maid saw me, she smiled at me, yet she was unable to come towards me, as there weren’t just us there, but Rem and her entire family. Caden, Aiden, Fenris, Lilith, Rem, and Alijah, all beings whose lives had been altered by my existence.

The eldest of the silver lycans, who was the hybrid’s father, Fenris, was easy to identify thanks to his mechanical leg. His crimson eyes, like Alijah’s, were also easy to pick out, but his twin sons also shared his features. The witch next to him, with the black cat, had brownish-grey hair and deep blue eyes was Lilith, his wife and the mother of the hybrid who defined me so long ago.

“Princess!” Little Luna beamed, tugging away from her mother, as a heartbeat later, she had seized my leg while her parents both studied me.

It was almost freezing, but somehow, I stood my ground.

Monster… will that be all I am to you? Probably.

Tearing her eyes away from me, Rem ran to Loki before hugging him tightly. Next to her, a black hound materialized as my eyes followed the familiar known as Ruzgard. Lilith was called Shade, and both were eyeing me, too.

Hah… Why do I feel like these people know what I am? It’s like they’re waiting for me to shed my mask.

It was hard to fight off the smirk that wished to rise out of me.

I’ll play your game for now.

“Never disobey me like that.” The hybrid huffed, squishing Loki a bit as her approach caused him to pull away from my hand, leaving me to gaze down at the little Luma who wouldn’t let go of me.

“Ma… I had to.” My vampire sighed, hugging her back.

“That doesn’t stop me from wanting to protect you and stop you from putting yourself in danger!” Rem shook her head before drawing away from her son.

“I know,” he simpered. “I’m fine though.”

“Argh… I have a hard time realizing you’re growing up.” She sighed, turning toward Asher. “Let’s get to the reason we’re all here.”

“Rem and I searched the entire tunnel system below Night City and found absolutely nothing that says who was responsible for this attack.” Alijah started, shifting his gaze to a table, and my heart stopped when I saw a specific item on it.

Crap… when did I…

“Well, not entirely everything. We found this gem, which we believe has a message within it.” Rem picked it up in her hand, triggering shivers to run down my spine. “We also found the shattered dagger the warlock was using to control souls with and the enchanted ring that allowed him to use his shadow magic without needing to channel anything for them.”

“Whoever crafted both enchanted items is close to the elves who gave their lives to make them.” Lilith chimed in.

“Out of all the people who were being controlled, we suspect there were only two perpetrators behind this attack.” Aiden shrugged, “Everyone else seems to be a victim of what we find.”

“When you found Thea and…” Rem trailed off, shifting her gaze towards me, “Vivian, you managed to see the two we suspect before they disappeared within portals, while Caden couldn’t get to them in time to save the hostages from above.”

So that bright red light was your other brother.

“Thralls quickly overran rescue team B. By that point, we didn’t know they were under the control of the warlock, and not all survived.” Fenris declared, shifting his gaze towards his wife, who leaned on him.

“Thanks to the phoenix crystals, we couldn’t detect the massive magic being used, and I couldn’t find a way to break the spell, which is odd. Even at my age, I should be able to.” Lilith sighed as her husband patted her head.

“Hey, Love, it has nothing to do with your age. We couldn’t dispel it either. Not even Alijah’s massive power could do it.” He reassured her as she smiled at him.

“Yeah, I have to admit, it was hard to find the source to cut off the spell, but then a bright light just enveloped everything, freeing everyone from its hold.” His son-in-law commented, prompting Rem to narrow her eyes as they drifted toward me.

Hah… Bring it.

“We still haven’t found the source of that either.” Caden shrugged. “It was so soothing, though.”

“Hm… Something tells me that Coven is involved in this. Especially since Tania was attacked during the ball too.” Rem pointed out, not moving her gaze from me.

“Sadly, she can’t remember anything to prove that. She’ll be joining us in a little bit. At least all the Shadow demons have been purged from Night City.” Aiden shrugged.

Argh… I don’t want to see her.

“Why is your family always in messes, Fenris?” Asher sighed with the information overload.

His viper of a wife was nowhere to be seen, though.

“Hey, it’s your family now, too.” The older silver Lycan chuckled at the old vampire, who scowled at him.

I gazed towards the side, hoping to find Alistair in here, but he didn’t seem to be present.

“Not that I am pleased by it.” Asher sighed again, shaking his head.

Rem stepped in between the two. “Okay, enough, you two, we need to find out what message is in that gem.” She huffed.

Hah… This isn’t good. For that, you would need my blood or a potent witchcraft user who can match my Dad. There is only…

Asher rolled his eyes at her while she gazed at Lilith, her mother, who was picking it up from her hand before taking it to Oswald.

“Well, even if my husband believes in me, I know I’m not as powerful as I was in my youth. Oswald, could you try?” She asked, which caused me to grab onto his shirt slightly, prompting him to shiver before he gazed at me lightly before focusing back on his grandmother.

I couldn’t tell him not to do it, and I couldn’t cast any spell as Fenris, unlike his sons, who never wore inhibitors to prevent the ringing of our magical spell left in Lycan ears. Leo and Thea were the other two who would also notice if I did anything.

“Y-Yes.” Oswald stuttered, grasping onto the gem.

Hah… I might be screwed. If they suspect but don’t know, they will now!

Luckily, Loki grabbed me by my waist before I felt too anxious where I stood.

“What’s wrong?” He whispered.

The nervousness that I was trying to mask was surging, allowing him to feel it.

“Nothing,” I mumbled, gazing to the side.

“You two sure look like a couple.” Rem scoffed from where she was.

Her piercing eyes were on me again, and I couldn’t help but feel jittery.

“So, what if we are?” Loki huffed, staring her down.

“Nothing, just moments of passion make mistakes. Did you use protection?” Rem continued to prod.

“Ma, that isn’t your concern.” Loki sighed.

Luckily, Alijah was nearby to stop his wife from going on a rampage.

“Rem… You haven’t slept, don’t take it out on him.” He grabbed onto his wife’s arm.

Luckily, everyone’s attention was on us as a sharp crack came from Oswald’s hands, where the gem was shattered in his palm.

“Uh… This gem is broken. I might have used a bit too much magic. Sorry… I don’t feel too good after yesterday.” He mumbled, gazing at me lightly.

Eh? Did you do that for me? Wait… Did Loki do that to get everyone’s attention, too?! Eh?!

“What, that isn’t like you,” Rem noted, taking a step towards Oz, before pressing her hand on his forehead.

“Well, I don’t feel like myself, ma, a lot of stuff just happened.” He scoffed, gazing towards the ground.

“Right… I’m sorry for pushing you.” She sighed, tugging away from her stepson. “I just need to find these people before they attack my babies again.”

Her husband quickly grabbed her arm and tugged her toward him. “Hey, our babies are okay.”

“Alijah, it isn’t like that. What if this is just the start of something worse coming?” Rem pressed her head on his chest.

He was quick to engulf her in his embrace—a sweet moment in this chaos.

“I know, but we need to keep a cool head and be smarter than they are.” He sighed, ensuring she felt safe in his arms.

I could not help but roll my eyes.

“Careful, what you say, Rem. This castle has ears everywhere.” Asher commented from the side.

Huh? Are you aware of everything that’s going to happen?

It seemed to tick her off as Alijah held her back by her shirt while she ran her mouth.

“You know what, Asher? I dare that bitch to come after my boys! I’ll snap her in half! Her noble friends will eat her entrails when I’m done with her!” She howled.

The old vampire rolled his eyes at her. “No thanks, we don’t want a civil war to erupt here.” He waved his hand, triggering Gerta to cackle a little on the side, prompting his eyes to find her before a soft smile also rose on his lips.

Everyone here…

“Mom, I don’t think this was the coven you’re after.” Thea tried to quell everything.

“No, that gem stinks of Cain’s magic. I know it.” She huffed.

A small bicker began among everyone as Lilith gazed at me, triggering me to freeze where I was as she walked over to Loki and me.

“I’m sorry about all the hostilities directed at you. My daughter can be very cautious of her sons.” She began, as I couldn’t help but want to sink more into Loki’s side.

“It’s fine,” I mumbled, prompting her to shake her head.

“No, it’s not. I heard you saved both my granddaughters.” Lilith smiled, reaching her hand towards me.

“Huh?” I mumbled, gazing at her hand, not knowing if I should touch her, especially with her familiar staring at me so intensely.

I also noticed the Lycan Fenris, gazing toward where she had gone, as I could see where Rem’s protective nature came from.

Is that where Loki got it from?

Noticing I would not shake her hand, she turned to Loki, who was gazing at me.

“Although Rem is not quite ready to accept this, I can see my grandson is in love with you.” She giggled, triggering Loki to glance at her as his cheeks burned hot.

“Grandma… That’s so not cool to say like that!” He sighed, while she never retreated her gaze from me.

“Ah, and don’t mind Rem. She’s rough at the edges, but deep down, she’s a sweet girl. Overbearing with her kids, but, hey, aren’t we all?” Lilith assured me, as I gasped onto Loki’s shirt.

Hah… If I didn’t know about your past, I would call you free-spirited, but I know… out of everyone, you know what it is to lose what you have. Hey… Would you still smile knowing you were the pawn of a goddess wishing to avoid the end?

Lilith was never a stable person thanks to everything she endured in her youth, yet I couldn’t help but see a part of myself in her.

“Of that, I have no doubt,” I said, feeling a tug on my leg.

With everything that had happened, I had forgotten Luna still had me hostage. She had been happily humming the entire time while holding my leg.

“Luna seems to be smitten, too.” Lilith giggled, picking up the little Luma, finally freeing me from her grip.

“She’s a princess, Grandma!” Luna beamed.

I could not help but scowl at her as Loki chuckled, pulling me closer toward him.

“You’re fine.” He whispered, as Lilith found the perfect opportunity to cause mayhem.

“Well, if she marries Loki, she might even be a queen in the future.” His grandmother cooed to the little Luma in her arms.

Eh?!

I felt something else snap within me today.

“M-Marriage?!” I gasped, heart racing, as it wouldn’t be long before my senses left me.

The Amor Aeternum bond was something more binding than a simple mortal contract, yet my brain couldn’t comprehend the ceremony I had seen in books.

Having that with Loki… will only happen if they accept me.

My lovely prince wouldn’t allow me to cool down, as it seemed I wasn’t the only one who had lost their head.