Loveless

Seeing Loki's face turn pitch black I regretted telling him everything. My heart felt less heavy for a moment and I felt safer but still. The confusion that lined Loki's eyes stabbed deep into my heart like a poisoned dagger.

"No..." Loki said in a low voice. "This can't be happening."

Hearing this, I approached him ever so slightly.

I didn't say a word though. Loki's eyes had been glowing red the whole time I had spoken, by his own abilities he already found out that this was reality.

The air in the room was cold and bitter. It felt as if I was breathing in smoke.

"So what, you'll just follow your fate and let yourself die?" Loki asked as if accusing me of something.

My face contorted.

"I don't want to die." I said bitterly. "But that isn't quite up to me..."

Hearing those words, Loki's eyes darkened considerably, almost taking the air out of my lungs with a single glance.

"Do you have something planned?" Loki said through clenched teeth. "If you do, tell me. I would do anything you ordered of me."

I smiled ever so slightly.

"I'm not completely sure..." I said truthfully. For now, I was just trying to test the waters. There was much more to be analyzed and much more I needed to do so I was just stuck at the moment. Even with my engagement to Prince Rudo aside, there was my binding promise and my impending school debut to worry about.

"Breaking the bind... Let me deal with that." Loki said venomously.

Hearing this, I felt my heart miss a beat. His eyes were pitch black and coldness was seeping from him.

I grabbed his hand tightly. "Loki... you can't go back there."

"It's the only place to quickly find what you need." Loki said simply. "I'm not a child anymore. I won't be hurt by simple bandits, traffickers or gangsters."

Hearing this, the image of Loki's skinny frame from when I had first met him; all beaten and bloodied passed through my mind.

"You can't!" I stressed again, my heart racing.

"I can and I will." Loki said not even looking me in the eyes.

He was determined. There was no stopping him now, but I couldn't help but think of the risk of what he was about to do.

"I command you not to!" I said desperately.

"I'm sorry my lady, for your life, I would travel to the depths of hell." He said, this time, turning his eyes to be completely. "I don't care if part of you is not even from this world, you are still lady Cecilia. In body and in soul, and as your protector, I have to do this."

***

Duke Ashington

Shahira paced around my office with her eyes filled with fire and a feeling of hate.

"I will not let my daughter go through with this!" Shahira said heatedly.

I was not sitting at my desk, instead, I was close to Shahira, trying to stop her from moving around but I knew that if I laid a hand on her at this moment, she would incapacitate me faster than I could know.

She was a generals daughter after all.

"This isn't our choice... Cecilia has already agreed to this and besides, they might end up loving each other like we—"

Hearing this, Shahira turned her whole body towards me. Her eyes accusing my of a crime.

Her forgery red hair moving like fire as her gestures got more and more frantic.

For a moment, Shahira opened her mouth about to spew fire upon me but before she spoke, she tried to calm herself ever so slightly.

"Look, I love you but this... what we have, isn't what happens a hundred percent of the time. Some people end up in loveless marriages riddled with bastards children and infidelities and I don't want that for Cecilia." Shahira exploded.

Bastard children...

I froze.

But after a moment, I walked over to her and said, "I know..."

Feeling my soft touch, Shahira's eyes began to fill with unshed tears.

"No... you really don't." Shahira said to me in a low sob.

And it was true. I didn't. But I wished I did. I wish I could be hurt as much as Shahira had been hurt when she was practically sold to me as a bride. I wish I could take that all away from her but a past of me knew this was just selfish. It was not for Shahira's sake but my own. I wanted to atone in some way...

There were certain things Shahira didn't know and I wish she would never find out. But even so, I was angry at myself because I couldn't go and protect Cecilia. I couldn't go against her wishes because she was doing so much for me. She was keeping my secrets. She was protecting someone who she didn't need to protect on my word. And I wanted to allow her to at least make her own decision.

Whatever she wanted, whatever she said, I would do for her. Even if it meant letting her marry the first prince against her mother's wishes...

I brought Shahira into my chest and I held her warmly.

"If it's Cecilia, she'll be just fine." I said simply. I believed this with all my heart and soul.

Because I had to.