“You have no clue Dom, you think because you have witnessed heartbreak from your actions that you have some right not to live with the consequences lying in plain sight… hiding here in this hole, like some punishing memory you want to live in for the rest of your days, while your Chosen One is…”
“That’s enough!” This command came from my mind but through the lips of another. My Brother. The only remaining strength I had left since that day on the roof had become a constant reminder I was not alone in my suffering. I didn’t understand why the Gods and their fates had seen fit to cast the two Brothers with the same infliction of loving the same woman. But the fact that they had, had only encouraged more questions than there were answers to be found. But neither of us could have her and now, more than anyone, Vincent finally understood why. No amount of love could save her from her death if fate was to put my hands as the cause.
“No, he needs to know Vincent, things have changed…she has…”
“NO!” I shouted causing some more of the stone balcony to crumble away at the edges in my anger.
“But…”
“I made one demand, just one and in return I have allowed you to continue your bond the way it was, with only one condition asked of you…Now I must ask of you again that you respect that, Sophia.” I let my voice deepen with an authority that could not be denied.
“But what if she could be in danger from it?” At this question I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh, for the very idea had quickly become ridiculous.
“As you know I don’t relish in pointing out the facts for you Sophia, but once again I will do so with the hope that this be the last time. Keira must now be one of the safest beings on this planet given the amount of loyal subjects she has gathered along the way. She not only has her life guarded from one side now but many.” She went to interrupt me but I quickly shut it down when taking a step with each name mentioned. And each one felt like acid on the tip of my tongue.
“A Viking warrior King and his shadowed son. A Hellbeast ruler and his army. A Vampire overlord whose obsessions border my own, I think you see where I am going with this but if that still hasn’t hit home to the extremity of her wellbeing then let me add the last to the list. My own flesh and blood who have proved themselves time and time again in adding to that protection. The girl wants for nothing!” I couldn’t hold back the bite of my demonic tongue in this last sentence, feeling such resentment it felt like my lungs were drowning in a poison called truth.
To give credit to my sister, she held her ground well. Arms folded and looking up at me with a mixture of disappointment and undiluted anger for what she no doubt classed as my stupidity.
“And what of her heart?” She asked me causing me to take a step back as if I had been struck by Lucius’ second in command.
“Who will protect that?” Only when this question forced another step back out of me could I see the anger seep from my sister’s eyes.
“That’s quite enough, Sophia. You’ve said your piece and no doubt made your point.”
“No, I don’t think I did, nor do I ever think I will but I can try.”
“Sophia.” Another warning came from Vincent but not surprisingly was also one to be ignored.
“Your respected wishes have been granted time and time again. You didn’t want to know of her life, a life she has been forcing herself to live, then that’s fine. But what will happen when she no longer chooses to live the right life…? What then, Brother? Are you telling me that just so long as she breathes that will be enough for you? What becomes of her when that air becomes too tainted by your decisions, by a past love that crushed her enough not to care for any love at all? Can you live with that? Can you really live how you lived without knowing if she was safe, knowing that death hunted her with or without you by her side?”
“Sophia, that’s enough” Sophia whipped her head round at Vincent and shouted,
“IT WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH!” She then aimed her rage back at the rightful person who warranted it and said her final words.
“I don’t know the reasons Dom, but I know fear is one of them and I also know that fear should never conquer over love. You’re choosing fear, she didn’t choose it for you. But you know the biggest disappointment in all this…” I couldn’t move waiting for the biggest hit yet to come and knowing that I deserved every word of it didn’t make it easier to swallow.
“…she did something you never did…she conquered her fear for love and you…well… you gave your love away out of fear.” If I thought that preparing myself for her words was going to protect me against the blow, I was mistaken. My foot went back one last time until I found myself standing in the exact position Keira had that night she had found me. Sophia was where the bed once sat but now what was left, like the pieces of my broken soul, was in ruins pushed back around the edges of the room, mirroring the insides of my vessel.