Decadence

Severin

Nicholas’ P.O.V

“Severin, you really need to calm down. I know you’re not usually like this. In your current state, you’re just getting me confused with her,” I attempted reasoned, pulling back against his fierce grip on me in defiance as sweat began to form on my brow.

“Isn’t it you that’s getting things confused? You’ve lived a charade for so long that you want it to be real more than anything now,” Severin reversed my words on my callously and with ease, “but no matter what, you can’t run away from who you are. That simple fact cannot be eluded, even by the likes of you.”

After leading us a ways from where we were, he stopped again and without releasing his grip even the slightest, turned to face me once again. No sooner than he did so, I found myself forced to look away from his penetrating gaze. His response was to grab hold of my chin and force my head around to meet his. I winced visibly at the sudden pressure on the muscles in my neck but didn’t make a sound, only begrudgingly complying against my will. His form appeared to loom over my own menacingly, the contrast between us too large for me to ever hope to gap. At that moment, the thought occurred to me whether or not I should fear Severin and fear whatever he planned to do to me, no matter how misguided he was. His sheer strength after all far exceeded mine both physically and otherwise. All I could do was stand there with my feet firmly planted to the ground, a shiver running down my spine.

“I wonder why the one person I hate more than anyone is the only one who can stir up my emotions and make a mess of me despite all the time that has passed and all the things that have transpired that neither of us can take back,” Severin whispered wistfully, his maddening stare transfixing me.

Recovering, I hummed lowly before asserting only a bitter reply, “Maybe more than anything else that you’ve ever felt, anger is the one thing you felt spurs you to go on. Some say after all that neither love nor sorrow carries with them the agonizing and long lived scorn felt from ire. If I were in your situation, I would probably feel the same way. I would most definitely want to seek revenge. Isn’t it only fair after all?”

My words obviously displeased him, as he groaned in displeasure and pushed me away from him roughly, sending me tumbling to the ground when I subsequently lost my footing. I knew what I said had not been wrong, and Severin, realized this, despised the thought of sympathizing with me. I watched a more familiar expression return to his face, the creases in his features smoothing out and his muscles loosening. I regained my footing, remaining ever wary of his looming figure as I increased the distance between us. At the same time, I became more worried with whether everyone else was okay and where they were. If I could just get Severin to calm down, he could probably tell me where they all were. My jaw clenched, realizing the possibility of that hinged on if Severin felt like it ultimately.

“That friend of yours, Aidan, likes to stick his nose in places it doesn’t belong you know. I didn’t mean to go off on him like that, but he has a tendency to make me want to hurt him I guess,” Severin said absent minded, appearing to change the topic as his tone of voice slowly returned to normal.

“I wouldn’t have guessed you felt that way considering ever since the two of you met you’ve been so keenly interested in him. You know he hates you and yet that only makes it more fun because he’s an Alloyd and deep down you hate him too. However with this last stunt you’ve gone too far and now I’m going to have to break up your little play dates from here on out,” I exuded fiercely, my gaze suddenly sharper as I stared intently at my cousin.

Severin chuckled humorlessly, slicking his fingers through his dirty blonde hair as he laughed, “But you can’t and that’s the beauty of it! As long as you remain in that house you’ll never cease to be Damien’s toy, though It isn’t that much different from your previous role in essence. You’ve always been just someone’s toy until they grew tired of you. Even after you left it was the same for Mikhail. You may deny our relationship but it isn’t so easy to deny the relationship between him and you after all. After all, you guys are twins and were inseparable.”