Guardian

Chapter 23

1913.

Eva tried to keep her head low, but she was finding it difficult to keep her powers in check. They would surge up randomly and it was all that she could to hide them from those who may see her in her true form. But it seemed the more she tried to repress them, the more they would make an appearance.

She shuttered herself in her house, grateful that she still lived alone. That was a terrible thing to say, her solitude was only gifted by the death of a fiancé. But still, it would be impossible to explain her condition to him were he still alive. And if he knew - well, she certainly could not have trusted him to keep her secret, even if he did claim to love her.

The streets were nearly empty with how late the hour was. Nearly. Someone in quite a hurry bumped into Eva, who was on her way back to her home with the week's groceries. Even though it was only a moment of contact and the person meant no harm to her, her body reacted on instinct.

White power shone from her hands and danced between her fingertips and Eva quickly tried to make it disappear, but it only grew brighter. She felt her wings emerging and knew that she needed to find cover. Someplace to hide until she could regain control over her powers.

But despite how sparse the streets were, the few pedestrians stopped and stared in shock. It did not take long for reports of her to spread through the city and, although she hid herself in her home, too afraid to show her face for the next two weeks, they still managed to track her down.

-

(Olivia's POV):
Nothing was the same after I had forced Loki out of my life. Yes, part of the change was no longer having to see Tyler. Our ties were severed for good and neither of us had tried to reach out to one another. He had made his feelings quite clear and part of me was relieved that I was out of that relationship, the men I had chosen to keep my secret hidden had always meant I had to give more than I got in return. They were often toxic, if not outright abusive relationships, and I was tired of it. I was tired of hiding.

I began to change into my true form more often when I was alone in my apartment, but it always caused the painful memories to resurface. I had been doing so well repressing my past, it would only bubble up on specific occasions, but since Loki the nightmares had become more frequent until now they occurred every night. It was causing me to lose sleep and gain an unhealthy reliance on caffeine.

Another change was the number of times Thor had been by the apartment. His first visit was just to inform me that Loki was no longer under suspicion and he wanted to make sure that I was doing alright after everything that had happened. There was such a stark different between him and his brother and I was thrown off by how much he openly cared for a woman who he barely knew.

"And you are sure that you are doing alright?" He asked as he sipped from the ale I had bought for him once he had started to frequent my apartment.

I nodded, sipping my own drink, "everything happened so fast and the transition has been unexpected, but the dust is finally starting to settle. I've been thinking about dating again, though with my track record that is probably not a good idea."

A weak chuckle erupted from my throat at my attempted joke, but I could tell that Thor did not find it amusing. We fell into an uncomfortable silence and I tried to focus on my fingers tapping lightly on my glass as opposed to the god sitting across from me.

Finally, Thor was the one to break the silence, "I've been meaning to tell you this for a while now, but I was never really able to find the right time."

My eyes darted up to his, "what is it?"

"I have been summoned back to Asgard. While Loki remains a threat here on Earth, if he is still even here at this point, my father needs me to help Asgardian efforts to restore peace to the nine realms. After the destruction of the Bifrost, the other worlds under Asgardian protection crumbled, marauders pillaged, and many tried to take advantage of Asgard being unable to send forces to protect their people. But while I am away, I shall ask Heimdall to keep an eye on you and make sure that you are safe, if you are willing, of course."