Loyalty and Mischief (WIP)

Chapter 13 - The witch who send this flame

Thunder roared over their heads. Sigyn's heart clenched in fear when Mjölnir crackled with lightning at Thor's rage. Loki hurriedly stepped in front of her, one hand pushing her back while he raised the other out to Thor.

"Brother," he said, "please, hear me."

"You dare speak to me?" hissed Thor, barely able to contain his anger. "You DARE?"

The heavens opened at his booming voice. Rain poured down and soaked them in mere seconds. Sigyn's red hair stuck to her like tendrils of blood. She kept her gaze on Thor, as she couldn't bear shifting it to Astrid's anguished expression. But her betrothed's fury wasn't much better.

"I have allowed much of your trickery over the years, Loki," Thor sneered, "but that you would do this to me? To her?"

"I've done nothing."

"Do not lie to me! I know it all. Your subtle coercions, the flowers you gave her, even that damn necklace. Undo your magic, Trickster, now!"

The pendant at Sigyn's bosom shimmered green. By the sudden gasps uttered by Thor and Astrid, she assumed Loki must have lifted the illusion. Her fingers closed around the serpents, not wanting them to see it. This was hers. Hers and Loki's.
Thor's eyes narrowed at Sigyn. Through the rage, she recognised stubborn reluctance. He wouldn't believe there was no magic or trick at play. He couldn't believe that she'd chosen this willingly. That she chose the second son over the golden Crown Prince.

"Sigyn will not marry you," stated Loki, back straight and voice strong.

"Do not speak another word!" bellowed Thor.

"Go on, shout at me! Strike me even if that will make you feel better; it changes nothing! Sigyn was never yours, to begin with! I hold her heart and love! And I will not let her fall into the hands of a brute like you! "

The lightning bolt hit Loki suddenly. He fell to his knees with an agonising cry.

"LOKI!" Sigyn shouted. "Thor, no! Stop this!"

But the Crown Prince of Asgard would not listen to reason. Blinded by mad fury and betrayal, Thor charged at his brother, lifting Mjölnir above his head with every intent to hurt him. Loki tried to summon something to protect him, but nothing would be good enough against the awesome force coming down on him. Sigyn could not allow this to go on. She had to save her love. She wanted to save him.
All who had witnessed it still could not say how she did it. Yet the ones who knew what Sigyn truly was all agreed on one thing — a fire mage's inner power is brought forth by desire, by an urgent wanting. This is what saved Loki. This is what would further set Sigyn's life.

***

Thor was blown back by an invisible force. Water splashed all around him as he smacked into the dirt. He blinked against the rain, hearing Fandrall and Sif's faint shouts as they sped towards him. They'd hidden at Thor's order, lying in wait to see if Loki would attempt anything. But the Trickster wasn't the one who deflected Thor's attack with such a fierce, magical feat.
A circle of white-hot flames burned around Loki. Thor followed his brother's aghast stare through the fire and froze, feeling something he had rarely felt before — angst. Overwhelming fear of the genuine threat he saw before him.

Sigyn's eyes were blood-red, a burning yellow where her pupils were supposed to be. Her hair danced around her head like a flame, and her skin glowed in the same iridescence as Loki's pendant. The serpents' scales flashed dangerously, and it almost appeared like they were coming alive once more. Then, Thor realised, to his great dismay, they were.
Two snakes wrapped around Sigyn's arms, from her shoulders to her hands, their bodies made entirely out of fire. They raised their heads toward Thor and the others, hissing and spitting embers. The heat radiating off them evaporated the surrounding rain and puddles on the ground, steam rising like an ominous mist.