Special Agent 2: The Dark Soldier

Chapter 43

When Loki and Bishop finally left the weapons vault, they found DiNozzo waiting in the corridor, looking worried. "Is everything okay?" he asked quietly.

Loki wasn't sure what to say to him. "It's a long story," he said lamely. Bishop looked up at him but said nothing, only nodding to DiNozzo as if to tell him everything was all right. But it wasn't, and it couldn't be, as long as there was a threat of Loki being separated from Bishop.

"There you are," he heard, and looked up to see Hailstohm and Thor approaching him, the frost giantess being the one who had spoken. "You ran out of there fairly quickly."

"What was I supposed to do?" Loki asked, narrowing his eyes at her. Bishop scowled at Hailstohm as DiNozzo looked from Thor and Hailstohm to Loki and Bishop, his brow furrowed in puzzlement.

"May I speak to you without the company of the NCIS agents?" Hailstohm requested, her tone civil. She didn't seem too put out by his earlier outburst.

"Brother, please," Thor added in a low voice.

Loki flicked his eyes toward his brother, considering. "All right," he finally agreed. "But you will not change my mind."

"Nor do I wish to," Hailstohm stated emphatically. Bishop sighed in relief and DiNozzo gave her a bewildered look.

"Wait here, darling," Loki said quietly to Bishop, glancing down at her. She nodded and crossed her arms as he reluctantly followed Hailstohm and Thor down the corridor and into a chamber, a fire burning merrily in the center of the room.

"Brother, I know you are unhappy with Father," Thor said in an appeasing tone, turning to face Loki. "He is simply trying to give you your birthright, not deprive you of anything."

"If he ordered you to marry Sif instead of Jane, how would you feel?" Loki snapped. "What do you know of birthright? Your birthright is to rule Asgard, and it always has been, but I was raised to believe I could rule Asgard, too! Then I learn my birthright is nothing more than the broken throne of a desolate world!" He realized suddenly that Hailstohm was still there, and glanced over at her. "No offense."

"Every bit of it taken," Hailstohm said, lifting an eyebrow at him.

Loki rounded on her. "Did you know?"

"Did the Allfather tell me he wanted me to marry you?" Hailstohm clarified. "No. Did I suspect that marriage is what it would come to? Yes."

"You assumed my father would arrange for you to marry Loki?" Thor asked.

"Of course," Hailstohm said. "Wouldn't you, if you were in my position? I would have been very surprised if your father hadn't made an arranged marriage central to our treaty. It makes perfect sense. The direct heir to the Jotunheim throne, and a male heir at that, raised as the son of the rival realm. If you assume rule over Jotunheim, you already have a connection to Asgard. You understand one culture while ruling the other. There are two motivations for that. One – your children, our children, would in all probability be familiar with not only Asgardian culture in general, but with Thor's own children, the future rulers of Asgard. The second – Jotunheim remains heavily influenced by Asgardian rule, being ruled by one who is Asgardian in all but blood."

"I don't care what my father wants," Loki said. "I refuse to be a part of this bargain. I am not something to be negotiated with, a piece to be bartered away in favor of a treaty. I am Loki, of Asgard. I am no one's bargaining chip."

"I don't particularly want to marry you, either," Hailstohm stated. "But I don't want a war with Asgard. You think I need Odin's approval to be queen of Jotunheim? I have been ruling my realm for the past three years as its queen. I don't need Odin's nod of approval. However, due to you being Laufey's heir, being recognized as Jotunheim's queen becomes a little...tricky. You do have a recognizable claim to the throne, Loki, despite the fact that Laufey cast you aside. If Odin wants you on the throne...." She trailed off, her eyes piercing as they stared into Loki's. "I will not fight a war with him over this. Jotunheim has been through enough. We came to the brink of war three years ago, and our realm was almost destroyed by prolonged contact with the Bifrost. We have grown stronger, and we would put up a good fight, but Asgard is stronger than us. I know this."