The Sweetest Rose-LokixOC

Chapter 36

Cassandra crawled out of the gutter, her stomach churning with nausea. Loki parked his butt on the curb, holding out a hand to pull her up beside him. She closed her eyes, pressing a fist to her forehead. "We failed."

Loki wisely said nothing, sensing the storm of emotion spinning inside her heart. He squeezed her knee and left his hand there, staring off into the distance. The Mirror Dimension protected them from prying eyes while they sat there and stewed in silence.

Morgan's minions had overwhelmed them with numbers. Given time Loki likely might have been able to defeat most of them, but they fled the moment Madeline was dragged through the portal.

Cassandra felt every ache and pain from the short brutal battle. Her head pounded like a sledgehammer smashed against her skull and her hands were shredded.

What was all her training for? Those low-level sorcerers made Cassandra look like a joke. Now, Morgan le Fey had her mother. How could she ever hope to defeat such a powerful adversary if she couldn't even manage to handle a group of assassins?

She banged her knuckles against the sidewalk, frustration spilling over. Her fist pounded the cold hard cement over and over again until her skin broke and began to bleed. The pain felt good. After all she deserved it.

Loki reached over and grasped her wrist, drawing it into his lap. He fixed her with a steely gaze. "Harming yourself will change nothing." A gentle rebuke but a rebuke nonetheless. He brushed over the wounds with glowing fingertips.

The flesh closed and scabbed over. Loki kissed her knuckles tenderly. "I'm sorry. I wish you weren't hurting."

Cassandra shook her head. "Its not your fault. I'm supposed to be the Merlin." She laughed bitterly. "What a load of horseshit."

For a while she had begun to believe in herself. That she might actually make a difference and save people.

Loki, dear, cynical Loki gripped her by the shoulders and shook her. "We will rescue your mother. I promise. Morgan le Fey will rue the day she crossed us."

Things were bad if he was now the optimist.

"How do you know? You can't make a promise like that." Cassandra snapped, slapping his hands aside.

"Because I believe in us." Loki said simply, pulling her into his arms to hold her close in a tight hug.

Cassandra wanted to push him away. Things were not that simple. Not now. Morgan was no longer a distant threat but a very real reality. She was angry and afraid and wanted to lash out at the world. Loki just happened to a convenient target. "Clearly your faith is misplaced. We lost."

"It isn't the first time for me." He said with a rueful smile. "I've lost before."

"World domination isn't the same thing." Resting her head against his chest, bile surged up her throat. She swallowed hard.

Oh, no.

"Cassandra?" Loki asked, concern lacing his voice when her fingers twisted the lapels of his coat.

Cassandra peered up at him and lost the battle. She vomited down his front.

*************************************************************************************

On the way back to Stark Tower, Loki contacted Fury. The SHIELD director was not happy when he heard what occurred at the hospital but promised to send agents to deal with the panicked medical staff.

Then he turned his attention to his soiled suit, magicking the vomit away with a quick thought.

In the back of the cab he'd finagled, Loki carefully tipped Cassandra's chin, peering into her eyes. The caramel flecked brown irises were a bit dazed and glassy. He felt around her scalp finding a large bump on the back of her scalp. "I think you have a concussion."