The Sweetest Rose-LokixOC

Chapter 39

Cassandra's stomach rolled at the stench of the fermented fish on her plate. It had to be one of the most vile things she had ever smelled. Even Loki looked a bit green, clutching his napkin in a fist.

This is what she got for letting Thor order for her. She should have had him translate the menu for her instead of trusting him. At least delicious food would make up for this really awkward atmosphere. Too bad neither was likely to happen.

Thor oblivious, tucked into his own fish with a hearty appetite. "How are you doing, brother?"

Cassandra twirled her fork along the edge of the ceramic plate casting an illusion over her supper to make it look like some of it had vanished.

Loki pressed the napkin to his mouth and swallowed hard. "I was doing fine until you insisted on bothering us."

Jane sipped her water. She had avoided looking at Loki the entire meal. Cassandra got the impression they had a history and not a good one. "Cassandra, Thor tells me you're a historian."

"I'm a curator actually. I worked for an auction house and well, I lost my job. I now work for Tony Stark."

Actually, Cassandra wasn't entire confident about that. With her training in Kamar Taj she had logged very few hours in Tony's library lately. He might hire someone else to replace her. Save the world and be out of a job after. That sounded about right.

"That sounds interesting. I wish I could indulge in something simple like that. I'm currently studying ley lines." The astrophysicist took a delicate bite of her fish. The smell didn't seem to bother her. "Do you know what ley lines are?"

Must be pregnancy cravings. Cassandra deduced, vanishing more of her fish. She let the comments about her career slide. Otherwise, Loki was bound to get into a fight with Thor. The dinner was miserable enough. "Ley lines are natural channels of energy that run through the earth. They can be utilized in spells."

According to Master Wong the Sanctums acted as anchors in a complicated protection spell. The spell used energy from the ley lines to form a net around the world to protect the earth from evil interdimensional beings.

See? Cassandra could show off how smart she was too.

"I'm a scientist. I know very little about magic. However, I am trying to confirm if there is a connection between the ley lines and the larger universe." Jane explained, rubbing a hand over her belly smiling shyly. "Of course, I'll be going on maternity leave soon so I'll be taking a break. My assistant Darcy will have to continue the research without me for a while."

Loki's eyes shifted toward Jane's pregnant belly for the umpteenth time in the last hour. A powerful longing filled his face. "That must be difficult."

Cassandra's heart flipped in her chest at seeing his expression. She doubted Thor noticed the yearning radiating off his brother. Loki's desire for children ran deeper than she realized. Discreetly she reached for his hand beneath the table and gave it a squeeze.

Smiling faintly, he turned his hand over palm up and clasped their hands on his knee. With his left hand he picked up the champagne glass.

Jane ignored Loki and folded her hands on the table addressing Cassandra. "So, what are you doing in Norway?"

Cassandra and Loki exchanged a look. The less who knew about Merlin's secret library the better. That kind of knowledge would be deadly in the wrong hands. Thor might be an Avenger but he also had a big mouth. If they told him, word would get back to Tony and then the billionaire would be poking his nose around the vault wanting to experiment with the spells.