For Better or For Worse (Loki x Reader)

Chapter Forty-Five

Hey, all! I'm back!

Thank you all for being so incredibly patient with me as I navigate this new chapter of my life. College is like nothing I have ever experienced before, but I love it. I've already made such amazing friends here, and classes are going well for the most part.

With that, thank you once again for being so patient, and I truly hope you enjoy this new chapter!

Loki's POV

I woke with a gasp at the burning pain in my chest. It was an all encompassing pain, not seeming to stem from one single point but my entire chest. It felt as though my entire chest had been lit by the Eternal Flame. My hands scrambled for purchase on the dusty ground as I tried to gain control of my movements enough to find whatever was causing me such pain.

Finally able to get myself into an upright position, I looked down in horror at what was causing the setting pain in my chest. Stabbed right above my heart was the dagger my wife normally had strapped to her side. My stomach dropped to somewhere below my feet. Though we had been working on her magic for quite some time, she was still far more skilled with a blade. Without it, as much as we both hated to admit it, she was practically defenseless. And if they had gotten her blade from her, it was very clear she had been overpowered.

Not only had the enemy used my wife's dagger to stab me in the chest, there was a note wedged between the blade and my flesh. With a sharp hiss, I wrapped my hands around the hilt of the blade and yanked it from my bloody and bruised flesh. I shouted out in pain as the dagger clattered to the ground. I cursed under my breath and pressed a pale hand to the wound in my chest, trying to stem the bleeding as I reached for the note that had fluttered to the ground alongside the dagger.

In crude handwriting, the note simply read. "Who are you now without your bargaining chip?"

The simple question made me sick to the stomach, and I had to resist the urge to vomit. She was far more than a bargaining chip, a pawn, a political ploy. Sure, that was what our marriage was born out of, but our relationship was so much more than something so simple, something so political.

Rage now fueling me, I stumbled to my feet, finally taking in the land surrounding me. Dawn was just upon the horizon, and a haze was set over the little port town. Dew drops covered the plants, some condensation dripping down some nearby windows. All was quiet as the town had not woken for the day, the only sound being of the birds in the trees and the chirping on insects. It was disgustingly serene.

Unable to contain the feelings welling up in my chest, I let out a howl of rage and sorrow. I collapsed to my knees, dizzy with blood loss and heartbreak. I stared at my bloody hands, cursing the Norns silently. Why couldn't it have been me? Why did they have to come after her? After everything she experienced, why did this have to happen to her? Tears poured down my cheeks as anger pooled in my stomach with a cold and sharp bitterness.

Shocked whispers tore me from my stupor, causing me to realize I had drawn quite the crowd with my screaming and crying. Here I was, collapsed in the middle of the street, tears streaking down my face and blood pooling on the dusty ground around me. In short, I was a mess, far from the dignified prince the people of Asgard knew.

"You're highness!" I heard a woman shout, but I couldn't bring myself to look at her. When the woman didn't receive a response, I felt someone come to kneel at my side. "Your highness, can you hear me? You've already lost so much blood; you need a healer," the woman said urgently. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a raised hand as the woman contemplated as to whether her touch was welcome.