The Jotun's Daughter

Chapter 25

        "This is not possible," Loki took a step back. I noted the caution in his eyes as he looked at me, "Sky promised-" 

        "Look." I said flatly, "I want out of this as much as you do, but I can't leave until we find her."

        "You-you've seen her these past years. You know she's alive, she-"

        "Maybe," I answered quickly. He drew back, and glared at his brother.

        "What do you mean, maybe. Where is she?" His vocals grew.

        "Loki, please," Thor ordered, "I know that you are angry, but we had nothing to do with this."

        "Well that's not entirely true," Nico took that unfortunate moment to speak. 

        "Where is she?!" Loki reacted quicker than I could move, and in that instant, Nico was writhing in pain on the ground.

        "Stop!" Simultaneously, Thor and I ran at the man, pushing him to the ground in order to break his concentration, but it didn't matter. May suddenly choked, grabbing at her throat, gasping for air. 

        "Loki, stop this madness!" Thor was shoved to the side by a blast of power.

        "She came to see you!" I screamed over the erupted chaos. Everything stilled. The man with the same emerald green eyes as me rose from the ground, seething with anger and rage.

        "What did you say?" He hissed. I faced him, the ice in my veins threatening to make an appearance.

        "I said, she came to see you," I exhaled, and spoke slowly, "The whole reason that Sky is gone, is because she went through that portal to find you."

        "You lie," He sneered.

        "You won't face the truth!" I responded. "The Chitari sent a message, via Sky herself. They're holding her prisoner for some reason or another, but they wouldn't have been able to reach her if she hadn't stepped through that portal."

        "It's the truth," Coulson said quietly, "She knew how dangerous those portals were, she spent night and day studying them, especially after you were banned." He took a deep breath. "She went through that portal because she thought you would be on the other side." Loki was breathing hard, his chest heaving-and I knew it wasn't just from battling us. The weight of what he had done was finally resting on his shoulders-like it should have been years ago. 

        "No," he breathed. None of us responded. 

"Loki, think. Please," Thor held out his hand in a calming gesture, "Why would the Chitari want Sky? Why now?" The man in green and gold looked away, and for just a millisecond, I saw the truth that the others hadn't realized yet. 

        "They don't want Mom, do they?" I didn't really need to ask, but I wanted to know if it was true.

        "Brother-" Thor's clenched his fist at his side.

        "One of them...contacted me," Loki sneered. 

        "We cut off all communication with the Chitari after we destroyed them in New York-and you were not allowed to go back to those mutant creatures. How dare you betray Odin's command?" Thor roared.

        "Wouldn't you like to know?" Loki smirked. 

        "Enough," I seethed. I looked at him. "The Chitari are holding Sky hostage to get to you. Why?" Holograms flickered around me as the real Loki moved between them, making his way towards the edge of the crater. His power flickered around me, sensitive to my touch. With a huff, I illuminated the false world of replicas.