Horrible Terrible Things

Chapter Twenty-One

My hand shot up to call Stormbreaker toward me and as I grasped onto the axe's handle, it threw me back with the weight. Loki had only just managed to duck out of the way, his head dropped between his shoulders as he let out a shout.

Stormbreaker crackled with power in my hand and Thor stalked toward the two of us. Loki was quick to his feet, turning to face his brother with a playful grin, his hands held out before him in surrender,

'Don't get hysterical Thor!'

I scrambled to my feet, heaving Stormbreaker with me in a tightened fist hoping Thor wouldn't snatch it back and Thor let out an agitated shout at Loki's words as his eyes blazed bright blue with his powers, lightning crackling around his fingertips as he stalked toward Loki.

'I knew you always wanted the throne, but this is beyond what I ever imagined you might do! You make me sick!' Thor's voice had me near trembling in fear as the air around us went static, every hair on my body rising with the deep timbre of his voice. Around us, lightning struck at the walls. and Thor thrust his arm forward, grasping Loki by the throat and lifting him into the air.

Loki let out a strangled breath and his hands clawed at Thor's around his neck. I let out a cry of surprise at the sight of Thor choking the breath from Loki's body and I couldn't deny that every single fibre of my being wanted to wretch Thor's hands from Loki, something inside of me pulsed and I had to ignore the dark sensation wanting to be unleashed.

'I enchanted him!' I shouted at Thor, a lie but the only viable one I could think of, 'He was taunting me about my lack of powers and I had to do something.'

'I don't believe you.' Thor shot back and squeezed Loki's neck harder. Loki did not fight back and my palms sweated so much that I had to adjust my grip on Stormbreaker. Loki let out a choked sound and his face began to discolour, yet Thor did not stop, he did not waver and still, his eyes burnt bright. The dark thing inside me pushed against my skin like my anger was coming alive and wanting to escape my body. If it wasn't for my fear of hurting Thor or Loki I would have unleashed it.

'What that looked like was not enchantment, I smelt him and his -' Thor could not finish his sentence, a shiver ran through him as he grimaced at the memory of what had just transpired and dropped Loki at his feet with a disgusted groan. Loki's hands snaked up to rub at his already bruised neck, slightly burnt from Thor's lightning. I didn't dare fall to my feet to see if he was okay. It would have destroyed the lie, it might have made Thor more enraged.

With a shuddered breath, I straightened my spine and tightened my grip around Stormbreaker, readying myself for the vile lies I was about to spew all to cover up what had just happened, all to stop Loki from being the villain. Though even my gut twisted knowing he might believe them, that he might hate me for them. But at least they would save him from Thor.

Thor looked at me awaiting such an explanation, his eyes had returned to their natural state yet the lightning at his fingers still crackled.

'Loki is not my family and you should stop believing he is yours. He is a wound, a festering fucking wound in this family and the best thing he ever did for you was die.'

As soon as the words came out of my mouth I felt vile, my tongue felt like tar and I did everything in my power not to look at Loki sprawled at mine and Thor's feet. I had to swallow back my apologies as I stepped toward Thor and raised my chin, allowing that thing inside of me to breathe, to temporarily free itself.

Instinctively, Thor's own powers greeted it. His threads of lightning reaching for the shifting magenta threads of my own power reaching for his and it must have been my fear of the thing coming out of me but I jerked back as my threads of power consumed Thor's own and he was brought to his knees.