A Fallen God and An Angel

12. Armour of the Winged Warrior

“You, of all people, should recognise how dangerous this ice is!” Sera scolded the raven-haired prince. Loki did not move for a long moment, and his arms crossed against his chest as he scowled at the scenery. 

“Considering you killed the king of its land,” Sera added and irritably shoved past him, heading through the great door into the ice corridor. Loki’s mind raced as he quickened his pace to catch up with her.

“How did you steal this much ice from Jötunheim?” 

He watched her carefully as he matched her frantic pace. The redhead princess kept her eyes trained on her path.

“I did not. It was gifted to me.” She answered simply.

“Gifted?”

“Yes, gifted by King Laufey as a token of gratitude.”

“You’re allied with the Jötnar?” Loki blinked in disbelief. Sera stopped suddenly, turned and faced Loki, forcing him to stop dead in his tracks.

“I know you Asgardians look down upon the Jötnar, but they’re not as wicked as you’ve been taught.” Sera’s voice was firm. She raised her head slightly to meet Loki’s surprised look with her stern gaze. “The Aesir and Vanir are not without blood, either.”

Turning her back on the prince, the princess resumed her pace, trekking up the ascending corridor. He followed wordlessly, choosing not to push the topic further at this time. They climbed and followed the twists and turns silently. A foul stench slowly built up in the darkness until it engulfed them. Only now did he notice the corridors narrowing and shaping into large intersecting tunnels. Tunnels that seem to have been eroded into their shapes and paths. The slimy oils and bits of skin strewn about across the tunnels immediately struck him with realisation.

“Is this…?” he trailed off, distracted by a single drop of blood that fell onto his cheek. 

“Yes,” Sera answered curtly. Loki would've snapped at her attitude if he hadn’t been interrupted by motion not far ahead, and Sera’s hands gripped her daggers as she continued her trek. Motion that shook the whole tunnel more as they approached its source. Just as fast as it began, the shaking turned into violent quaking. 

A piercing screech blinded the pair, forcing them to run ahead with their hands covering their ears. The narrow tunnels feed into another opening, much smaller than the one before and entirely carved of ice. Loki pursed his lips as he realised they had just walked into a nest. A giant snake’s nest.

Sera finally drew her daggers, slowly examining the nest. Loki sighed, hearing the monster approach rapidly, as he faced the direction of the noise. Bright yellow eyes were the first to emerge from the dark and, finally, the snake revealed itself. It slithered through one of the many tunnels and raised itself upon its coiled tail.

“Please tell me that you can control it.” Loki breathed, getting into a fighting stance.

“I might have forgotten about that part.” Sera pressed her lips into a thin line. 

Loki rolled his eyes as he dodged the snake’s lunge. He rolled to the side, landing on one knee at the princess’s feet.

“Do you think you can cast an illusion big enough to distract it?” she called as they carefully backed away from the beast.

“I can do better than that!” Loki called back as they both jumped in separate directions, avoiding another attack. They ran in opposite directions, temporarily confusing the snake. 

Loki resheathed his weapons before focusing his seidr on his body. In a matter of seconds, several clones of him began forming around him, running in different directions to confuse the monster further. Loki retreated to hide behind the nest. He breathed deeply before transforming himself into a hawk. The Hawk slowly grew until it matched the snake’s size.