Desolate Beauty {Pure Illusion Series: Book 5}

Prolouge

How many times had she married Loki? If the amount of broken bones were any indication, she would guess at least several hundred times. She was coated in blood, head to toe. Her shoes were gone, her dress shredded and hair disheveled – she looked better in prison on Asgard. Breathing hurt; an obvious indicator that she had a few broken ribs, and by the way her arm was twisted, that was as well.

She tried to cry, but she had wasted her tears weeks ago. Lying face down in the dirt, she was dragged off to her next session with Thanos. The desolate planet of the Titan truly made her feel alone.

Had her Prince forgotten her? Did he even care? Right, the God of Lies was coming back for her. A simple girl from Vanaheim that had found her way into the palace of Asgard by mistake had no place with royalty. She had thought her of being a woman that could win a Prince over, let alone a bastard Prince of the most feared race of the Nine Realms. Yes, a young girl whose parents and brother had betrayed the crown more times than she cared to count. If he truly cared about her, would she really still be here? 

"Lady Sigyn, you are looking pain free today, shall we fix that?"

Thanos grinned when his servants dropped her on the ground by his feet. She tasted blood and dirt in her mouth on impact, only to be yanked up by her hair to look at him. Mustering up what little saliva she had in her mouth, she jerked her head in his grasp, landing a wad of spit and blood on his face. The evil grin faded, fingers wiping the spit from his chin before backhanding her across the face. More blood spewed everywhere.

"Putrid wench. It is no wonder that Loki sold you to me. As if he could love a hideous woman such as you. Women like you are made for nothing else than to bring kings pleasure."

The Titan's body shook with laughter, enjoying the game of pulling her apart physically and mentally. He taunted her day and night with the empty promises of her Prince, of how he had sold her life to Thanos and that she was now owned by him to do as he wished. She was his pet, and nothing more. It had been a deal he had agreed to in jail in exchange for his life - or so the Titan said. 

This was a weekly or daily occurrence; she was unable to keep track of time anymore. Thanos told her each time she asked that she had been here for years; part of her believed him. Her body ached and was beginning to lose so much weight that she feared her bones would break if she tried to walk under her own power. How could she not believe that she had been trapped here for decades? 

As much as she wished for her body to be numb to the pain, she felt everything thanks to Thanos' invasion of her mind. She felt him picking through her memories – the ones of the Avengers being his favorites – and yanking some from her mind. She screamed and cried for hours on end while he mutilated her body. Today he had broken her hand, smashing it with his foot and had nearly dislocated her jaw for spitting on him. The girl was dragged away for a small healing session so she wouldn't die, at least not yet. Thanos had sworn he wouldn't kill her, at least not yet. For this reason, she had almost willed herself to die by not eating, but thanks again to Thanos, he manipulated her into doing it. Everything she touched, saw or heard was an illusion. It was hard for her to make out what was real and what was a dream anymore, but the one thing that kept her tethered to the world were her healing sessions. 

During these, she had first tried to heal herself, but as she doubted more and more about how much the damned Prince of Asgard cared for her, the magic hue on her fingertips faded away. The sessions of healing were not peaceful, only a reminder that she would begin her dream again and that she would forget most of the memories she had just accumulated. She would be whisked away back to a world where "Loki" was, only for him to be ripped away again. None of it was real, and she doubted any of it would ever be real. Lately, she had begun to wonder if any of the time on Asgard had been real, or if it had all been Thanos.

As the healing session ended, she felt her body begin to grow numb, the sensation of a dream substance overcoming her once more. Her soft blue eyes fought to stay open, but there was no use in refusing the Titan. She strained against his mental grasp, a single tear rolling down her cheek and her ragged whispers leaving her chapped lips. 

Loki. Loki. Loki.

There was no one else she wished to see at that moment. It was why Thanos projection in her mind felt so real; he knew her weakness and how to get to her. She craved his touch and his words, something that Thanos used against her in the dreams and reality. Letting her eyes finally closed, she whimpered and her body's rigid figure began to relax. 

The goddess fell asleep, leaving Thanos to slowly set up his story and taunt her again. The child knew not that she came to him at least twice a day, that her eagerness to be with Loki was her undoing in her dream world. Or maybe she did and she no longer cared. Perhaps she no longer cared because she knew that if she could have just one more moment with him, she would be away from Thanos. Each dream ended differently but ultimately, "Loki's" betrayal was at a time that Sigyn least expected it. He relished in this feeling of her world coming apart. A smile came across his lips, wishing he could just skip everything else and rush to the end where she was torn apart from the inside out. While he grinned, a figure came to his side.

"How much longer must this carry on Dad?"

Nebula leaned against the stony throne that her "father" sat in. She picked out the particles from her gears and rolled her neck a little. Since the Other had been killed, she had assumed his right hand. While she was more outspoken than the Other, she also did more for Thanos than his former servant had. She was wiser and more calculated; she was a picture perfect daughter that did as she was told. Lately, she was growing bored with this "game" that he played with the blonde woman.

"Patience daughter, your time will come. Did I not promise you this?"

"I just do not know why you don't just kill her and let me deliver her body to the Prince himself. He doesn't deserve to find her alive."

The deep chuckle of the titan rolled across his domain. "Then find me a new plaything Nebula, for as long as she can still draw a breath, she shall never leave this asteroid."

His eyes shifted back to the girl, her body contorting slightly when she rolled in her sleep. Nebula rolled her eyes and sauntered off to her spacecraft. For her, a new game had arisen and a promise to be kept. The promise that Gamora would pay for betraying their family and that her head would be mounted next to his throne seemed much more appealing than watching her father play puppeteer with some girl. 

The vendetta that she had Gamora was just as deeply rooted in Thanos as it was her, though his reasons for anger were different. Her sister would pay for leaving their side and choosing the life of some bounty hunter. They would all pay for what they had done to Ronan – she had wished to kill him, not those "Guardians of the Galaxy" or whatever they called themselves.

Climbing into her spacecraft, she buckled in and hit a few buttons on the console. "Please enter your designation" a display on the computer read. Nebula smirked and typed in the coordinates for Xandar and her ship jettisoned away.