Loki of Vanaheim (Part 3)

Election (LOKI)

I spent all of Regin and Idunn's binding ceremony staring at Sigyn. Then I did it during the feast whenever I wasn't wrangling the boys. Then I did it on our walk back to the tent. And when we woke the morning after to attend the senator's announcement, she was still the first thing on my mind.

"Something's gotten into you," she teased in a sing-song inflection while tying her hair up.

"It has." I wrapped my arms around her from behind and nuzzled into her neck. "Though I'm feeling odd today."

"How do you mean?"

"I'm not sure. Something in the air. Uneasy. Perhaps I am anxious about the ride home or leaving the city. Vali will give us a fight."

"Yes, well, he'd do that anyway, wouldn't he?" She finished preening and forced me to release her. "Was he in a state when you dropped him off this morning?"

"No. But he wants to know what we're doing that we can't take him with us today. I said it's too boring for him. I worry it's too boring for me, too."

She chuckled. "I admit, I'm not all that excited to find out Hriedmar's replacement. Freyr's position won't be changing, will it?"

"I don't believe so. He hasn't said anything to me about it either way. They're eager to reinstate two senators instead of one, so we're fortunate their urgency might make the occasion a quick one."

"I'm glad Freyr insisted on my going, too. Not that I wouldn't love to spend the day alone with the twins in the city, but he made it clear that this was the sort of business I should be privy to firsthand." She slipped on her soft shoes and took my arm. "Lead the way, Lo."

"Oh, so now I get to be in charge?" I said, bouncing my brows as she rolled her eyes at my innuendo. We took our time and strolled north to the court hall and cut through the marketplace center, browsing for treasure a final time.

The streets were relatively clear compared to the previous few days' festivities. On our way, we saw Regin and Idunn walking hand in hand toward the city gates, completely absorbed in one another. Nothing else existed in their world. They earned such peace.

"I do wish they wouldn't throw the couples out so soon afterward," Sigyn said. "It feels cruel somehow."

"Ah. But remember, Gin, the Vanir have been celebrating for weeks. It doesn't feel as fresh to them as it did to us." I squeezed her closer while we walked, undeniably possessive and simultaneously proud to prove her association with me when I nodded to the people I recognized. "Fear not for the young couple. They'll be alright."

"Yes, Loki," she said with a bite of snark as if Vali had said it.

A great bell in the center of the city square, in a building adjacent to the river's stronghold, chimed three times with a guttural clang that echoed through the fortress. Only a quarter hour remained until the senate proceedings would begin. An invisible string in my gut pulled me forward and quickened my pace, forcing Sigyn to step faster, too.

More people than were present for the wedding packed the ceremony hall's many rows. We scanned for an empty space and found Freyr guarding a small section of bench in the center of the room, far enough back to observe a fair amount of the attendees. A panel of five seats sat at the front, empty and waiting for the Vanir elders.

"This was the best I could do," Freyr said when we arrived. "I am glad you both stayed long enough to see this."

I shook his hand in thanks. "Of course, Uncle. We wouldn't have missed it."

No sooner had I spoken when the bells outside rang four times and a hush fell over the hall. Freyr retreated to his own seat at the front, far on the end. Four Vanir elders filed in one after the other: two crones and two wizened wizards with beards to their waists. I rubbed my chin, suddenly envious that I could not show my experience so obviously. Oddly, Freyr was visibly the youngest of the group—a feat that he appeared younger than anyone, in my eyes.