The Queen of Jotunheim

Chapter 29: I Know Where I Belong

Chapter 29:
Free from the Gilded Cage,
I Know Where I Belong

"What?" Nix asked, her voice filled with shock and confusion as she let go of Loki, stepping back from him and looking at him with a worried gaze, as if she was wondering if he had gone mad.

"I need you to use your magic on me," Loki said seriously, taking a step toward Nix, grabbing her hand and putting it against his chest. She looked so confused, an expression she didn't wear often, as she looked at his chest and then up at him.

"What do you mean?" Nix asked, outraged yet soft, making no move to use her magic, but also didn't try to pull her hand back from Loki's fingers. Her eyes was guarded as she talked "If this is about trust, I trust you Loki, you don't have to prove anything to me, it's-"

"That's not it!" Loki said seriously, his fingers intertwining with hers as he placed the palm of her hand over his beating heart. "I need to tell you this," he said, looking into her eyes with a desperate, yet determined gaze, "but while we both know I would never lie to you, I think it would be better for me to show you rather than tell."

"Loki, you are shaking," Nix said, her voice worried as she kneeled down to get on eye level with him, "shall I turn on the fireplace? Perhaps get some hot cocoa?" Her eyes still held love for him, but reflected in her eyes, Loki looked like a mad man right now.

"Nix!" Loki said loudly, his voice hard, tears in his eyes as he looked into her eyes, staring into her soul and letting her see his, no filters, no secrets, just a desperate plea. "Please."

Nix paused, seeing the desperation in his eyes, but still hesitated. "I don't want to hurt you Loki," she whispered, her eyes somber, "my magic-" "Won't hurt me," Loki said, looking deep into her eyes. "Please." He pleads.

Nix frowned, clearly not liking this idea... But after a frozen moment she sighed, her eyes leaving his as she focused on their hands, and she gently pressed into the fabric of his shirt as her eyes started glowing ever so slightly. Loki could feel how she very carefully poured her magic into his chest, clearly ready to stop at any sign of hurting him, but the shudder running up his back was not from the icy touch that ran through him as she did, but rather the feeling of gaining back something you had lost.

Nix's eyes widened, because instead of him screaming in pain, or his skin starting to freeze, he let out a relieved sigh as his skin turned blue. His fingertips, still intertwined with hers, were the first to turn, but soon the magic crept from his covered chest, up his exposed neck and toward his head, his face, and their eyes locked once again. Loki's filled with tears, Nix's filled with shock.

He could feel it, how her magic was spreading through his body, making whatever illusion The Allfather had put on him fade, and as the magic reached his eyes he felt himself seeing freely for the first time in his life, as if someone had removed a thin veil that had been there for as long as he could remember. Loki saw himself reflected in Nix's eyes and knew his own eyes were now red like hers.

Nix looked at him, her expression a mixture of shock and horror. "... How," she whispered, seeming to be at a loss for words. "You were right, Queen Nix," he said softly, still holding her hand to his chest, "Leifr did not die that night, Odin took him."

"Odin was keeping Leifr locked up, but not in a dark dungeon or a hidden tower, no, he was holding me locked in a gilded cage!" Loki hissed, feeling the rage in his chest again. "He kept me in hope of strengthening his ties with Jotunheim in the future, I was nothing but a pawn to him!" He felt like such a fool for only realizing it now!

Nix's hands were shaking as they moved up to his cheeks, tears spilling over the edges of her eyes and streaming down her cheeks. "... All this time," her voice was nothing but a whisper, "all this time searching, and you were right under my nose?"