The Queen of Jotunheim

Chapter 32: Thicker than Blood🗡️

Chapter 32:
Water turned into Ice, is
Thicker than Blood

Loki was pacing around his room, biting the nail of his thumb from the stress and worry. Never before had he seen someone receiving a prophecy, but he had been able to tell without a doubt that in that moment, that is what had happened with Nix, and right after she had collapsed!

She was currently in her own room, surrounded by Jotuns, both servants and healers, but Loki was not allowed to be there. He knew she was probably in this realm's best hands, but he still felt so helpless!

So when there was a knock on his door, he, despite it being Jotunn size, nearly ripped it off its hinges. He looked up at the giant outside with wide eyes, his breathing matching the speed of his heart as his thoughts raced ahead to what news he was about to receive. But the Jotunn outside his door was not a healer or servant, but instead was Laufey himself, who quickly held up a hand to indicate Loki should not jump to any conclusions. "She is still being treated, someone will be here as soon as you can visit her, I came here to check up on you."

"I don't need anything, she is the one that collapsed and-" Loki started, his voice high from anxiety, but Laufey simply pushed past him, being gentle enough to not knock Loki on his ass, and stepped into the room. "And I can do nothing for her either, so I brought you something to drink that will calm you down, and yes, you need to calm down, because once you are allowed to visit her you need to be calm or it will be harder for her to recover."

Loki didn't want to be calm, but hearing those words he quickly followed after Laufey, who sat down on the edge of Loki's nest, and sat down next to him, grabbing the bottle he was offered and tried to chug the contents and quickly regretted it. It was warm and thick and he coughed and shuddered. "What the-?!"

"It's Yetlian milk, it's not pleasant to drink but it calms the muscles and mind, I suggest taking small sips," Laufey said as he took a swig of a bottle himself, Loki noticing his hands shaking slightly.

"... How bad is it," Loki asked, looking toward the door. "The taste is not bad once you get used to it," Laufey said, making Loki glare at him. "That's not what I meant," Loki snarled, but Laufey just answered with a "I know," before just drinking more from his bottle.

Loki sighed and drank more from his bottle, it felt like drinking oatmeal, and the temperature was lukewarm, but after a few sips it did feel like a warm blanket was being wrapped around his nerves and he could breathe more easily.

"... Prophecies are always tasking on the receiver, even more so if they are not a direct descendant of Mímir, but Nix is strong, she'll be fine by daylight," Laufey said, taking another swig of his own bottle. "... You've seen it before?" Loki asked, looking up at him with questioning eyes. "... Farbauti got a lot of visions, but being a high priestess and related to Mímir most of the time she was completely fine," he explained, looking away.

"... Was there ever a time... She wasn't?" Loki asked, his hands tightening around the thick neck of the bottle. "... Once," Laufey said, and then proceeded to chug the rest of his bottle. Loki thought he would not elaborate anymore, and didn't want to push any further, so he was surprised when Laufey kept talking. "She got one while pregnant."

Loki felt a shiver run up his spine as his nail scraped across his bottle. "... Oh..." That was all he could say. Laufey grabbed a new bottle, he had brought a whole case of them, and pulled the cork out with an irritated grunt. "Her body was weaker as it was already strained from carrying a child, and I was a lot like you back then, not wanting to leave her side... But I had too."

"Because it would be worse if you were by her side?" Loki asked, figuring Laufey had probably done the same thing like he was now, but the giant shook his head, grabbing the new bottle harder. "Because the prophecy was a warning, and I had to act quick," he whispered and then chugged half the bottle.