Distorted Beauty {Pure Illusion Series: Book 4}

Chapter 16

A/N: So I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that 99.9% of you were alright that I changed the end of Age of Ultron just a tad?!? 

I'd also like to apologize for lying to all of you and saying that I would have the chapters up last weekend - really I'm super sorry. Life is crazy, I'm hating work and writing takes a back seat. I love writing, but I'm confused where I want to go with this story and I'm doing this best. So, to make up for it this chapter is officially the longest chapter to date! I'm editing Chapters 17 and 18 and writing 19 currently - I'll post them as soon as I can! I love you all and thank you for taking this wild ride with me. 

As I've said countless times before, enjoy! 

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"Lady Sigyn? Sigyn?"

Loki whispers were growing louder by the second; he was sure he had left her here under this exact tree. Perhaps she had run off to avoid being caught. Had she gone looking for him? It seemed likely that she would want to ensure herself that he was safe.

Or she had been taken.

He refused to let his mind wander to that thought. Murmuring an ancient word, a blue light came from his palm. The blue flame flickered, much like his heart. He held it over the ground, looking for her footprints. Several footprints littered the ground around the base of the tree. The small footprints were obviously Sigyn's, but that's not what made his blood run cold.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a pair of large, bare, footprints indented in the sand just next to the goddess' seemed to come face to face with his beloved. Anger and fear filled his heart; the kidnapper would pay for his treachery. The god's eyes glowed, magic and power pouring out of his fingertips as he searched for the being that took her. Like a bloodhound might catch the whiff of a scent in a chase, Loki's form tensed and his eyes locked onto a small fire building in the distance.

He cared not if he was being quite as he trounced through the underbrush of the African plains. He had lost her so many times, it would not happen again. How he wished he could use the magic that raced through his veins to pop him from one place to another, but it was inhibited, greatly. Midgard had never been known for it's magic, but it was obvious that something was blocking him – he would determine that later.

The god was trudging closer to the light, his mind calculating how he would end the other's life and how painful it would be if they had thought it best to harm her. Teeth ground in protest, cursing his self for allowing such horrid thoughts to trespass his mind.

It was when he was merely 50 feet away that he heard a cry from the fire that he knew all to well: Sigyn's. Long strides made him look like a great African lion, pushing his body to it's limits to reach her. Crashing through the bushes, he pulled his dagger from his belt and whirled it around, a threat coming from his trembling lips.

"On this night, Midgard shall know the true wrath of the damned Asgardian Prince and you shall be the one to tell them." Green eyes locked onto a man of dark skin sitting across a small fire from Sigyn.

The goddess, who had jumped to her feet at the sound of crashing through the bushes, felt relief wash over her face at the sight of the god clutching a dagger so tightly that his knuckles were white against the firelight. It was the goddess' laugh and hand on his arm that alerted Loki to the fact that all was not as it seemed.

"My Prince," Sigyn said, but her voice not directed towards Loki, "This is Prince Loki of Asgard." She turned to gaze at the menacing face of the god, love over flowing those two blue windows to her soul.