Chosen // loki laufeyson

Chapter Fifty Three

200 THOUSAND READS!!! 11-28-15
Chapter Fifty Three

Lienna

I awoke to Doctor Banner standing over me, most likely examining my throat.

"Oh, you're awake," he said awkwardly. I gave a small smile. Bruce Banner was a kind, yet nervous man, and I found in him a kindred spirit.

"How do you feel? Is there anything you need?" he asked, turning to face the machines surrounding us.

"No, I will be fine. Thank you, doctor."

He nodded, sitting down. "Do you have any questions? If you don't, I'd love to learn about the Asgardian healing process because your recovery has been amazing." Bruce laughed.

"The only questions I have are about Loki," I informed him. "And the Asgardian healing process is definitely a wonder. Perhaps because our common injuries are more serious than yours."

Bruce smiled, turning around in his chair to face me. "Well, your uh, your husband is in confinement as of now. That's all I know. I can call in Steve or Tony or even Thor to escort you, if Thor's still here."

Loki being in confinement didn't surprise me, but Thor going back to Asgard did. What about Jane and the life they wanted to start?

I supposed it did not matter now. Every single thing that I had been through had happened so fast that anything could happen in an instant and I would not be surprised. Even if Thor was still on Midgard, there would be no doubt that he would soon return to Asgard.

"Can you..." Doctor Banner perked up, giving me his attention. "Can you ask Steve to escort me?"

"Of course," he replied, pressing a button. In moments, Steve appeared at the door, looking exhausted but somehow still strong and proud, as I assumed that America would look personified.

I quickly thanked Bruce and followed after Steve. We didn't need to speak about where we were headed; merely exchanging a serious glance communicated all he needed to know.
"Before you head in there, you should know that he's... He's in a big glass case."

I gave him a concerned look. "Like an animal?"

"Well, not necessarily, but it was designed to hold no matter what," Steve informed me. "After a mishap with your husband and Thor, Stark rebuilt it."

Nodding, I followed him into the holding room. Sure enough, there was an enormous glass case in the center of the room.

"This is where we part," Steve said, ducking out of the room before I could reply.

I sighed, turning my attention back to the round glass case in the center of the massive room. It was incredibly simple, completely unlike Loki's various cells on Asgard. There was nothing inside the prison except for Loki.

He laid in the center, his body completely stiff and straight, as if he was dead. The very slight rise and fall of his chest proved that he was still holding tightly to life; however, the sad fact was, I wouldn't have been too surprised if he was in critical condition and nursing his own wounds.

Loki seemed peaceful from a distance, dressed all in black with his arms pressed tightly to his sides. If he wasn't laying on the hard, shatterproof material that made up the floor of the prison, I would have been tempted to join him.

Loki.

His eyelids fluttered open, immediately focusing on his surroundings. I could almost feel him run through a checklist of where he was, what he was capable of, and who he was surrounded by. As soon as he decided he couldn't instantly escape, which occurred in the blink of an eye, he was up and facing me.

He seemed taller than the last time I had been near him, and more terrifying, too. I instinctively rubbed the scars on my throat from the three times I had had a blade pressed against it. I wasn't intimidated by him, as scary as he seemed. This was my husband, or rather, a diluted and more sadistic skeleton of what he usually was. Besides that, he was behind four inches of relatively invincible glass.

I met his scrutinizing gaze with a hard, disappointed look. The stubborn evil in his eyes faltered. He was almost cracked, as if one more perfectly timed blow was enough to push him over the edge. It was like walking on glass. The moment it broke, everything would fall apart.

I wasn't sure if that was good or bad, but I decided that it wouldn't kill us to find out.

"I wake to find you, a useless wench of a woman, waiting desperately for me," he spit, rolling his eyes. "Midgard grows more pathetic by the minute."

"I heard of a god turned slave who abandoned his wife to make child's play of terrorizing a young planet such as Midgard," I retorted. "At least Midgard can provide honorable men."

He stuck out his jaw angrily, obviously hurt. "Mere inches separate me from crushing your windpipe."

I raised an eyebrow. "You can make empty threats as much as you please, but you would never hurt me."

Loki slammed his fist against the glass, causing cracks to spread rapidly. "I held a knife to your throat mere hours ago, and yet you question my will to do so."

"If you really wanted me dead, you would have done it."

What little color he had in his face drained, but only for moments before he attacked the glass again. The glass cascaded over me, but I didn't flinch. The loud crack of the glass resounded through the room, creating a haunting echo. Suddenly, I was being held against the wall by my neck, a fist slowly squeezing the air out of me.

"You dare to question me, you dare to insult my powers when I am a god and you are nothing but the scum of murderers and lies," Loki hissed. "Do you question me now, as I hold your life in my palm? I'll kill you!"

Though my eyes were blurry and my head was filled with thoughts awaiting the release of death that was sure to come, I stared him directly in the eyes and whispered with as much volume as I could, "no, you won't. You never will."

I could feel the life draining out of me, quicker than it ever had before.

You're not a monster, you never will be.

You never will be.

Never.

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First off, I apologize for the state of panic that the end of the chapter will leave you in, but I promise it isn't the end of the book!!!

Second, I apologize for not updating for a few days shy of a month. High school sucks and I'm kind of a slacker when it comes to writing.

Third, Chosen reached 200,000 reads on November 28, 2015!!! Just a few months after this story had it's first birthday, it reached 200k reads. That's absolutely insane. Thank you so much, every single one of you, even the ghost readers! I love you all so much and there is no way I could ever thank you enough.

There should be another update soon, and when I say soon, I mean: hopefully in a few days, but don't be surprised if I'm late (rip updating schedules 2014-2015).

I love you all so very, very much,

katiethenovelist