Heaven Sent (Loki/Asgard Fanfiction - Aislinn's Story)

Chapter Eighty-Two

The inky black water was as warm as a bathtub, the waves gentle as they lifted Aislinn and Steve, then lowered them just as easily. The wind had picked up, and clouds thickened to blot out the moon. Somehow, she had the feeling it wouldn't be long before rain chased them back inside.

She sighed, tightening her arms about Steve's neck as they bobbed in that warm water. Neither one of them needed to kick to stay afloat. Much like the magical waters of the Sølvfoss, they need only lift their feet from the sandy bottom to find themselves cradled in the water.

"What're you thinking about?" she murmured, trailing her fingers along Steve's nape.

He sighed softly, his eyes heavy-lidded. "I'm sleepy, actually. It's been a great night, but baby, you've worn me out. I'm not nineteen anymore."

She tilted her head to one side. "I know. I didn't know you when you were nineteen."

He grinned, tugging her more firmly against him. "When I was nineteen, I could've done it all night if you wanted. I'm not quite that young anymore. Now I have to go for quality over quantity."

As he spoke, his fingertips swept against her back, which ushered in a delicious drowsiness for her as well. But she fought it off, mindful that they were just beyond the sandbar. If they drifted any further out, the undertow would catch them and whisk them toward the edge.

"But on the other hand," he added, brushing her lips with a light kiss, "you benefit in ways earlier girlfriends never did."

"Really?" She glanced at the beach, which seemed very far away now. "Steve, we should really make our way back. It's dangerous out here."

"Okay. Hold on." He tightened one arm about her waist and with his free hand, stroked through the water. At first, they didn't move. His brow furrowed. "What the hell?"

Her belly twisted. "The undertow. Keep kicking against it and it will let us go."

He grunted as he kicked and cleaved harder, but instead of moving nearer the shore, the water pulled them toward the falls. "Ash, what happens if we go over the edge?"

Panic nipped at her insides. Only one person was known to have survived a tumble from Asgard, and that was her father. But he was the only one. "You don't want to know."

"Oh, fuck."

Now the sandbar was further away. The sea floor fell away. The waves grew rougher.

The water grew icier.

The muscles in Steve's shoulders bulged against his skin, the cords in his neck looking as if they were about to burst through as he fought against the water's pull. The rush grew louder, spray hit their faces, and icy fear bit down with sharp teeth as Aislinn realized they were about to go over the falls.

She tightened her hold on Steve, screwing her eyes shut as she concentrated on the beach, now almost a mile away. The water dragged them closer to the edge of the abyss. Her feet, then her legs, then her body, went numb from the cold. Her fingers loosened on Steve, but only for a moment before she tensed against the chill.

The cord came from nowhere, stretched from an invisible anchor on the shore and Aislinn wrapped it tight about her wrist, ignoring the way it bit into her skin. A hot sting twisted with the cord, blood dotting her arm where the cord rubbed mercilessly against her flesh.

She fought against the water's determined grasp, winding the cord about her wrist as she tugged her and Steve back to shore. Every muscle in her right arm screamed, her shoulder burned, and even with Steve kicking, it took every last drop of will she possessed to free them from the undertow.