The Trickster's Bride

Chapter Thirty-Four: Rani

I woke violently, as my sleep had been naught but nightmares. I had dreamed of so many horrible things, that I hardly knew I wasn't dreaming anymore. I came to with a start, tearing at the sheets tucked neatly around me. I felt suffocated; I had to escape. My breath came in short spurts, and I yelped in fear as the goddess Eir came into view.

She hushed me, speaking in soft tones, trying to grab at my flailing limbs. Her face was lined with age, but her brown eyes were kind. But to me, she looked like a ghost, with her pallid skin and veils covering her head.

"Calm yourself, Rani," she urged, "you're safe, you're fine."

"No!" I yelled, "They're dead! They're all dead!"

I barely noticed Fenrir was licking my hand desperately. I was terrified. I believed all my loved ones to be dead at the hands of the Jotunn.

"Rani!" the voice was deep, commanding, but also desperate.

I stopped moving, and slowly turned my head to the sound.

Loki lay in a bed beside me, pale and sickly-looking. His abdomen was wrapped in bandages, which were stained with dried blood. As I quieted, he sighed in relief and lay back down, wincing.

"You're alive," I breathed, relaxing. I looked around. I was in the infirmary.

"Yes, I'm alive," he said, "and so is everyone else."

I let out a long sigh. Eir was looking down at me, shaking her head. "You didn't have a fever," she said, "I don't know where your bad dreams came from."

I shrugged. "Well, let me check your wound," Eir said, pulling down my blankets. I was in a different gown, since my other one must have been soaked and torn. Eir peered at the laceration in my thigh. I winced as she prodded it.

"Your blood has clotted, saving you," she said, "though you will have some trouble with walking for awhile. The muscle and some nerves were pierced. Unfortunately, I can only do so much. It will take time."

I nodded, gritting my teeth. The wound still felt raw and angry. Eir was a skilled healer, but she could not force the body as much as I would have liked.

I turned to Loki as Eir covered me again. "How are you?" I asked, recalling the horrid condition I'd found him in.

"Sore," he said with his arched tone, "but it seems that I'll survive."

"Good," I smiled, trying to lighten the mood, "I'm not through with you yet."

But Loki didn't respond. He hardly looked at me. He seemed very preoccupied, fidgeting with the blanket.

I turned to Eir, who was checking Fenrir's leg now. "May we have a moment?" I asked quietly.

"Certainly," Eir said, taking her leave. Once the door was closed tightly behind her, I sat up and turned to my husband.

"What is the matter?" I asked. I had come so close to losing him, I was no longer content to sit by and watch him sulk.

"Nothing," he said dully, refusing to meet my gaze.

"Nonsense," I snapped, folding my arms. "I did not save your life just to have you pout about it."

Loki turned to me quickly, disbelief in his eyes. "What did you say?"

"I saved your life," I repeated, dragging each word out. I explained how I'd witnessed the Jotunn knock him down, and how I killed him with my lucky arrow shot. Once I'd finished, Loki's eyes were wide and shocked.