BOOK 3. Trapped in Asgard after Odin's apparent death, Anna chooses an unlikely ally in her attempt to find Loki. While the realm is sealed from the rest of the Nine Worlds, her strange dreams lead her to the one place she'd never expect.
To him...
"How is this supposed to help me find him?" She asks Hela, who has been explaining the bond forged between Anna and Loki's souls for what seems like ages, with a frustrated groan.
Hela rolls her eyes, "Have you not been listening to a word I've spoken?"
"I have!" Anna raises her voice. "I've been listening to you tell me that Loki made an oath binding our souls together, forging a bond between us that means if anything happens to me, his soul is cursed."
She sighs, running a hand over her forehead as she attempts to calm down, "I already knew all of that. What I don't know is how. If this bond is what's causing my dreams, it doesn't explain how we can use that to save him."
The raven-haired goddess stares blankly at Anna, not bothering to mask her annoyance with the Midgardian's ignorance. She can see how Anna would be a suitable match for her father - the brunette has a lively spirit and a strength of character that few others could match - but that doesn't make her any more palatable while she rants and raves about the same things again and again. Her love for Loki is evident, of that much Hela is certain, and the fact surprises her. There are not many in the entirety of the Nine Realms who would go through such lengths for the trickster - even as far as death - and for that she begrudgingly admires Anna.
"Loki is the one who initiated the bond, correct?" Hela asks, earning a nod from Anna. "I believe that the oath he swore to you is using his magic to forge a connection between your souls - tethering his consciousness to yours - especially in his distress."
Anna bites her lip, "Then why can't I sense him now? Shouldn't I...I don't know, feel something? Anything?"
"Are you trained in magic?" The goddess asks, lifting an eyebrow. "Without being receptive to the connection and aware of its presence, you would not 'feel' it."
"Which would explain why the dreams happen," Anna says slowly, realization dawning on her. "When I'm asleep, I'm more receptive to the connection?"
Hela nods, almost impressed with Anna's deduction. Perhaps the Midgardian woman is more intelligent than she initially judged. While she knows Loki would never bind himself to a fool, she wouldn't put it past him to be distracted by a pretty face. Anna, as it seems, has more substance than many of her father's previous lovers. Thankfully.
"So I need to learn to access the connection between us while I'm awake," Anna says, more to herself than to Hela. "And we hope that I'll be able to follow it then, right?"
Hela shrugs, "Perhaps. In truth, so few of these bonds have been forged - likely none by someone with as much power as Loki - that it is difficult to predict the outcome."
"But you can feel it," Anna concludes. "The connection between my soul and Loki's."
"I can see it," Hela corrects. "Yes."
Anna pauses for a moment, "Then you should be able to teach me, right? How to access it while I'm awake?"
Hela opens her mouth to speak, but Anna interrupts her.
Will you, I mean," the Midgardian corrects herself. "Not can you."
The black-haired goddess grins. The woman in front of her is catching on quickly. She's already agreed to Hela's bargain, although the goddess has yet to express her demands yet, so there is no harm in humoring the woman. At best, she succeeds, and Hela will be able to capitalize on the deal between them. At worst, she dies. Both are beneficial outcomes in her mind's eye.
"I have no need to teach you," Hela says with a smirk, her blue eyes sparkling with mischief in a way that causes her to resemble her father even more. "I can show you."
Before Anna can respond, Hela continues, "Be warned, however, of the Mad Titan you seek. Many have fallen by his hand, and more shall follow. Should you find Loki within his grasp, it shall be no easy task to free him. Do you understand?"
Without hesitation, Anna nods, "Yes."
"Good," Hela replies, her smile broadening as she places a frigid hand on Anna's cheek.
Magic courses through her while darkness seeps into the edges of Anna's vision. She can't feel anything except Hela's hand on her face, the sensation reminiscent of freezing marble against her skin, and she shivers. Oxygen whooshes from her lungs in an instant, everything tightening as she struggles and fails to breathe before she succumbs to the darkness.
In one last moment, one fleeting second, she hears Hela's hideous yet beautiful laugh. The words hit her ears, their meaning lost as Anna slips away.
"I cannot wait to watch the show."
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I'd like to wish a very happy birthday to chanaenae88 + DawnOfDragonfire! I hope both of you have a wonderful day.
