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...
Anna croaks, her muscles falling out of their rigid shock as she rushes toward him. She trips over a rock, narrowly catching herself before falling to her knees, and stumbles forward. Ignoring the figure standing in front of him, she throws her arms around his neck without hesitation.
"Oh god," she mumbles, tears blurring her vision as she pushes her face into his neck. "I was so worried I'd never see you again."
Remembering herself and the state of his body, she gasps and pushes herself backward whilst mumbling an apology so she can take him in completely. She can't help but be reminded of the last time she found him in such a state, hanging from the ceiling in Magnus' torture chamber at Restitution, and she uses one shaky hand to push a matted strand of black hair away from his eyes as she takes a mental note of his injuries.
An assortment of burns, cuts, and bruises are scattered across his body, so much so that hardly an inch of his bare skin is left unmarked. Anna bites her bottom lip nervously, keeping her hands cupped around his face, before trailing her eyes back to his face.
Blood trickles down the sharp line of his jaw as her gaze skims upward. His thin lips are curled ever-so-slightly into a smile, a cut swelling on the corner his bottom lip, and she notices a crookedness to his nose that was not present before.
Blue eyes lock with green, and she's astonished by what she sees in them. Her heartbeat slams against her ribcage like an ever-present drum, thrumming an angry rhythm through her entire body, and she swallows nervously. Instead of joy - or even relief - there's a darkness clouding his brilliant emerald irises the likes of which she hasn't seen before.
"Kindly remove your hands from my skin, vermin," Loki says, spitting out the words as if they are the foulest of poisons.
Anna hesitates, her breath caught in her throat, before obliging. Warmth hits her palms instantly, the absence of his cool skin beneath her hands sending a pang of longing through her, and she stares back at him without blinking.
"Loki," she says slowly. "I'm going to get you out of here. Okay? Everything is going to be okay. We need to go, now."
He scoffs as she checks the chains that hold him, "Must you be so disgustingly puerile?"
Anna steps back for a moment and opens her mouth to respond, but he continues, "Are you so worthlessly pathetic that you would honestly believe that I would go with you? That I would welcome this...rescue, this...whatever it is, with open arms?"
He spits at her, a mixture of blood and saliva landing on her cheek, before laughing harshly.
"I am a GOD," he roars, shaking the chains binding his hands as he lunges toward her. "Who do you think I am, that I might be blind to such illusions?"
She stumbles backward, falling to the ground, as she stares up at him in horror. A laugh behind her draws her attention, and Anna glances over her shoulder to see Frigga.
"How..." she mutters, staring up at the ever-poised Asgardian queen.
Frigga smirks, her flawless expression undisturbed by the madness exhibited by her son, and a shiver runs through Anna. This cannot be Loki's mother, not with the cruel glint in her frosty blue eyes. Her hair is twisted elegantly around her head, and the gleaming silk of her gown drapes over her body as if it were cut from marble instead of fabric.
Anna turns back to Loki, who continues to struggle against his bonds. He's seething with hatred - sweat and blood dripping from his brow - as he strains heavily toward them. The chains rattle loudly as he groans, every second pushing with new exertion, as the madness dances in his now-unfamiliar green eyes.
"Then you know this is just a game, that it isn't real," Frigga says mockingly, circumventing where Anna sits on the ground to approach Loki. "And you know that you will never escape."
He growls, the sound echoing menacingly throughout the rocky void, and Anna pushes herself to her feet. Despite his rage, she steps toward him once more and reaches out toward him. He twists his head to the left, brilliant white teeth gnashing together as she jerks her hand away from his attempted bite.
"Loki," Anna cries, glaring at the phantom Frigga before using her hands to slip around Loki's neck. He thrashes against her - even in his injured state, his strength is considerable - and she curses under her breath as she tries to hold him still. "Loki, please. Please, stop. It's me. I'm real, I promise."
He bashes his forehead against hers, knocking her to the ground once more, and the chains that once bound him disappear as Frigga lets out a vicious laugh.
"You cannot be real," Loki hisses as he tackles Anna, his hands finding purchase around her neck. "The woman I love is dead, as you shall soon be."
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