Right to the Night

Chapter Forty-Four

 Loki waited outside Iona's home as Elisabete entered. She told him she would give them the news and then come to retrieve him as not to shock anyone. In the distance, he could hear her family's cries of joy. For the next minute or two, Loki stood there in silence as he waited for Elisabete to return for him. He didn't know what to expect once he re-entered other than her family glaring at him and wanting to shout names at him, but he knew they wouldn't since Elisabete most likely advised them not to for his sake. It irked him that Elisabete still cared for him as such knowing what he had done. Before he even gave himself the chance to run away, she opened the front door and gestured for him to come inside. When he stood in front of her, he smiled weakly and cleared his throat.

"Elisabete, what did Búri tell you?" Loki asked.

"It is a secret between him and I and will remain as such. Now come inside." She replied.

She took his hand and led him inside the house. Iona's home had been built by her father as a birthday gift for her several years ago. There were three bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen, and living space. Outside there was a shed and a garden that Iona took much pride in. Upon entering, Loki saw her family and Iona sitting in the living space, looking up at him with cold expressions. As he took a step closer, he noticed Adelina in Elisabete's mother's arms and he put his hands over his mouth to keep the others from hearing him cry. She let the girl down on the floor and Loki knelt down as Adelina came wobbling towards him with her face beaming as she looked on her father. Once she was within his reach, he wrapped his arms around her and held her to him, cradling her head to his chest as he kissed her several times.

"Oh, my little girl. I've missed you so much." Loki wept.

He held her as if his life depended on it and his chest heaved as he smoothed out her hair, laughing lightly as she looked up at him. She reached her hand up towards his face and patted his cheek as she smiled.

Elisabete looked at the two and hated herself for what she was about to do. She looked over at Tadeus and nodded her head. He sat up from his seat and walked towards Loki. He looked up at Tadeus and furrowed his brow. The confusion he felt and Tadeus' blank expression caught him off guard and when he felt Tadeus rip Adelina from his arms, he felt his whole world crumbling into pieces again.

"What? What are you doing? Let me hold my daughter." Loki asked.

He turned around to face Elisabete, expecting an answer out of her.

"To further your punishment, I think it best that from this moment on, you cannot bathe, feed, play, speak, hold, or even look at Adelina. You are never to be alone with her." Elisabete told him.

"Why?" Loki inquired.

"You think I can trust you with our daughter when you slaughter other toddlers for no reason?" She retorted.

"Please, give me any other punishment you wish, but not this." He begged.

"I'm sorry but that is my punishment and I am not changing my mind. If either I, Iona, or a member of my family see you breaking these rules, I will kick you out of this home and you will never see us and your unborn child ever again." Elisabete explained.

"When can I hold her again?" He asked.

"When the trust I once had with you has been restored. And who knows how long that will take? Maybe a few months...or a few years. Either way, you're going to have to work as hard as I did as your maid to please me. I put my heart and soul into everything you asked of me to do for you, and now you will do the same. Do you understand me?" She replied.

Loki solemnly nodded his head and not being bare knowing that his daughter was in the room babbling when he could not even look at her made him storm out of the house to get some fresh air.