Ascend

Part Two •Birthday•

Tove and Duncan had carried Loki up to a servants' quarters on the second floor. Willa went back to help Matt so he wouldn't worry, and I sent Duncan to get Thomas because I had no idea what we should do with Loki. He was unconscious, so I couldn't ask him what had happened.

"Are you going to give him amnesty?" Tove asked. He stood next to me with his arms folded over his chest, staring down at Loki.

"I don't know." I sook my head. "It depends on what he says." I glanced over at Tove. "Why? Do you think I should?" "I don't know," he said finally. "But I will support any decision you make."

"Thank you," I said, but I hadn't expected any different from him. "Can you see if there's a doctor that will look at him?"

"You don't want me to get my mother?" Tove asked. His mother was a healer, meaning she could put her hands on someone and heal almost any wound that person might have.

"No. She would never heal a Vittra. Besides, I don't want anyone to know that Loki is here. Not yet," I said. "I need an actual doctor. There is a mänks doctor in town, isn't there?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "I'll get him." He turned to leave but paused at the door. " You'll be okay with the Vittra Markis?" I smiled. "Yes, of course."

Tove nodded, then left me alone with Loki. I took a deep breath and tried to figure out what to do. Loki lay on his back, his light hair cascading across his forehead. Somehow he was even more attractive asleep then he is awake.

He hadn't stirred at all when they'd carried him up, and Duncan had jostled and nearly dropped him many times. Loki had always dressed well, and while his clothes looked like they had once been nice, they were little more then rags now.

I sat down on the edge of the bed next to him and touched a hole in his shirt. The skin underneath was discolored and swollen. Tentatively, I lifted his shirt, and when Loki didn't wake, I pushed it up more.

I felt strange and almost perverse undressing him, but I wanted to check and make sure there weren't any life-threatening contusions. If he was seriously injured or appeared to have any broken bones, I would summon Aurora and make her heal him, whether she wanted to or not. I wouldn't let Loki die because she was prejudiced.

After I pulled his shirt over his head, I got my first good look at him, and my breath caught in my throat. Under ordinary circumstances, I was sure his physique would be stunning, but that wasn't what shocked me. His torso was covered with bruises, and his sides had long, thin scars on them.

They wrapped around, so I lifted him a bit, and his back was covered with them. They crisscrossed all over his skin, some of the older, but most of them appeared red and fresh. Tears stung my eyes, and I put my hand to my mouth. I'd never seen Loki shirtless before, but I knew there had never been scars on his forearms. Most of this had happened since I'd seen him last.

Worse still, Loki had Virtra blood. Physically, he was incredibly strong, which was how he'd pounded at the door so hard it shook the front hall. That also meant he healed better then most. For him to look this terrible, somebody really had to have beaten the hell out of him, over and over again, so he wouldn't have time to heal.

A jagged scar stretched across his chest, as if someone had tried to stab him, and it reminded me of my own scar that ran along my stomach. My host mother had tried to kill me when I was a child, but that felt like a lifetime ago.

I touched Loki's chest, running my fingers over the bumps of his scar. I didn't know what exactly, but I felt compelled to, as if the scar connected us somehow.

"You just couldn't wait to get me naked, could you, Princess?" Loki asked tiredly. I started to pull my hand back, but he put his own hand over it, keeping it in place. "No, I—I was checking for wounds," I stumbled. I wouldn't meet his gaze.
"I'm sure." He moved his thumb, almost caressing my hand, until it hit my ring. "What's that?" He tried to sit up to see it, so I lifted my hand, showing him the emerald-encrusted oval on my finger. "Is that a wedding ring?"
"No, engagement." I lowered my hand, resting it on the bed next to him. "I'm not married yet." He smiled and settled back in bed mumbling "I'm not too late, then."
"Too late for what?" Is asked.
"Too stop you, of course." Still smiling, he closed his eyes.
"Is that why you're here?" I asked, failing to point out how near we were to my nuptials.
"I told you why I'm here," Loki said.
"What happened to you, Loki?" Is asked, my voice growing thick then I thought about what he had to have gone through to get all those marks and bruises.
"Are you crying?" Loki asked and opens his eyes.
"No, I'm not crying." Is wasn't, but my eyes were moist.
"Don't cry." He tried to sit up, but winced when he lifted his head, so I put my hand gently on his chest to keep him down.
"You need to rest," I said.
"I'll be fine." He put his hand over mine again, and I let him. "Eventually."
"Can you tell me what happened?" I asked. "Why do you need amnesty?"
"Remember when we were in the garden?" Loki asked.