Daughter of Stark (Re-edit)

Chapter 22

Jess' POV

"I told you to follow my orders," Loki snapped.

I glared at him. "And I told you no! I won't do your bidding." 

His hand made contact with the side of my face, turning my head quickly to the right. My cheek stung horribly as I looked back at him, biting my lip hard to keep from crying out in pain. "Will you do it now?"

"No," I hissed. "Torture me all you want, but I still refuse to follow your orders." 

Loki was suddenly the blue-skinned, red-eyed person again. Slowly walking towards me, his eyes seemed to darken to the deepest shade of red I had ever seen. "If that's what you want, then so be it." 

Tony's POV

"Alright, fine, whatever. Just... just bring her home." After nearly an hour of arguing with Thor about going to Asgard with him, I finally relented and agreed to stay. "But if you're not back in two days, then you come back and take me with you." 

Thor seemed to realize that was the best he would get from me, so with a heavy sigh, he nodded his agreement. "Let us hope it doesn't come to that." 

Thor disappeared, I collapsed into a nearby chair. My heart was frantically racing, and nothing would make it slow until I had my daughter safely back in my arms. I thought about the first time she disappeared as I held my head in my hands. 

"Thor will bring her home, Tony," Natasha spoke softly. "We won't stop looking for her until she's home." 

I didn't respond, and they didn't ask me to. The only thing I did was close my eyes and hope for the best possible outcome. At this point, the only thing I was hoping for was that she was still alive. 

"Stark..." 

I didn't let Steve finish. "If he kills her... if he so much as touches her..." My statement was never completed. There was a high possibility that he was hurting her, and I knew that. But there was nothing I could do. Thor was the only one who could stop him now.

"She's a fighter, Tony," Clint stated. "She'll make it through this." 

I really hope so, was the only thing I could think.

Jess' POV

My body ached. I was covered in cuts and bruises. Blood dripped from numerous places on my head. I knew there was a slim chance I'd survive this. But at the moment, none of that mattered to me. The thing that pissed me off the most was that Loki's father did nothing to stop Loki from hiding me. He had done nothing to stop Loki from torturing me. 

"You don't look well, darling. Perhaps you should rest... or at the very least follow my orders," Loki spoke up from his place in the corner of the room. 

"I'm fine," I muttered. 

He sighed. "I can do this all day. There's no one coming to stop me." 

"That's what you think." 

Loki's anger flared again. Minutes of torture started up for what seemed to be the hundredth time today. When he finally stopped, I was lying on the floor, fighting to stay conscious. My head was spinning, and the ringing in my ears was becoming deafening. My lungs were screaming for air as I took quick and shallow breaths. It felt like I was made of lead, as it was nearly impossible to move at all. 

"You won't last much longer," Loki said. Once again, he was the blue-skinned, red-eyed person. 

All I could do was close my eyes. Apparently, this angered him even more, as he kicked my side, cracking some ribs. Though I was in a lot of pain, I had no energy left in me to acknowledge it. All I wanted was to sleep. 

Somewhere to my left, a door crashed open. There were heavy footsteps quickly coming our way. His friends must be here, ready to kill me. I should have cared, but I didn't. Death would be easier at this point, than fighting to stay alive. I was closer to that part of my life now anyway. After everything that Loki had done to me... slicing my skin with a blade, throwing punches at me every so often, and cracking my ribs... I was not going to live much longer. I assumed I had a few hours left at the most. 

"You were not supposed to find her!" Loki yelled out in anger. 

"I had a feeling this is where she would be," Thor's voice sounded. "Where else would you have taken her?" 

Loki hit something. "I could have taken her anywhere!" 

"And yet you brought her here," Thor replied. "Does Father know she's here? Or have you kept her hidden from him as well?" 

I could hear the wicked grin in Loki's voice. "Father knows she's here. But he has not come to stop me." 

More footsteps came into the room and, though my eyes were still closed, I knew Thor and Loki were fighting the other. After a few minutes, Thor demanded that Loki be taken to the prison cells. Loki cried out that he would never stop until the throne is his, and that I will soon be back in his clutches. 

A sudden rush of wind swept over me. "Lady Jess," Thor's voice was quieter now. "Lady Jess, can you hear me?" All I did was exhale slowly. When I did not do anything further, Thor took me into his arms. "You are badly hurt. He will pay for what he has done to you."