2 | 𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐃 ▹ LOKI LAUFEYSON

xxii. the independence

L O K I

Loki sat, trembling slightly, by the small fire in the shadow of their acquired ship. The three had wasted little time in leaving Vormir, but a stop by a nearby planet's fuel station was necessary.

Fortunately, this station was in the middle of a desolate forest with no other customers to cause any issue. After fueling the vessel, Gamora and Amora had gone back to the station to get food.

But Loki's shaking was not from the chilly air; his Jotun physiology made that impossible. The events on that mountaintop flashed through his mind, haunting him.

As soon as the Stonekeeper had told him what the price was, Loki instantly thought of Amora. And that terrified him.

It terrified Loki how, for an instant, he considered pushing her off of the cliff. The Soul Stone was how he could reclaim his former glory. He would finally have power; he would finally have respect.

With the power of an Infinity Stone, he could take Asgard with ease and face Thanos without fear. And he would never have to step foot in that wretched cell again.

It would have been almost too easy.

With Amora standing just at the precipice, all Loki would have had to do was push and the Soul Stone would have been his.

It would have just been too easy. Because he loved her.

Loki was not sure what was more disturbing: the fact that he considered pushing her off of that mountain, or the fact that that situation—that opportunity—was possible because he loved her.

The only reason that he had been able to acquire the Soul Stone was the very reason why he could not take it.

It had seemed as though fate was tempting him, with Amora distracted and vulnerable by her own curiosity. An unknowing sacrificial lamb.

A lamb that he was unable to kill.

For a moment, sitting alone with the poor excuse of a ship, Loki was angry. He was angry with Amora, who seemed to torment him with his own will and morality. He was angry with himself, who had been unable to break free of such sentiment to gain what he desired most.

Or, at least, what he thought he desired most.

A two sets of footsteps approached and a meal portion was soon hovering in front of his face.

"It's not the most luxurious of meals," Amora said, setting the meal portion in his lap before taking a seat beside him, "but it's all the fuel station had."

And just like that, the anger dissipated as Loki was faced with the result of his choice: her. Amora, hunched over a meager place of food, with his green coat still draped over her shoulders, smiling and speaking as though her life had not been at risk earlier.

Loki wondered if she would still be here, sitting by his side with her arm occasionally brushing his as she forked up her meal, if she knew.

A voice in the back of his mind said, "She's still here now, after everything that you've done."

"Hey," Amora's soft voice and a nudge drew Loki out of his reverie, "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Loki answered coolly, but Amora gave a slight roll of her eyes.

"Oh, come on, mischief," Amora said with a smirk, unconvinced, "I know when you're lying."

Loki's lips quirked up, but he faltered as she titled her head and narrowed her eyes slightly, watching him. The silvertongue scrambled to find a believable story. "I was just thinking about what the Stonekeeper said about you and having the seidr."