The Last Shifter (a Loki romance)

Chapter 91

I waited until Thor and Jane passed totally out of sight before I shifted back into Arista and knelt beside Loki.

"Alright, drop the act, love." His skin turned back for normal and his eyes opened.

"That was quite the performance, Tiger."

"I haven't heard that name in awhile."

"Well, given the circumstances, I thought it would be fitting."

"You thought right." I hitched a leg over his waist and kissed him, but he gasped and groaned in pain, "What is it? You ok?"

"This injury is more serious than what we were aiming for." He grunted.

"Will you be ok?"

"I should be, just get me out of this ash." I shifted into a mare and he grabbed my mane, using his leg to get himself onto my back. From there, I carried him back to the speeder. Once there, he laid down on the bench Jane had been on.

"Alright. How do we get back to Asgard?"

"The same place we came in. I can guide you back."

"Are you strong enough?"

"I can guide you." I helped cover him with a blanket to keep more ash from getting into his wound and took off.

The amount of time we'd spent flying around was deceptive when it came to how far we went from the portal. With Loki's guidance, we were back on Asgard in under fifteen minutes and I landed in the nearest available clearing.

"How bad is it?"

"Nothing vital was punctured, but it will not be a pleasant recovery." I helped him out of his armor to inspect the wound up close. There was more blood than I was comfortable with, but not a severe amount. The biggest issue was the ash in the stab. The clearing I'd landed in had a pond in it, so I got closer to it and used the inside of his shallow breastplate to carry water to him and wash the wound. He flinched and glared, but I ignored him. The water restarted the bleeding, but it also got the ash out. So once I was satisfied that the wound was clean, I used Loki's undershirt as a bandage to stanch the bleeding.

"You're going to have to be on bedrest the next few days as you heal."

"Bedrest!?"

"Unless you want me to go to Eir and get some very expensive salves to speed up recovery without an excuse."

"Very well, then. She would not keep our secret. Bedrest it is."

I flew us back to the palace, landed in the gardens, and took servant passages up to my chambers. Once there, I turned into a palace guard and went to the throne room. It was time to break the 'news' to Odin. He was sitting on the throne when I entered, his face emotionless and his body looking rather frail. He didn't even look the least slighted when I entered uninterrupted.

"Forgive me, my liege. I've returned from the dark world with news."

"Thor?"

"There's not sign of Thor, or the weapon, but..."

"What?"

"I found a body." He was silent for a moment.

"Loki." I looked up and met his gaze, not confirming anything, but not denying his conclusion either.

"You're dismissed." He whispered after a few moments.

I bathed as soon as I returned to our chambers, and after that, I went and sat beside Loki. He had fallen asleep in my absence, and his Asgardian glamour had dropped. Even as a Jotun, his exhaustion had manifested itself in the form of dark circles around his eyes, as well as in his royal markings. Instead of being lighter than his skin tone, they were slightly darker. A true tribute to how tired he really was. I brushed some hair out of his face and curled it behind his ear, smiling softly as little ice particles formed and then melted on my fingers. Loki stirred at the touch of my warm skin.