Above All Shadows [Loki Timetravel fic - Completed]

12. Red Eyes

Loki made a show of attempting a smile. 'Was there a party invitation I missed?'

For all the outward differences, Loki still sounded the same. A palace guard was unlikely to be familiar enough with Loki's voice to recognise it when it emanated from a frost giant's mouth. The king's advisers were a different matter. They had all been at Odin's side for centuries, if not millennia. They had practically watched Loki grow up. And they all looked distinctly uncomfortable once they heard him speak.

Agnar, perhaps because he'd had some minutes already to accustom himself to Loki's true features, recovered first. He grimaced and slowly climbed the steps up, then turned to face the dark vastness of the hall.

'I thank you all for coming despite the peculiar hour. It is a matter that cannot wait the light of day. Lord Tyr has made an accusation of treason against the prince-regent. We must determine whether there is merit in the commander's claims and whether the prince should remain regent.'

Loki ran his hand through his hair, grimacing at the way the ridges on his knuckles caught the strands.

'It seems the former king and queen kept certain basic facts from me,' he said, making sure his voice trembled a little as he spoke. 'But it is not treason to be born a frost giant, surely? What am I being accused of?'

'I believe the prince-regent has been conspiring with the frost giants to weaken Asgard and to secure the throne for himself,' Tyr replied.

Loki spun around to face Tyr. 'What?'

'Why is it that when the King of Jotunheim asserts there is treason among us, Asgardians, the prince-regent all but laughs off the words?' Tyr said. He hadn't joined the rest of the councillors up on the dais and now made a slow circuit along the broad semi-circle his Einherjar had formed across the floor of the Great Hall. 'It's because he already knows the traitor's identity. Unprecedented events have befallen Asgard recently. Who was involved in them all? Who benefited from them? Prince Loki.

'It seemed strange to me that for all his skill in the magic arts, he was unable to close a portal in time to prevent the frost giants escaping after their assault on the Vault. Stranger yet that he would mistime dropping his protective shield in Jotunheim when Odin's life was at stake. But it's not so strange when you realise this was the intent. I suspect the plan was for Odin to die in Jotunheim, but the Odinsleep saved him.'

'Do not attribute to malice what can be explained by incompetence,' Loki responded. 'Spellwork is finicky, all the more when time is not on the sorcerer's side. I daresay you too have made mistakes in the chaos of battle.'

'I've never made a mistake that directly led me to be proclaimed ruler of Asgard.'

Loki glanced up to the vacant throne. 'I have no desire to rule Asgard. What have I gained from my mistakes, Lord Tyr? My father is gravely ill, my brother is captured and Asgard is at war.'

'Odin is not your father and Thor is not your brother. And I doubt you care about Asgard at all.'

'Then why have I spent so much energy trying to keep the realm out of this war!'

'Who knows, maybe Laufey needed time to gather his forces.'

'Unsupported assumptions have no place in this conversation,' Eydis said.

Loki pursed his lips. She might be presenting herself as a moderating voice now, but she had to have known of Agnar and Tyr's plans. Everything in the Weapons Vault had been transferred into the Treasury. They would have needed her authorisation to enter the Treasury vaults and take the collar currently rubbing a blister into Loki's neck. He wondered if any of them had entertained a thought that they could ask Loki to voluntarily put on the collar before they decided on the clandestine ambush in his bedroom. It seemed unlikely, and that unnerved Loki all the more.