When Darkness Falls - LOKI - Book One (Editing)

6. Birthright ✓

     "Do not touch me again," Athelia seethed as she swatted away Thor's extended hand. She stood inside the Bifrost, eyeing the man that just ripped her from one world to the next without warning. Yet, she still managed to do her best not to release a rage that would level the golden globe they stood under.

     A look of pure hatred washed across her face as he tried to use his title to force her into submission. His blue eyes bore into her, and though he stood nearly two feet taller, she was nowhere near intimidated as she had brought many of man, much larger than he, to their knees. 

     Thor stood at the edge of the Bifrost, holding his hand out for her. The annoyed expression on his face caused a burning in her stomach, and instead of going with him, she turned,  catching a quick reflection of herself in the golden gears that slowly spun around them. 

      He must have thought her to be truly mad. Soaked in the blood of her enemies and still slightly high on the rush that swirled within her. Every time he attempted to touch her, she backed away, but not only because she did not want to go with him or be handled, but because the energy that pulsed within her was so intense that if he grabbed her, she feared the binds that kept those around her safe, would be of no use.

     "You can come with me by choice, or I can carry you. Your choice."

     "I swear by the God's if you even try to touch me one more time, you will not have hands." She threatened him, her eyes flashing a pale white in a warning. 

     She stared him down as he spun his hammer in his hand— The Great Mjolnir. For a moment, she found herself wondering if she had finally met her match. There was only one thing she was aware of that could easily kill her, but she had always wondered if there was another - and his hammer sparked this curiosity, as did the fact that she was unaware if he had been doing it out of habit, or if he was attempting to threaten her to comply. 

     There wasn't a single part of her that wanted to do anything he told her to, but she also knew she was in uncharted territory. This was not her home. These were not her people. Starting a war with their beloved prince would not bed well for the tarnished image she already had on this planet, but neither would decimating it either. 

     "I have no problem talking to your father about this situation, but I am very capable of walking on my own."

     "I can fly," he boasted. "I assure you it would be much faster than your tiny little legs."

    "I am sure it is," she chuckled as she straightened up with a smirk. "But is it faster than this?"

     Thor narrowed his brows in confusion as the crimson-covered woman in front of him closed her and disappeared right before him, leaving nothing more than her muddy boot prints on the floor where she had just stood. Stunned, Thor let out a heavy sigh and turned to Heimdall, who had been standing just behind them as they bickered. 

     "Well, at least your marriage will never be boring," Heimdall muttered.

     "Were you aware of this arrangement, Heimdall?" He glared at the gatekeeper, who did his best to avoid his friend's gaze. "Of course you did. You see all." Thor chuckled in annoyance. "And it never crossed your mind to send word that I would be returning to a wife?"

     "Much has happened since you were last in Asgard, my friend," Heimdall told him as he placed his hand on Thor's shoulder. "Try to be kind with her. She is not here by choice, and I fear she is rather sensitive to being told what to do."

     "She doesn't exactly strike me as sensitive."

     Heimdall stared at him in shock. Thor was utterly clueless. "You have no idea who she is, do you?"