When Darkness Falls - LOKI - Book One (Editing)

24. Truth ✓

     "Athelia stop," Dolcia shouted as she pushed her way through the small crowd, her mind racing as her worst fear had come to pass.

     Athelia was standing hand in hand with Freya and it was only a matter of time before things went from bad to worse. Frigga was the first one she laid eyes on. The worrisome queen stood beside the two Dorians as their bodies grew weak and not knowing what was to happen, started to step backward away from the surge of reddened energy that swirled around their bonded hands.

     "What is going on?" Dolcia demanded, instantly feeling the regret of alienating herself from this planet. The guards and the maidens all stood as the Queen took Dolcia's worn hands in hers and explained Athelia's plan. 

     Dolcia was beyond words and she turned the king behind them, seething. "You let her do this?"

     "There was no stopping her," Frigga whispered as Dolcia ripped her hand free. "The Aether is strong, but she is the only one well enough to handle it."

     "The Aether is as dark as it is old Frigga. It was born from a dark place as was she, you know this. There is a reason her powers were locked away, consuming more will unleash a darkness upon your kingdom that you will never recover from. You should have come to me." 

     Dolcia watched as Athelia focused on the young girl in front of her and stepped forward, only to be shocked by the force field that surrounded them. Dolcia's hand hovered above the transparent shield and she looked over at Frigga. 

     "It will contain it."

     Dolcia shook her head. "If she absorbs it, nothing will contain her. Her chains are not strong enough to hold both the aether and the darkness. They already grow thin."

     "Our forces are strong, Dolcia," Odin spoke as he appeared behind her. "Older than she and strong enough to hold even the deadliest of beings."

      "If you believe that then you are as foolish as you are blind," Dolcia spat at him. "It is bad enough you are allowing her to marry your son when you know very well who she is and what she is."

      Odin looked down at the woman. Her dark, tight curls were pulled back with a silver cuff and unlike Athelia, she had refused to embrace the attire of Asgardians and stood before them as if she was ready to go to war. He didn't fear her though, if anything, he trusted her and who she really was.

      "You have nothing to say for yourself?"

      Odin's glare moved to Freya as a small whimper escaped her lips. He watched as they struggled, each girl holding onto the other's wrist for dear life as the power surged back and forth between their fingertips. Athelia's chains were proving to be as thin as Dolcia had claimed them to be and they were doing very little to absorb the force of the aether. 

     "It was her choice, Dolcia," Frigga explained.

     Dolcia's eyes widened and she stepped in front of the king, her hand instinctively going to her hilt. "A choice she never would have made had she known the truth. I have sat beside her for over a thousand years, Odin. You may have been aware of her existence, but I lived it. I watched the darkness consume her. I watched her lay waste to worlds much bigger than this and I watched as -"

     "She was born for this."

     "She was not born at all," she snapped. "She was created to wield a power that you locked away. She is merely a weapon. A world killer. Do you honestly think giving her the ultimate power is a good idea?"

     "Giving her the power is the only way to assure the safety of Asgard."

      Dolcia chuckled harshly and backed away from him. "If you wanted to kill her Odin, you should have done it the day your daughter cut her from her mother's womb."