Tabula Rasa (Unlike Loki: Book Two)

Chapter 47

(Anna)

I was pacing around the bedroom, and Loki was trying to calm me down.

I was panicking. My son had been taken from me.And I had no idea where to even start looking for him.

"We will find him, darling. I sware to it." Loki said from across the room. He was bent down over the small table that resided in our room. He sounded calm. Which put me even more on edge.

"What are you doing?" I asked, walking briskly over to him.

He was writing feverently on a piece of parchment paper.

"Writing a letter." He said, still writing, his handwriting perfect and symmetrical.

"To who?" I asked, leaning over his shoulder to read.

"The mighty king of Jotenheim." He said.

"What?!" I said, grabbing his arm and yanking him back. I pulled the letter out of his hand and tried and began reading.

He snatched the paper away from me. "By was lying about the prince. I know that much. But I still need to talk to him, see if he will help."

"Help what? Like he cares anything about us!" I yelled. Of all things Loki could be doing to help find our son, this was his mode of action.

"He's my younger brother, Anna. He is a son of Laufey. He may not help us, but, if I bargain with him, I may be able to find out something, anything to tell us where Leolin is." He gave me a stern look. His eyes shone with desperation.

He was as clueless as I was about where to start.

"Let me write it." I said.

That caught him off guard. "What?"

"Let me write him the letter. He may take more kindly to it. Your relationship with your biological family members aren't exactly the greatest." I looked at him, and he looked back, knowing I was right.

He crumpled up the piece of paper and threw it behind him. He picked up a clean piece of paper and handed me a fountain pen. "What shall we say?" He asked.

"I'll figure it out." I said, staring at the clean piece of parchment.

I turned towards him. "How did you find out you had a younger brother?" This was a story he had never shared with me.

"When he was made king. It was announced he was another son of Laufey. That's how I found out. I've obviously never met him. But from what I've heard he is an odd mix of evil and noble."

I cocked my head at him.

"Apparently, he is only evil when it calls to be, but he has values and morals." He shugged his shoulders. "I have no idea how that works."

"Sounds like someone else I know." I joked.

He shot me a look of distain. "Ha." He crossed his arms. "Very funny."

"Wait." I said, thinking of something else. "So that means the rogue prince is your brother as well."

Loki nodded his head, rubbing his cheek with his hand.

"I don't know where or what he's doing. It was never any of my business or my worry until there was the possibility that he could hurt my family."

I gasped lightly. "You don't think he-"

"No. No, I don't think he has had any part in this whole event." Loki sighed.

"We are talking about Frost-Giants here, Loki." I said softly.

"I kinow. But what would they have to gain from this?" He shook his head."Whoever took Leolin is far away, in some deep dark hole, hiding and biding their time."

"They gave me a fortnight, Loki! There is no time to bide! They don't just want to see if we can find him, they want something from me! And I have no idea what!!!" I yelled in frustration, tears coming to my eyes.

Loki folded me in his warm embrace. "One step at a time darling." He backed away from me. I looked up at him and I felt him push the pen back into my hand after I had thrown it on the table during my tantrum.

"Step one." He said, leaning forward and whispering into my hair.

And then I began to write.