𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄 ▷ 𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒 [✔]

18 | MANIPULATION

WARNING: Mentions of Gore and Blood

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VALERIE'S P.O.V

Stirring, I lifted my head, realizing I wasn't in my bed, where I had last remembered being. I laid on the ground, in a vast plain, resembling nothing I had ever seen before. It was brightly lit, while gold-encrusted buildings and the brightest skies I'd ever seen surrounded me.

Although I had no clue how I had arrived, I felt safe and somehow in control of what surrounded me. As if I had been lucid dreaming. Reaching to my neck, I could feel the device Stark had given me, reassuring my concerns. If anything at all, at least I could be in control of myself.

Suddenly and all at once, I could feel his overwhelming presence consuming the air around me. As if he held his own smell, I just knew in my gut that it had been him sauntering closer to me. Sucking the air around me until my lungs caved into a deep gasp, my eyes flew to his newly appearing form.

"Valerie," his voice called, precariously. I had no clue what he wanted from me, or why he chose to invade my mind, but I could distinguish this as an illusion. All a game he had been playing at. It must've been the only explanation.

"Loki."

"There's something off about you," He appeared before me suddenly, flashing a toothy grin as I eyed his changing positions. All the while, his gold and green dressage shimmered in the light.

"Ignoring me? That won't serve you well, little doe."

"There's nothing off about me," I muttered, looking away from his piercing gaze. He circled me, like some fragile prey.

"Why do you lie to me?" He whispered, his words feeling close to the skin of my neck even as he stood a few feet away.

"You don't know me."

"I know everything there is to know about you," He chuckled as if it were the funniest thing anyone could have said to him. "I wouldn't hide reality from you. I wouldn't mislead you like all of the people you've mistrusted have."

"You have no reason-" 

"I have every reason!" He yelled, making me flinch away. I pressed my lips together tightly, noting the growing rage in his words. He paused, almost as if the thought of scaring me troubled him, he took a step back, running his hand through his raven-colored hair.

"Where I'm from, you grow to become attuned with your talents. You learn to utilize them in ways many would consider inconceivable. I can give you that, I can make you realize your strength. I can give you your sought after truth."

"The truth? And what is the truth, Loki? Something not misconstrued by your lies and deception? Are you even capable of telling the truth, or is everything that spews from your lips a lie?"