When Loki's consort and soulmate marries his rival to save their son from a curse, a prophecy leads to consequences even the God of Chaos couldn't predict.
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The Unseelie Goddess of War's revenge against Asgard's Dark Prince puts him in a no-win s...
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Tísiphone left us in a suite of rooms, warning us not to leave until we were summoned. The loud thunk of the solid black door slamming shut behind her emphasized her point. Like the rest of the palace and this cursed city, the rooms were dark, with flickering globes of fire in wall sconces that shed yellow-red light barely bright enough to reach a few metres. Dark pools of shadow filled the space, but I made out several couches, a low table, a bar along one wall, and three other doors.
Baldur opened each, looking inside. "Two bedrooms and a bathroom with a large sunken bathing pool."
My eyes met Elatha's, and at his nod, we drew water from the pool and sluiced it over the four of us to clean the blood and gore from our clothes and gear. There was no way I wanted guts from those hideous bat-bird things contaminating our wounds more than it already had. Visions of flesh-eating bacteria popped into my mind, and I meticulously rinsed our injuries again.
While Elatha dried the water, I dug into my pack to get first aid supplies. Elatha, Loki, and Baldur had bled all the way here, and although my knees ached like a rotten tooth, I wasn't losing blood.
"My wounds are already closing, Shannon. Save your supplies for Loki and Elatha," Baldur said. He tied a strip of cloth around his arm and dabbed at his cheek, where fresh blood welled from the slashes.
Elatha dug out a poultice and applied it to the puncture wounds on his hip and thigh, waving me off. Instead, I approached Loki, who'd moved into one of the bedrooms.
"Loki, you're still bleeding," I told him when he laid on the enormous bed, eyes closed. I flipped up the top of a small metal canister and dipped my fingers into the ointment.
He groaned and rolled over onto his stomach. After setting down the bandages and tins of medicine, I climbed onto the bed to reach his head. He lay relaxed as I sealed the shallow but long wound on his neck with the smear of healing balm.
I cleaned my fingers of the gel, then ran my fingers through his hair. His eyes closed, letting out another soft groan. "Are you okay?" I asked.
"Headache," he admitted. "We should eat something."
"Agreed," Elatha said, startling me when he put several tubers into Loki's relaxed hand, then handed one to me.
With a smile, I bit into it, chewing slowly. Gods, I was tired. Elatha sat beside us on the bed, his hand rubbing my back and I leaned my head on his shoulder. I'd almost finished a second one when a knock came at the door.
"Enter," Loki called out, opening his eyes, rolling to his back on the coverlet of multiple tones of gray, then pushing himself up to sitting. He dragged a hand through his dark locks, my gaze catching his. His smile was meant to be reassuring, but instead his green eyes were pinched in the corners.
My heart clenched, a spike of pain spearing my chest. Seeing Loki in pain... I clenched my jaw, hating that I couldn't heal him properly. Instead, I reached out and took his hand, giving it a squeeze.
