The Last Shifter (a Loki romance)

Chapter 29

Arista's POV
I woke later than usual, sunlight was streaming through my open window and right into my eyes, causing me to groan with frustration and try to flip over only to hit something very solid. Loki. Since he was still asleep and therefore would be very difficult for me to move, I pushed him onto his back and climbed on top of him, laying my head on his chest and pulling the bed clothes over his shoulders. Loki's arms automatically wrapped around me, holding my body against his for a moment. Then he registered that I had the sheets over my head and pulled them back.
"You need to breathe, dove."
"But I'm tired."
"Then go to sleep without something over your head."
"But the sun is too bright." Without a word, Loki whipped the blinds shut but that did very little to block the rays of the unforgiving sun.
"It's fine, Loki. We should be getting up anyway. You have to leave."
"Must I?"
"Yes! I don't want you to see my dress until the ball."
"Please?"
"No. And besides, this will throw them off my scent if they try and come by today."
"But what if–"
"And plus, we're going to want to know if our Bond works long-range before we bet our lives on it."
"Fine. I will depart now then." Loki rose, transferred his armor to his body, and headed for the door.
"Wait!"

By the time I caught up with him, he had Susie ready to go and was walking her out of the barn.
"Loki, wait!" He ignored me and refused to stop until I grabbed his arm.
"What."
"Loki, I'm sorry if I've upset you but I really want this to be a surprise." He still wouldn't meet my gaze so I placed a hand on his cheek and turned his head towards me. "Hey, I'll see you tomorrow morning. I'll be there. And maybe, if I can find a dress fast enough, I'll be back tonight."
"I, more than anyone, understand the importance of the element of surprise,

"Farewell, my love." Before I could return the parting statement, Loki and Susie had vanished and I was alone without my love for the first time.
"Can you hear me, Arista?"
"Yes. I hear you."
"I'm going to go back to Asgard now. You let me know if you feel any sort of pain at my distance from you."
"I will." I didn't feel any pain when Loki left but I knew he had been answered by Heimdall when I felt him get physically farther away from me.
"I'm in Asgard. Are you alright? Are you hurting?"
"No, but I can feel that you're far away from me but you're not hurting me. The only downside is that I have to concentrate really hard to hear you and got you to hear me."
"But no pain?"
"No pain."
"You promise?"
"Yes, I promise. Now, may I get back to my task of finding and summoning a dress?"
"You may. I shall see you tomorrow." We severed the connection between our minds and the first place I went inside was down to the basement where I pulled the mask I intended to wear off the wall and placing it on my desk next to my computer. The mask had been hand-made and painted in Italy and therefore had come at a hefty sum on money many years ago but now it was all paying off. The face was ombre, the right side was gold and it faded across the face until it was blue on the left side. The base colors were particularly strong around the cheekbone areas. The decorative designs were symmetrical and much like the ones that would be on my dress. The only difference was in the color. On the blue side of the face, they were a sparkling gold but on the other side they were a glittering blue. However, the glamor of the mask did not end there, on top of the head was a large, tilted, old-fashioned blue hat lined with gold lace and a floral pattern of blue and gold stitched in. The mask was decorated with feathers as well. On the side where the hat was high, on the left side of the forehead, there were several large, dark blue feathered flowers and on the opposite side, where the hat was low, sat a single, gigantic blue feather, surrounded by several smaller feathers of the same color. Unlike the big one, they lay limp against the surface of the hat, making the already large feather seem even bigger. There were also several feathers glued to the right side of the face, beginning with the forehead, lining their way down the cheek, and ending once they rounded the chin. This mask rivaled even the best in Asgard and I was very proud to own it.