BOOK TWO. After being manipulated and kidnapped by Restitution, Anna + Loki narrowly escape with their lives only to be separated by Odin. Stuck on Earth with Jane Foster, Anna finds herself missing the one man she thought she would always hate.
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"WHAT THE HELL is going on?" Jane demands, pacing the chamber where she and Anna are being held under guard.
It's been awhile since they were brought here without any sort of explanation, and the astrophysicist is clearly losing her patience. Anna, on the other hand, is sitting in a small chair in the corner of the room replaying the events that have occurred since their arrival in Asgard. She's furious with Odin and his ban on her visiting Loki, an outrageous act that she knows will only fuel the hatred between father and adopted son, but she is also still mourning for the loss of Frigga.
While the queen lived, there was a hope for Anna and Loki to be together. She was their champion in Asgard, someone who promoted their relationship even when Odin disapproved, and now she is gone. Not only that, her death is likely to cause Loki to fall further from grace.
It pains Anna to think about it, so she hardly notices Jane's pacing has stopped or the fact that Lady Sif is now standing at the doorway to their chambers.
"Good, let's go," Sif says with a quick nod, motioning for Jane and Anna to follow her.
Anna snaps from her thoughts, leaping to her feet, and follows the two women into the corridor. They stick to the shadows, avoiding passages that are more likely to be populated with guards, and soon find themselves weaving toward a bright column-filled chamber where Loki and Thor await them.
Her heart leaps into her throat at the sight of him, his green armor fitted perfectly to his tall and muscular frame, and his long black hair far more tame than it was at their last encounter. No longer donning his prison garb, Loki looks regal and handsome - even happy - as she catches the sparkle in his green eyes even from a distance.
"You're..." Jane babbles at him, looking between Anna and Thor for answers as to why the man she has come to hate is out of prison.
"I'm Loki," he quips sarcastically. "You may have heard of me."
The tiny brunette swings her fist up to connect with his jaw, landing a quick but powerful blow.
"That was for New York," she glowers, before glancing back at Anna who is watching with wide eyes. "And for my friend."
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Loki's head recoils from the shock of the blow, and he turns back to smile widely at Jane before glancing knowingly at Thor.
"I like her," he tells his brother.
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Anna steps forward to take Jane's place while Thor wraps his arm around the tiny brunette leaving Loki to speak with Anna for a brief moment. Their eyes meet, blue and green, and she isn't certain what to say.
What can she say? He's probably angry with her. His mother is dead, and she wasn't there to deliver the news - to comfort him - anything. No stranger to the sting of abandonment, Anna's absence might have made him believe that she doesn't care about him.
She opens her mouth to speak, but he beats her to it.
"Should I expect a punch or a kiss?" He quirks a dark eyebrow, his broad grin slipping away to reveal an amused expression.
A mask, Anna realizes.
"Loki," she says softly, reaching forward to grasp his hand.
Her fingers brush against the cold metal of the cuffs Thor fastened on his wrists, and he pulls away from her. A rush of emotions flash through his green eyes - pain, frustration, sadness - and she finds herself hating Odin even more for this whole situation.
She's instantly transported back to the facility where Restitution held them, where Magnus tortured them, and where she first fell in love with the raven-haired Asgardian prince.
"I'm sorry about Frigga," Anna tells him, straightening her back as she stares into his inquisitive gaze.
Those eyes see everything, or so she imagines, so perceptive at times, but still so blind. Perhaps Loki's fault isn't that he could not see Odin's love for himself, but that he was all too aware of the Allfather's attentions toward Thor. His emerald eyes see too much, absorb too much, and take it all to heart.
Loki pauses, "I am not."
His voice is low and quiet, and he speaks with a finality that shocks Anna. After their last encounter, he begged her not to hate him. His hands wiped the tears from her cheeks as she fled his cell during the prison riots, and his voice cracked with emotion. Now, after the death of his mother, he is steadfast and unemotional. There is an iciness in his tone that almost causes her to take a step back, and she stares back at him in disbelief.
"We should go," he tells her coldly.
He turns to follow Thor, Jane, and Lady Sif, leaving her standing - dumbfounded - in the corridor. It takes her a few moments to process the exchange, and Anna is filled with regret for the man she loves. He's slipped back into his shell, rebuilding the walls around him that he allowed her to topple once before, and pushing her away. Biting her lip, she hurries after them with a new resolve.
She can't lose him. She won't.
Not like this.
Now Playing: "Together" by The xx
***** AUTHOR'S NOTE
I'm BACK!
After ten days in England, I am officially back on Wattpad and thrilled to be here.
A few things: I've tried to respond to every single comment, but Wattpad capped my notifications at 1,000 - which was 5 days worth - meaning there's another 5 days (and close to 1,000) that I haven't seen. If I didn't respond to your comments, I'm SORRY.
To those of you who are new to the books, welcome! I'm glad you're here! Expect updates - lots of them. I update near daily, with never more than 3 days between updates.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to pass out.
Comment + vote! The more comments, the sooner you'll get more chapters! (I have been known to double, triple, quadruple, and even quintuple update in a single day!)
