The Verdant Prince

Chapter 31: The Perfect Distraction

Loki bit his bottom lip gently, sighing as his fortified walls came crashing down around him. You can't contain a man as sly as him in the cages of his mind for long.

"You, in my dreams. You were there every waking moment of the dream, hand in hand with me, walking by my side in a lavish dress of my colors," Loki said lowly, his brows furrowing. "I want you." As if my heart hadn't been pounding enough before. I sucked in a breath, surprised. My jaw hung ajar and instead of silence, I was met with a hundred loud thoughts, the wind shrieking through the building, my heart thundering in my chest like the rumbling thunder of a storm. The heart of the storm.

"Show me," I whispered breathlessly. "Show me this isn't an illusion we need to escape, show me this is real," My voice sounded frail and just barely above a whisper, almost taken away by the whistling of the wind.

Show me this love is real.

Loki rose to his knees, taking a half a step forward before tangling his icy slim fingers in the mess of my hair. He gripped the back of my hair tightly, bringing my head forward. The kiss was needy, but not as rushed and sloppy as before. This time, the kiss felt a million times different than the first. I was able to react, snaking my own hands up to his shoulders gently. His lips, unlike last time, were soft and gentle. The only alike thing between the two kisses being the length of them. They were too quick, and when he pulled away hesitantly, my lips cooled and had already begun tingling with neglect. That's when I came to a blunt conclusion.

I wanted him, I needed him. He was filling a gaping hole in my heart that no other could as I was doing the same for him.

***

By daybreak, I had fallen asleep once again, in my own bedroll. It had been agreed upon through actions rather than words that we both felt a certain need and fondness for each other. What we felt was no longer a child's game and rather much more lively than that. But we both agreed to push aside said feelings until we were out of Jotunheim. It would only be another burden to carry around in the middle of a war- another worry and distraction to add to the list.

Ignoring the young prince and my feelings was easier than I had expected. Loki kept out of my way, busying himself with another mundane task. I did so as well, occupying myself with tucking my bedroll up into my knapsack and eating up the last portions of food in my bag. Soon enough, the awkward atmosphere around us eased into a normal routine, focusing now on something far more challenging and important.

"By now, most of the city has been evacuated which is both good and bad," Orgnar grumbled as he gathered us around, explaining today's tasks. By tomorrow, we should easily be on our way to Asgard- home. I was ready for a warm bed and cold mead.

"Why would it be bad?" a foot soldier spoke up, his voice stern and authoritative. Orgnar's eyes just barely strayed to mine before he straightened himself up.

"We can't blend in with them, cover ourselves and run with the crowd. We are completely bare now, and with any movement the guards would know that there is an intruder. But delaying our attack might have helped us, as well. They expected us to attack immediately, harsh and unplanned, but alas we did not, throwing them off course," he explained. The foot soldier nodded his head slowly, satisfied with the answer he had received.

It had just occurred to me that I hadn't bothered to learn their names, the two foot soldiers. They were the only two remaining out of the ten we had brought- they deserved to at least be called by their names rather than 'soldier' or 'man.' Part of me, however, did not dare learn their names, for if they were to die in battle it would be another two names added to my list of guilt. Guilt that I could not save them no matter how little of my fault it was. To learn a name was to get attached to them, and I could not risk that at this time.