A/N: This story will contain somewhat graphic descriptions of violence/medical procedures and sex. You have been warned. If these things upset you, then please go play in the less vivid imagination of others. For those of you brave enough to stay, thank you.

Love is whatever you can still betray. Betrayal can only happen if you love. - John le Carre

"Yet each man kills the thing he loves
By each let this be heard
Some do it with a bitter look
Some with a flattering word
The coward does it with a kiss
The brave man with a sword"

-Oscar Wilde

Prologue - Part 1

Eight hundred years ago

"And what would I do with a wife?" Loki jested, covering for his obvious displeasure at the news of his betrothal as he stood before Odin and Frigga in all of the formality of the throne room. Clearly, his father had a newly-discovered sense of humor.

"Don't be coy," Odin said, standing now, his staff firmly in his right hand. "There are at least a dozen nobleman's daughters who can attest to the fact that you know exactly what to do with a wife." Odin's patience with his son's obstinacy was wearing thin.

It was Frigga's gentle touch on Odin's arm that calmed him, and he sat back down. "Oh, Loki," she said with the kindness and concern of a mother, rather than a Queen. "You are one of the most gifted sorcerers Asgard has ever been blessed with." Elegantly gliding down the steps to the base of the platform, she took Loki's hands in hers, feeling his posture soften at her touch. "There is no greater joy in life than children, ones that you will guide through their studies. As you know, our greatest wielders of magic were killed in the war with Jotunheim. The responsibility for the magic that protects Asgard, shields its cities and its warriors, forges its greatest weapons, and decimates our enemies now falls to the next generations. To you, and your children. We have chosen a wife for you with equal, yet complementary skills, and your children will inherit the best of your talents as well as hers." Loki rolled his eyes at her but didn't pull away. Frigga leaned in close to him and whispered in his ear. "There will come a time of great destruction, when Asgard must have its great magics reforged, and that responsibility will fall to you and to your wife. I have foreseen it. Please, my son, do not fight us on this."

She kissed her son's cheek but didn't step away. She only gave him the look that had always melted his resolve, ever since he was a child. It was the look that said "please don't disappoint me or your father as we have such high expectations of you."

Loki sighed, knowing that for the time being, there was no direct way out. "I suppose you have a wife picked out for Thor as well?" Deflection bought him time to think.

"Your brother's marriage is an ongoing topic of discussion," Odin said sternly. "Yours is not. You will marry at midsummer, in one month's time, and you will do it with a smile on your face for the sake of Asgard, if not your own. You will treat your new wife with the honor and respect that she is due or you shall answer to me for your disobedience. This marriage protects the future of Asgard and all of the Nine Realms as well as our family's continued rule. Do I make myself clear?" Odin was nearly shouting by the time he finished.

"Well, when you put it that way," Loki smiled his most pleasant smile while silently seething inside, "how can I refuse?" He spread his arms wide and paced several steps at the base of the throne, appearing to all those present to be casually accepting of the arrangement. "Am I to meet my betrothed before our wedding day, or is that also meant to be a surprise?"

Odin was not amused. "It is the Lady Eir, one of the Queen's former students, and her handmaiden for a time. I am certain you remember her. Not only is she of royal blood, she possesses extraordinary magical talent. The Queen also tells me that the lady is exceptionally patient and kind, qualities a wife of yours will certainly need in abundance. She is an excellent match for you."

Loki remembered Eir, though she had long been absent at court… something about training on the other worlds? Healing, yes, that was it. She was a healer. She was nearly the same age and if he remembered correctly, not unappealing physically. They took their lessons together when they were children, in politics and history as well as magic. He had seen her a handful of times in the last century but they had not spoken.

He schooled his face into a look of calm acceptance. If memory served, there was one quality Lady Eir possessed that made her absolutely perfect: she was meek. He could work with that. "And when will my intended return to Asgard? I should like us to become reacquainted with one another before we are so quickly...thrust together, you might say."

It was Odin's turn to roll his eyes and glare at his wife, as if her indulgence of Loki was the cause of his disrespect. "She will arrive in two days, when your betrothal will be formally announced at a banquet." Odin held up his hand, silencing any further inquiries from Loki. "Now go. Your mother and I have much to discuss."

With that curt dismissal, he returned to his chambers to plot. His father may have plans to curtail his ambition by marrying him off to breed children with some quiet little woman, but Loki refused to be neutered just because his brother was the firstborn and heir. Asgard was doomed if an idiot like Thor ascended to the throne. The Nine Realms deserved better.

Two days later

Frigga's hands worried over the pleats in Eir's nearly transparent veil as the younger woman tried to settle her nerves. She had not seen Loki for many years, but she remembered feeling a certain attraction to him, if not a desire to outshine him in their studies. He may have been better at offensive magic and illusion, but she much more easily mastered healing and protection magic. While she always considered them to be friendly rivals, both in search of excellence, she always suspected there was more to him, concealed carefully underneath the prince's pleasant façade, but the Queen would not have made the match if Loki had not matured, of that she felt certain.

The Queen stood back and smiled. "Do not worry, my child. He will grow to love you, as Odin did with me. When you bear his first child, I truly believe it will settle him, and he will take that responsibility very seriously."

"May we talk privately, my Queen?" Eir glanced at the servants, which Frigga promptly dismissed.

"What is it, child?"

"I want to thank you, for everything you have done for me. You have been a mother to me, Your Highness, and far kinder than I ever hoped when I was sent here. That said, may I be honest with you?"

"Of course!" Frigga sat and motioned for Eir to do the same.

"I cannot guarantee that I will be able to produce an heir with the prince," she said hesitantly. "Even if I were to conceive, there are no guarantees that I could carry the child to term."

Frigga looked down at her hands and sighed. "That is a risk we all take in marrying. The Aesir and the Vanir both experience such difficulties far more frequently that we would like."

"My Queen, may I speak openly?" Eir asked. Frigga nodded cautiously. "I know what he is."

The Queen's face froze into the practiced smile of one used to the intrigues of court. "And what is that, my dear?"

"He is a frost giant. Matings between Jotuns and Aesir or Vanir, while usually the product of rape, frequently result in the death of the mother and the child. Loki was a fortunate exception, and while a child produced of our union has no precedent…"

"Who told you?" Frigga asked quietly.

"No one told me," Eir said. "I felt it when I healed him."

"When?" Frigga had no memory of such an event.

"When we were children."

"You were forbidden to use your magic on each other, or without supervision, were you not?"

"Yes, but Loki tried a new spell before you arrived in the practice room one day. I think he was trying to impress me, but the magic reflected back upon him and burned his arm to the bone. He was in pain, and I knew how to stop it, so I healed the injury. He made me swear not to tell you. I didn't understand what I had felt or seen during the healing until I spent time in Laufey's court, healing Jotuns. At the time, all I knew was the threat in his words, but I don't think that he knew what he was then. He was more concerned with disappointing you by violating your rules than of what I may have learned."

"He still doesn't know, Eir."

"What?" Eir lifted the veil and stared open-mouthed at the Queen.

"We never wanted him to feel different or alone here. At first, we wanted to wait until he was an adult, but the time never seemed right. Odin was going to tell you both after you were married. We believe your abilities will make it possible for you to safely have children, since they will be only one quarter Jotun." Frigga's shoulders slumped and she rested her head in her hands. "We should have told you before. Know that we will not hold it against you if you do not wish to proceed."

Eir rested her hand gently upon the other woman's forearm. "My Lady, I have known that truth for many years. If I wanted to voice an objection, I would have done so long before now. Prince Loki is your son. I do not hold the unfortunate circumstances of his birth against him. However, I do believe that the truth should not be kept from the one man it affects most. He deserves to know what he is and who he is, but if it is your wish that we marry first, I will, of course, abide by your decision." The Queen looked up at her with a glimmer of hope. "You and the King are very wise and I will be forever grateful to you for considering me suitable to wed your son. The Prince is a far better husband than I could have ever hoped for, and you have been more than kind to me all these years. I am forever in your debt."

Frigga embraced Eir warmly. "Oh, my dear girl, you have always been like a daughter to me." She pulled back and smoothed a few of Eir's stray hairs. "I can think of no one wiser, stronger of spirit, or talented to marry my son. He needs you, whether he knows it or not, and the two of you will someday decide the fate of Asgard. It is you I trust to guide him."

"I will do my best, my Queen, to serve him and your family faithfully and with honor, until the end of my days."

Loki stood in his finest armor in the Great Hall as he watched his veiled betrothed escorted into the room, curiously flanked by his parents rather than hers. Perhaps they were dead? So much the better, Loki thought to himself. Thor waited at Loki's side, his wide smile and cheerful exuberance grating on Loki's nerves.

Thor poked him in the ribs. "I saw her a few weeks ago, brother, when she came to talk to Mother and Father. She is even more beautiful than I remembered. You are a very lucky man, Loki."

"Indeed," he said quietly.

With the announcement made by an over-enthusiastic herald, Loki stepped forward and raised the veil of his intended, settling it down around her shoulders. For a moment, he was lost. Eir was beautiful, with long reddish-blonde hair that cascaded down her back and felt like silk under his fingers, and intelligent, emerald green eyes that shone as she smiled up at him. She had the bearing of a future Queen but yet, she gave off the subtle clues of her submission to him. Under any other circumstances, he would have devoted all of his attention to bedding her. As it was, he neither needed nor wanted to be saddled with a wife that Father had chosen specifically to reign in his ambition.

"Welcome back to Asgard, Lady Eir," he said for all to hear, bowing to her deeply. "May you find a lifetime of happiness here at my side, as my wife." He flashed her his most charismatic smile as he took her hand and brushed the back of it with his lips, to the cheers of all assembled.

"Thank you, Your Highness. I am certain I will," she said with only a slight tremor in her voice, clearly overwhelmed by the hundreds of people gathered to witness their betrothal, but if truth be told, it was the feel of his lips against her skin that made her shake. When they were younger, she had always thought of him as handsome, but never had she dared dream of becoming his wife, or even of feeling his gentle touch so intimately.

He led her to the high table, where they were seated in the position of honor next to Odin and Frigga. For the next two hours, Loki doted on his bride-to-be, asking her about her travels, her magical studies, and regaling her with stories of the battles he and his brother fought over the years. He made her laugh with his small pranks on Thor and a few other guests, all good-natured, and even the Allfather had to smile and how the two seemed to be so taken with each other.

After several dances, Loki excused himself to find them more mead and Thor found her leaning against the wall, smiling happily. "My Lady Eir," he said, bowing low to her with a flourish that was just a little too much, but his warm smile gave away his playfulness, which made her laugh. "It warms my heart to see the two of you so happy together," he said with a genuine smile.

"Thank you, Your Highness. He is a fine man."

Thor's expression turned more serious. "He can be, when he wishes." His tone became more serious. "He can also lie and deceive when the mood strikes him. Do not underestimate him, my lady."

Eir considered Thor carefully, looking for subtle clues to his motives in his body language. "Why would say this to me, and why now?"

"Because I do not wish to see any harm come to you. You are a woman of honor, and your reputation for compassion and honesty precedes you."

"I am undeserving of such high praise, Your Highness."

His smile returned. "And I see that you are modest too! But please, Lady Eir, call me Thor. Soon I will call you my sister. There is no need for such formality between us now." He touched her upper arm gently, platonically.

Loki interposed himself between the two. "That's enough touching of my future wife, brother. Run along and find a wife of your own," he said, with only the barest hint of venom in his voice as he slid his arm around Eir possessively. She shivered slightly at the feel of his strong fingers around her waist, holding her against him, and she was sure Loki noticed. He raised his eyebrow at her with a suggestive smile that said he knew how much she longed for his touch. As she looked away, blushing, she noticed Thor walking off, leaving the two of them alone in the quiet corner of the Hall. "Kiss me," he said, his tone neither pleading nor commanding.

"But… we are not married yet, Your Highness," she said with only a small amount of trepidation. She stared at his lips, wondering how they would feel against hers, what kind of lover Loki would be. Silently, she hoped he was gentle, yet demanding, willing to show her how to please him in every way, as her knowledge of such things was purely academic. The fear of disappointing him in that way increased with each passing day.

"True," he said, sliding his fingertips along her cheek until they came to rest under her chin, "but I do not think I can wait any longer to taste you." When she didn't back away, he lowered his face to hers slowly, savoring her nervous but eager response, and brushed his lips against hers. Her body was so soft and pliant against his firmer one; under different circumstances he would have spirited them both away to his chambers for a long night of passion, but unfortunately, this woman would never have that privilege. Ruining her would be so easy, he thought gleefully.

One month later

Eir tried to center herself, control her breathing, and stop her hands from shaking. To her delight, the last month found her and her future husband growing closer. He made her laugh, she brought out his gentle side, and they spent hours in the practice rooms and out in the wilderness around the city impressing each other with how their talents and skills with magic had grown since childhood. His easy smile and relaxed manner around her gave her hope that he could love her when they married, knowing full well she had already given him her heart. Their kiss in the Great Hall had not been their last, as they had both been careful not to push the bounds of propriety too far, but Loki had made his eagerness for their wedding night known. He whispered to her hints of the things he would do to her, the pleasure they would bring each other, and how torturous he found their enforced waiting to be.

Frigga settled the diamond and emerald encrusted tiara upon her head with a warm smile. "We are so pleased to welcome you into our family."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

The Queen took her hands. "The time for such formality between us has passed, my dear. Please call me Frigga, or if you prefer, Mother."

Tears gathered in Eir's eyes. "I would be most grateful, honored even, to call you Mother. My own died when I was so young, I barely remember her."

A handkerchief appeared in Frigga's hand, summoned effortlessly by her magic, which she handed to Eir. "You are a good and kind woman, Eir, and it is I who am honored to call you daughter, and wife of my son. Loki can be a difficult man at times, but with you at his side, I expect he will become more content."

"Do you think so?" Eir asked expectantly.

"Of course. I've never seen him so smitten with a woman before. Dare I say, I think he has never been happier. You seem quite taken with Loki as well."

Eir quietly laughed in embarrassment. "I am."

Frigga's joy was infectious. "Then let's get you to the Great Hall. It is nearly time to begin," she said, arranging the train on the emerald green dress. "You look so beautiful." She kissed Eir's forehead in blessing. "I wish you all the joy in the world."

After the brief ceremony and Odin's official blessing of their union, the newlyweds presided over the high table for the next three hours. Loki fed Eir the choicest morsels of food from his own plate, whispered his love into her ear, and led her around the dance floor at least half a dozen times.

Finally, when the last course was finished and the accumulated revelers had drunk their fill of mead and wine, Loki leaned over to his new bride and presented her with a green and black velvet-covered box. "For you, my wife. While your beauty far surpasses that of this paltry bauble, I hope you will consider it a token of my endearing affection for you."

Inside was a heavy gold necklace set with three large emeralds and studded with black diamonds. While the gems alone were worth a king's ransom, the whole item gently hummed with Loki's particular brand of magic. She stretched out with her own energy, but its enchantment was unknown to her. She looked up at Loki inquisitively.

He fastened it around her neck with an appreciative smile. "Oh, my dear, I shall show you its specific use within the hour." He kissed her deeply, then whispered into her ear. "Now run along to my chambers. I expect to see you in my bed, wearing nothing but that necklace." He kissed her neck and sent tremors up her spine in anticipation. "You are as eager as I am, I see. Good. I look forward to introducing you to so many pleasures."

Eir blushed deeply, convinced everyone in the Hall would know of the intimate words her husband teased her with. "Are we not expected to stay until the entertainment is finished?"

"We have waited quite long enough, don't you think?" He kissed along her ear, making her knees weak. "I want you, Eir, right now. I want to hear every whimper, every cry of passion that I will bring forth from your lips. I want to hear you scream my name in ecstasy, which you will, many times. And I know you don't want to disappointment me, do you, my wife?"

Eir's shocked expression quickly turned to desire. She nodded. "Good, then go to my chambers and make yourself ready, but leave the necklace on," he said, toying with the shiny metal before kissing her again on the lips possessively. "It looks stunning against your perfectly blushing skin." He trailed a finger down to her upper chest to trace the outline of the necklace, making her breath catch in her throat. "I shall make our farewells to Mother and Father, and join you as soon as I can."

Loki's lips brushed the back of her hand as he led her to the door, and she slipped out with a smile.