Absolute silence suffocated the courtyard. Out of the corner of my eye, I could spot Sif giving me an incredulous look, like I'd been caught in my most insane scheme yet. I didn't want this, I wanted to say. I didn't choose to be one of them, I promise.
"Well?" Laufey finally broke the silence. "Do you have an answer?"
Odin took a while to respond. I expected him to sound calm, but when he spoke, it was almost shaky, like he was seconds from falling apart. "I thought-I thought he was abandoned, Laufey."
The Jotun King laughed. "I'm not the one who abandons their children when they don't measure up." He glanced back at me, his face blank of emotion. I resisted the urge to snort. Both my fathers couldn't even give me a smile.
"Father!" Thor cut in. "Loki is your son! Whatever Laufey says-he is my brother!"
Odin seemed to sigh, loosening his grip on Gungnir. "He is, Thor." He looked at me, slightly bowing his head. "He is."
"LIES!" Laufey cut into the conversation. "You kidnapped my youngest son, and you expect Jotunheim to continue to bow in submission? We want answers, Allfather. Are you going to give them to me?"
"Thor-" I managed to get out. "Please! I didn't-I should've said-"
"Take him away." Laufey ordered. The Frost Giant began hauling me away, but I thrashed, trying to summon my magic. Laufey didn't want me. This must have been part of his scheme-pretend to rejoice at his lost child, then slit his throat while he sleeps. I could almost admire it, in a way. The cruelty, the manipulation. Laufey and Odin would have made great friends.
I watched Thor's expression as I was taken away. Even as I got near the gates of the palace, I could see the look on his face. Confusion. Disgust. Anger.
It seems I've lost you again, Brother.
Of course, I couldn't blame him for it. Who would want to learn that been associating with a barely civilized beast their whole life? That they comforted a monster when they cried, laughed at a demon's jokes, and considered a Jotun family. I realized that Odin's lies hadn't hurt just me. They'd also thrown my brother's world off its axis, leaving him to scramble and get his footing. It made me feel pity for him. I may not have intended to hurt Thor, but I did it nonetheless.
"Move, Aesir," the Jotun said, "we don't have all day." It led me back to the palace; Giants parting as he carried me away. The knife was still held to my throat. I almost snorted. Nice to see how Laufey really treats his long lost son.
"Let me go!" I grunted, trying to rest out of its grip. I tried to hear what Odin and Laufey were saying, but the only things I could make out were "stolen," "son," and "mine."
The Jotuns opened the doors to the palace, and the Giant carried me down the right hall. The ceiling was high, made up of grand arches. The walls were painted with pictures of Jotuns dancing, building, and ruling. It was an unusual contradiction-the Jotuns being portrayed as reasonable, civilized, even sympathetic people. But I guess it made sense. I, after all, had lived most of of my life under the illusion of civility.
Eventually, we reached one of the rooms at the end of the hall. The door was noticeably smaller than the other ones, and the Jotun yanked it open and shoved me inside. I fell to the ground, hearing a hard banging noise. I winced as I rubbed my arm, that would certainly bruise later.
"Lovely to see how Laufey treats his own children," I muttered, though the small Jotun could clearly hear me. "I wonder how he treats you."
He laughed. It was a rough sound, but there was a youthful quality to it. The Jotun was on the younger side, but he'd grown up quicker than was usual. "I am one of his children, Aesir. His youngest, in fact."
"Wait," I said, "your my-your Laufey's son?" I didn't call the Frost Giant my brother. Thor was my brother, not a Jotun I'd met five minutes ago when he held a knife to my face. "I thought he only had one son."
He rolled his eyes. "Of course Helblindi gets all the Aesir attention. With the way he acts and all." That made me raise an eyebrow. I didn't know much about Laufey's oldest (was I the oldest? Or the middle child?), but I had heard he was fairly responsible and polite. Nothing like Thor. I felt envious of the Jotun for a second, before I reminded myself he was a Frost Giant.
"What does Laufey want with me?" I asked. It couldn't hurt to scour for information. I saw the Frost Giant walk toward the opposite wall of the room, where he lit the fireplace. The room instantly became warmer, and I struggled to get off the floor and reach it.
The Frost Giant looked at me like I was a fool. "Look around you, Aesir," he gestured around the room. "What do you see?"
I glanced around, trying to find what he wanted me to notice. I saw childish paintings of stars on the ceilings, an ornate rug in the center, and then, I saw a crib huddled in the corner of the room.
"This is a nursery?"
"You Aesir are perceptive."
"But why does Laufey have a nursery?" I suspected the truth, but I didn't want to say it. The idea that Laufey cared about me was inconceivable. "Is it mine?"
The Jotun sighed. "I wasn't born when you were lost. You were born extremely sick, and our parents hadn't a clue what to do about it. Our mother went to the priests, and together, they begged the spirits for answers. They apparently told them if they placed you in the temple, you would live. The guards protecting you were drawn away, and by the time our father got there, you were gone."
I didn't know what to think of his little story. Was he lying? There was a possibility. I felt that something was missing from the story-a crucial fact that completed the whole picture. "You said the Queen consulted the spirits. Who was she?"
"She was-" Suddenly, we heard the sound of the gates being opened yet again. The Jotun swore, and moved to shut the door to the nursery.
"What was that about?" I asked. "Are you frightened?" I smirked when he growled.
"Hilarious, Aesir," he said. "I'm afraid to announce our brother Helblindi has arrived."