Chapter 10

Summer's eyes glazed over the book page, the words dancing in front of her eyes. She didn't read any of them though; her mind was swamped with thought.

Fists rained down and Summer flinched away from it, but caught between the cold wood of the floorboards and her assailants, there was nowhere to go.

She'd told Loki. She'd told Loki. Now he knew everything. A part of her was relieved that there was nothing to hide anymore, but she was still ashamed. Ashamed at admitting she was broken, that she was used, that she was so defiled. She hated herself for it. She remembered the days she would stare at herself in the mirror and hate the reflection that stared back at her.

But things were different now, she told herself. The gang was gone, and Loki… with Loki, heartfelt and considerate, how could anything harm her now?

She struggled to even think of those that would even want to harm her, more and more gifts of welcome and adoration flooding the palace every day. More clothes, more makeup and Summer was more grateful than ever to be clad in more familiar stuff. Today she wore a button up cream blouse tucked into a deep, royal blue coloured skirt that stretched lightly to her knees. Her lips were red, and a light power of blue touched her eyelids.

Still…

She cried out as hands fastened her wrists and slammed them to the floorboard, rendering her helpless as her thighs were forced apart.

Her eyes blinked the memories away, shaking her head to clear it. Stop, she told herself sternly, don't think about it. It's over. It's over… her scream echoed in her ears long after the picture of her many attacks faded.

Slam!

Summer jumped out of her skin as a large hand slammed down onto the desk, landing so hard it made her book jump too.

Her hand pressed over her heart as she turned to face her disturber, eyes not taking in the thick fingers and the second skin scaled armour that began at their wrist until it was too late. Her heart sank as she glared up into the burning orbs of Thor Odinson.

What the hell did he want with her now? She guessed by the angry look in his eyes that he wasn't there to apologize. Apologize – an inner part of her spat with laughter – as if Thor would ever apologize for anything! Her arms folded across her chest, legs crossing sassily as she waited for him to say… well, whatever it was that swirled furiously in his crystal depths.

His scratches had healed, Summer noticed with a glimmer of pride, gaze flittering to his cheek. She wished the same could be said for her broken nails.

"This is a library, you know." She said, arching an eyebrow in a way that only made Thor grit his teeth in irritation. Good, she thought. "You're supposed to be quiet, and considerate. A hard task for you, I know."

Thor's orbs narrowed. "Do not insult me, woman." He near spat. Summer wrinkled her nose. "Where is Loki?"

Her shoulders bobbed before she could help it. "I don't know. I'm not his keeper. Some of us actually treat the people we care about with a shred of common decency." Her eyes flickered down to his hands, but she was no more relieved when she saw their lack of deadly hammer. She could just imagine those hands alone could do if they found out she was lying.

Loki was busy. Not here. As much as she hated to admit it, Thor had had some essence in what he'd said before – Loki was still a prince, and he still had duties to attend to.

He'd shown her the library though. The rows and rows of endless shelves of books, both of Asgardian and Earth origin, had been breath taking, the large room filled to the brim with new things for Summer to discover, finding herself a nice little reading desk in the corner at which to broaden her horizons. Summer had been more than content to wait for him here, losing herself amongst the literature until Loki came to fetch her.

Until Thor found her first.

A smile, one filled with menace and ill promises flittered across Thor's lips. It sent ice cold dread running through Summer's system. "You do enjoying trying my patience, don't you?" He breathed in a quiet, deadly voice.

Summer stood abruptly to her feet, feeling again very vulnerable at such a blatant height disadvantage. "Grow a heart." She barked at him. "Maybe then we'll talk."

Her chin tipped up proudly, Summer turned and made to walk away, trying to keep her pounding heart still against the horrific realization that the door was closed on the other side of the book shelves. She was as good as trapped in here with the angry god.

"Oh, there's no time for talk now."

Thor's hand grabbed her wrist tightly and – literally! – dragged her back, a cry leaving her as the contact burned. God, his grip was strong!

Summer's teeth were bared, her eyes narrowed venomously as Thor pulled her back and slammed her wrist into the wall behind, her back thudding soon after. His body loomed in to trap her there, tall enough to block out the sun. He did as much, casting a dark ominous shadow over her. Summer forced down the spike of panic.

"I've never lost." He growled down at her, his orbs molten with the fury he not-so-successfully compressed. "Not anything. Not in fights, not in battle, not in games even – I do not lose anything."

Summer's eyes rolled, and she could feel the danger in doing so. "Is that supposed to impress me?"

Thor's orbs burned enough to scold. His fingers tightened around her wrist and Summer's bravado cracked, her mouth shooting open in a silent cry as pain shot down her arm. Something would crack if Thor kept up like that. Breaking her hard exterior granted Thor some sort of sick satisfaction and Summer watched that malicious smile spread again.

"You listen to me carefully, mortal." He breathed, literally pinning her to the wall with his body. Summer gulped as his knee forced between hers. "It is not too late for you to make the right choice. It's not like you and Loki are serious."

Summer gritted her jaw, refusing to surrender to her pain and quickly growing panic. This vulnerability really made her stomach knot. "And what if we are?"

Thor's fingers twisted around Summer's already bruising wrist, and his spare hand caught her other as it flew instinctively to the source of her pain. Then both of her wrists were pinned to the wall, Summer completely helpless beneath Thor's hold. He smirked; oh, this was perfect. Her burning orbs, thick with poisonous intent touched something deep inside him, making her seem only more alluring through his eyes, in ways he was sure she didn't understand.

His hips eased forward, and he didn't miss the way her chest heaved with labouring breaths, pressing against his own chest as he leaned forward to purr in her ear: "Then you will pay for making the wrong choice."

He watched the defiance slowly seep out of Summer's orbs, watching with glory as they widened and the dread slowly started to set in, glazed with panic.

A whimper fought its way out of her once rebellious throat.

That glint in his eyes… Summer felt sickness clawing at her belly as he drank in their mercilessness, framed with an entertainment. He was enjoying tormenting her like this, she realized. Because he knew just how much advantage he had, how much power…

She dove desperately to the side, but was no more comfort when her wrists broke free of Thor's grip. He had let her go. He was going to enjoy the chase. Summer's shoulder barged into his chest and he staggered back, that grin on his face telling her just how much of a game this was to him. He'd said it though – he didn't even lose at games. The thought flickered through her mind with fear hot on its heels as she threw herself through the gap in their bodies she'd created.

The door, she thought. She had to get to the door. She could see it in her mind, safe and strong and… and closed.

Oh God! Her boots thudded impossibly loud as she ran, desperate to get to the network of bookshelves. She knew this library by now, knew that if she stood any chance of finding help she had to get out.

This place was so vast and so private it was like a world of its own. It was even built in a rarely used section of the palace to heighten its quiet peace and tranquility! What she was once so thankful for, now turned out to be her greatest curse, trapping her with a dangerous, vengeful god.

Fear gripped her as heavy footsteps announced the start of his pursuit. What the hell would he do to her?!

Summer threw herself into the first aisle, picturing the door that was oh-so far away. How would she ever make it? Her eyes were wide, but she didn't care, stomping on her pride in her blind desperation to be free.

Loki!, her mind screamed, begging for him – anyone, even! – to come and save her. Where was he? Why of all times did he have to be gone now?!

She didn't even know where he was. Didn't know when he would be back. She was on her own, completely at Thor's mercy.

Her arm was wrenched back from her racing body but her heart felt like it carried on moving forward. It crashed into her ribcage as Thor tore her back, a cry torn from her as she was thrown back against the bookshelf. Her head cracked against the wood hard and the world span.

What would he do?, she wondered dizzily, feeling Thor's hot breath over her face. Would he beat her? Would he kiss her again? Summer felt nauseous with dread, nothing to do with the pain in her skull. She could feel the unnatural warmth of blood at the back of her head, and longed to reach back and check for the crimson stuff herself. Would that jolt Thor back to his senses? Or would it drive him into a primal rage that would only make him worse?

Something inside her said the latter, but the choice was robbed of her, her arms weighed down with numbness.

Her knees evaporated beneath her, and she fought to hold onto consciousness, her limbs rendered shocked and immobile. Thor's hands secured her wrists to the floor, his knee prizing hers apart.

Summer's mind flashed with alarm – then blinding pain.

No, she thought through her pounding skull, not disoriented enough to ignore the warm hardness pressed flush between her thighs. When had he gotten rid of his trousers? Thor's rough fingers wrenched her skirt up.

A strangled groan was all Summer could manage before her mouth was smothered unwillingly with Thor's, tears beading in the corners of her eyes in protest. She didn't want this. She didn't. Memories cut into her head from back on earth and a part of her died inside – the hopeful part that had believed those times were over.

"Stop!" she finally begged, body writhing as her head started to clear of the confusion. "Please – please don't!" Beg – if it stopped him, she didn't care. She'd do anything to stop this again. Anything.

Thor ignored her.

Her mouth fell open as she was violated, and her old screams thundered in her head though no sound left her mouth. Her body burned at the invasion.

Her body stilled, freezing as if all life had been torn from it. Her heart beat unwillingly in her breast, her mind transported back to her days of imprisonment with the gang. The hopelessness… it hit back fierce, shocking her system badly.

The lake, the sea… now she remembered just why they'd called to her. And she wished for their peace now, willing to take anything over the vile shuddering of Thor's body she felt so clearly.

Her head fell to the side, eyes blank and empty; she couldn't escape it. Wherever she went, whoever vowed her protection… she couldn't escape this. Her heart felt as hard and cold as ice as Thor used her body, forcefully claiming her in ways that so many men had before him.

A growl of victory tore itself from Thor's throat as he triumphed over his brother once and for all. His grip on her wrists was tight, though her whole body was too limp with shock and horror to put up a struggle. He was not risking it a second time. He would not be denied his prize and his vengeance again.

I've won, he thought with a flush of conquest.

XXX

Loki walked back to the library with an uneasy knot in his belly, one he couldn't explain. A dark forbode hung over the corridor.

He'd been gone for longer than he'd intended, light starting to fall through the windows. So much for the hour or so he'd envisioned, he thought with an inward, shaky chuckle. He half wondered if Summer would have bothered waiting up for him this long, as he pressed his palm against the library door, unable to shake the unexplainable fear that gripped him.

What were his instincts trying to tell him? That she'd gone, that she hadn't? Why did he feel so … his blood ran cold in his veins, and he knew he couldn't ignore it.

He pushed the door open – the library was deathly silent.

He stepped into the dim light of the library with cautious steps, eyes scouring for any sign of life. The quiet unsettled him. There was peace and then there was stiff trepidation, and it was the latter he recognized with an anxious thump of his heart.

He wasn't alone. The place felt stony and cold around him, but he didn't feel alone. Summer's face flashed in his head.

He turned into the first aisle of the library, and stared down the narrow valley of shelves. Nothing. Deserted.

He considered turning back there and then but he cursed the cowardly motion nearly as soon as if appeared. If Summer was still here… Loki didn't want to think of what could have happened for him to feel such apprehension. It took a lot to unsettle the god, after living with his brother for as long as he had, but something about this bit into his very core with pure wrong-ness.

Slow footsteps guided him to the next aisle, and his heart quickened. This was it, something told him. The whimpering voice only made it worse.

His eyes crept around the book shelf, and he saw it; a tangle of limbs, flash of royal blue, red… so much crimson…

"Summer!" the word spilled from his lips as he ran forward on numb, weak legs, his thumping heart recognizing the dark crimp of hair and the modern clothes of the wrecked body. A sobbing whimper lifted the girl's chest from the floor, but her hips stayed anchored as if weighed down by tons.

Loki fell to his knees beside Summer's form, skidding slightly in the small pool of blood that leaked from her skull. His hands hovered in the air helplessly, not sure what to do.

The breaths picked up in his chest.

Summer was…dear gods, what had happened to her? Blood matted her disheveled hair, her skirt tangled around her legs. Her head stayed lolled to the side, her mouth curved in weak cries, her eyes glistening with tears, round and afraid, but somewhat distant…

He gathered her up in his arms, feeling the chill of her flesh against his bare hands. How long had she been here like this? She felt like death had walked over her itself!

Her felt her fingers claw at his front, failing to get a grip on the hard plates of his armour. His hand stilled them, holding her hands tightly as he settled her body cradling in his arms. Her head turning into his chest, but Loki could still see the thick black marks of her leaked makeup running from her eyes as she cried freely, her body wracking with the sobs. She came back to life, but Loki wasn't sure it was for the better.

She looked absolutely broken. Her wrists were bruised and God only knew what had happened for her head to bleed so badly. His hand wound to cup the back of her skull and he felt the stickiness of blood clotting his fingers together, the moisture hard and congealed in her matted hair.

The breath stilled in his chest as hopelessness and despair washed over him and he relinquished her hand to engulf her in his arms, holding her tight to his chest as he rocked them, not sure exactly who was comforting whom. Sobs and whimpers, the likes Loki had never seen from any woman, let alone of Summer, leaked from her and Loki felt a part of him die inside.

He was glad Summer couldn't see his face, couldn't see the paleness that had consumed his features, the way his eyes were wide and – frankly – afraid for what had happened.

His chest was tight, and the god struggled to draw breath without painfully disturbing his thudding heart, every movement hurting as if it had been him that was injured and not her. Oh Summer…

Summer's legs were weak and tangled, her skirt ruffled and bunched. Loki wasn't sure what it was that drew his attention there but the minute his eyes ghosted lower, he saw something that made his heart stop: blood. A thin trickle of blood ran down the inside of her thigh.

Loki just shut down for a moment, sure his eyes must be playing tricks on him. As if of their own accord his fingers dreamily reached out, and he noted the way Summer whimpered, her hand clawing at the side of his neck, her broken nails welling blood from his skin. He didn't stop; he had to know. He held his breath as his fingertip touched along the thin crimson path, and his blood turned to ice when he felt its warm, sticky moisture. It was really there.

Everything about him told him not to think, but he knew he couldn't ignore it. Not when Summer was at stake. The flare of anger was already racing through him as his fingers withdrew: he could only think of one way she could get blood so clearly there.

Suddenly, it became all too apparent what Summer was murmuring through her hysterical, broken rabble: "Thor. Thor…"

NOTE

I've officially finished writing Mermaid and will release the remaining three chapters after this one in five day installments. 'Cos I'm mean like that ;)

Don't worry, sequel and third story planned and in progress.