"We can't stay here." Loki was pacing again. The two brothers had been arguing for the good part of an hour constantly cutting the other off. At this point I had curled into my bed a sleepy looking Jane next to me.
I had one of the books that Loki had picked out for me in the shop open on my lap. The had stopped paying attention to anything other than each other about twenty minutes into the argument. I kept an eye on them but instead was studying the golden print on the page. It was interesting, but out of the corner of my eye the book looked like it was written in runes, but straight on it was english. It made my head spin if I shifted my gaze back to it too quickly.
"What does that mean?" Jane asked quietly touching the top of the page.
"Sedir." I said quietly. "Frigga told me it meant magic. A specific kind of magic that she was teaching me."
"What's on this page?" She said looking to me instead of the book.
"It's an introduction to healing."
"You can heal?" Jane sat up a bit straighter.
"I haven't tried. I've been reading this to learn about it."
"Do you want to try?"
I glanced up at her the sleepy look evaporating at my attention. "Are you hurt?" I glanced over her frame but the dress they had chosen for the funeral was relatively concealing.
"I have a few bruises." Her eyes went to Loki then some unnamed emotion crossing her face.
I lowered my voice. "Did he hurt you?"
"No." She said quickly. "Not really. I ran over to help you and got in his way. He was devastated." I bit my lip and glanced toward Loki, who was too caught up in the argument with his brother to hear our own conversation. "I didn't think I'd ever see his face look like that." She mumbled.
"I don't remember much. But he still shouldn't have hurt you."
Jane simply shook her head, her warm chocolate hair spilling forward slightly. She pulled back the sleeve of her dress to show deep purple bruises in the shape of fingers.
"I don't think he even realized." She added. "I would tell you if I thought he did it on purpose. I'm not on his team." She added a bit of venom in her voice.
"So I've heard." I chuckled slightly taking her arm in my hands. "The book told me the basics but said a good portion of healing is instinctual. You can either do it or not. I'm not sure I should test it on you. I'm still learning how to deal with magic in general."
"I saw you erase me from a room and fight at the same time. I believe in you."
I sighed but let my magic twine about me. Loki's magic wouldn't be the greatest for healing, I decided, but Odin's magic was for creation. If I used his magic along with my own it would give me the best shot. "Okay, I'll try. But….don't freak out." I said as I called Garrett. I felt him uncurl from my ankle and slither up in between Jane and I. I felt her muscles tense underneath my hand. "This is my little friend. I'm going to use him as a failsafe. Garrett," he lifted at the sound of his name, "if I look like I'm going to hurt her do what you did to Loki to me."
He simply looked to me settling into a half-ready position. I tried not to think about his fangs and instead tried to remember what the book had said about healing. I gathered up the golden magic which easily followed my lead becoming impossibly thin threads which I carefully guided to enter the edges of the bruises. Jane looked to me with wide eyes and I tried to ignore her. Keeping the magic so small should have been a strain, but at the moment I didn't feel anything. I slowly weaved the magic in and out of itself letting the silver of my magic steady the complex dance. I let myself only feel warmth for Jane. Calm and cool and healing for the fire of her wounds. I threaded it just beneath her skin surrounding the area fully with the weave of magic. Once finished I paused, this was where the book had said that I would have to feel what to do. I closed my eyes focusing on the network of magic I had weaved around the bruises.
I couldn't feel anything. No inkling of how to help her. I sighed almost ready to give up when distantly like a half-remembered dream something fluttered at the back of my mind. I tried to grasp it, whatever it was, and found myself creating thousands of branches that curled into the damaged skin. I pushed cool as I followed that feeling. The more I listened the louder it became. I hardly knew what I was doing as I twisted and pulled letting the golden magic fill me. I wiped the deep soreness away from the places I touched. My own body faded and I was instead a sweeping wave of tiny fibers cleaning blood and repairing tiny breaks. I moved on from those spots to deeper. I weaved and danced my way through Jane's body healing and soothing the scorched places I could feel where the Aether had resided. As I began to finish I felt a strange stutter. Like I was a thread who had hit the end of my spool. Darkness tried to invade me, snuff out the net that I was.
Dizzy. I was dizzy?
I cut the flow of magic feeling the remains of the threads in her body fade away like fog on a hot day. Nausea choked me as I made it back to my own body. The room spun and my stomach heaved. I gripped my middle feeling darkness sparkling on the edges of my vision, circling me like prey. Looking for an opening. Weakness.
I pushed myself off the bed stumbling toward the little bathroom on the other side of my room. I didn't let myself take in Thor and Loki's sudden focus on me. I just made it to the toilet when I threw up. My body shuddered hot and cold and the same time I was immediately drenched in sweat.
Someone held back my hair and I retched again. I shivered violently but even so I felt a cooled rag suddenly begin wiping at my face. Gentle and precise. I sat back slightly looking around. Loki was the one with the rag, while beside me still holding my hair was Jane. Thor was nowhere to be seen. The worst seemed to be past and I breathed a little easier the darkness beginning to ease.
"Here," Thor crouched next to Jane holding out a beer mug filled with water. I accepted it and took a sip swishing the liquid around my mouth before spitting it back into the toilet.
"You okay?" Jane asked finally letting go of my hair.
"Yeah," I sat back pressing the little switch to flush the toilet. And was immensely thankful, again, that we had toilets like back home. At least one Midgardian thing had been recreated here.
"What were you doing?" Loki was quiet, but I could hear the suspicion.
"Practicing." I replied easily.
"You're not to practice with this around your neck." He growled touching the sapphire. I half expected him to rip it off but he didn't. Instead his fingers simply brushed it before pulling back.
"I forgot I was wearing it."
"Be more mindful." He snapped before standing and walking back into the room proper. Thor offered me a hand, which I took. Once on my feet I felt about normal again, but I guessed it was because of the necklace that Frigga had given me. Jane helped me walk back toward the bed. Thor suddenly stopped looking at Jane. He pulled the both of us to a stop staring at her still pushed back sleeve and the unblemished expanse of skin.
"Lillith." He said softly lightly touching her arm. "You did this?"
Loki was next to Jane in an instant. She glared at him but he paid her no mind as he stared at her arm.
"Yeah." I sighed trying to ignore the way both brothers were staring at me. I moved away from them heading toward my balcony.
"Lillith." Loki's voice was soft. Softer than I had expected which made me stop in place. "You healed her with your magic." It was a statement.
"Actually I feel much better than I have in a while." Jane admitted.
"Yeah, I bet." I said turning to glance her over again. "You were pretty hurt. The Aether really messed you up on the inside."
"Show me how you did it." Loki said softly.
"Brother do you think it's a good idea to push her?" Thor asked still watching me.
"I can try." I said immediately wanting to prove myself. I slowly walked to Loki reaching out to take his hands. He allowed it his eyes locked onto my own.
I took a steadying breath and called upon my magic again. I weaved and curled my magic around his hands dipping underneath his skin, and like before I could feel the flutter in the back of my mind. His cuts were almost completely healed, but something else was wrong. I frowned and let my eyes close. I followed the strange tug and found myself touching a particularly angry spot on his hand. His bone was cracked. Not much, but enough to be painful. Bones felt different than flesh, but I wrapped myself around him and let my feelings for him fuel me. The anger, attraction, confusion, and love. I called to his body and felt it respond to me. Using my magic I sped up his healing and guided the bone to close itself over making sure to leave it seamless. I tried to knit his flesh back together and encourage the muscles to grow in the right ways. I swept down his body sweeping out exhaustion and tiny tears. I encouraged his feet to mend as well, soothing the pain. There were a few spots I couldn't quite get to heal but I could also feel when I needed to move on. For a moment I simply hung there feeling his body thriving around me. I could feel the magic there so much of it I felt as if I would drown. I cut the magic and was brought slowly back to myself. Loki's face was the most open I had ever seen. There was such a rawness there that I felt myself shy away. I wasn't supposed to see him like this. Loki had always kept himself distant. Never let me truly see what was going on even as he professed love or weakness. He always had control. This was not it.
Just then my legs gave out. I slumped to the floor and I watched as a fierce worry crossed Loki's face as he moved to try and comfort me. I sighed, knowing what I needed to do. He was so worried and guilt was starting to creep in. I could read him like a book. It was so unlike himself. I reached up smiling apologetically at him before unclasping the necklace.
I felt it then, what stress my body had been suffering. Spots danced in my vision as the room resumed its earlier spinning. And hunger unlike any I had ever felt ripped at my stomach.
"Oh," I said quietly. "I guess I'm starving."
"You've expended quite a lot of energy." Thor nodded. "I shall send someone to bring food to you. Brother, I'm going to try and speak to father. I am certain that he will understand."
Loki didn't turn to face Thor. He was still watching me raw emotion still pouring out of every movement. He was surprised about something.
"Do what you must." He sounded disappointed and slightly bored. At least his voice was under control at the moment. It hurt to look at him laid so bare. I pushed myself up and away from him swaying slightly before righting myself to walk over to my vanity to put the necklace up. Thor ushered Jane out who waved goodbye to me promising to speak to me later. Thor told me to get some rest before I was alone with Loki once more.
I moved to the bed watching as he flexed his hand a few times. My stomach was trying to overpower my thoughts.
"Lilly," His voice was so soft. I glanced up to see him so close that I could see the many greens that made up his eyes. There was no hesitation as his lips suddenly crushed to mine. Desperate. The force of it slammed me into the bed with Loki on top of me.
All thought fled at the demand in his kiss. This was different than it ever had been before. Suddenly every point where we touched was an inferno. I kissed him back twining my arms behind his head, letting them slide through the silken locks of his hair. His lips moved in dazzling patterns. His hands moved underneath me to pull me further onto the bed without ever breaking contact.
With an ease that was a bit startling he deepened the kiss his magic suddenly swirling around the both of us like a fog. He broke the kiss off abruptly ducking to brush his lips against my neck.
A deep jolt ran through me that had me arching slightly into him. Loki chuckled a deep and sensual laugh I had never heard before. He pressed a soft kiss a bit further down my neck while his hand languidly began running down my side.
"Loki," I wasn't sure why I was trying to get his attention when it was clearly placed elsewhere, but my voice was breathy. Hardly there. Loki hummed the buzz of it racing over my skin. A warmth bloomed in my chest at the amused sound.
"My name is music falling from your lips." He said in between pressing small kisses ever so slowly down my neck. "You've such a lovely voice." He added as he reached the place where my neck met my shoulders. It instantly felt different and I gasped lightly at the sensation. Like that single spot was a hundred times more sensitive than the rest of my neck. "I wonder how much it would take for you to sing." A scrape of teeth and the warmth in my chest shifted into a rolling heat. I must have made a sound because he growled in response, low in his throat, before biting down.
I gasped his name gripping him a bit harder pulling at his hair. There was a gentle kiss to soothe the slight hurt before he pulled back eyes locked onto me. My mind was a haze. Something in my expression seemed to feed whatever frenzy had taken ahold of him. I watched as those piercing eyes roamed over me a slow and wicked smile beginning to curl his mouth. His hand never stopped painting and teasing my side swirling and dipping moving farther with each pass.
"Why?" I asked quietly.
"Why?" He parroted back. His voice was deep and slow as the hand that was trailing goosebumps up my side. "Am I not permitted to want you?"
"You are but-"
"Allow me this indulgence." He murmured leaning closer so that his lips were almost on mine. "Grant me this and I will devote my every moment to your worship." His lips grazed mine. The slightest pressure but enough that I relaxed into him. "Sing for me." His hand trailed over my hip and my thoughts ceased. "Let me show you." He was suddenly biting me. Again his name spilled from me. His magic billowed around us, running along my arms and my legs with gentle caresses. Intoxicating and flavoring every breath I took in with his taste and scent.
Loki moved to kiss me but as he did phantom teeth scraped against the other side of my neck. He drank down my gasp as if it sustained him. He pulled me up and had me fully on the bed, my dress beginning to ride up slightly stopping just at my knees. As if noticing my dress the thousands of tiny touches that were his magic tugged it up a bit further. Kisses brushing every inch of skin that was exposed by the action.
I wound my fingers deeper into his hair so that when he went to duck back toward my neck I pulled and lifted up pressing my own kiss at the edge of his jawline. Keeping him still as I pressed another slightly further down. I trailed down his neck quickly stopping to nip slightly. I didn't expect him to react.
Loki groaned while he rolled slightly against me the movement as fluid. So graceful. The hand at my side had stopped gripping my hip as if he intended to pull me against him. He pulled against my hold on his hair moving to claim my mouth just as there was a soft knock on the door.
"Of all the bloody times!" Loki hissed. I couldn't help but giggle at the anger in his tone. He glanced back to me and I watched the anger soften in his eyes as well as the realization. "You need food." He sighed pushing himself away. I blushed realizing just where the kissing had been heading and pushed my dress back down. He chuckled all the way to the door.