"May I have a word, my king?"

Loki sighs under his breath as he turns to face Frigga. He shouldn't have relied on a mere obfuscation spell to get to the throne room without being waylaid in the hallway – cantrips like that may keep the courtiers off his back, but they don't fool a sorceress of Frigga's caliber.

"I'm afraid I'm rather busy right now."

Frigga's expression turns serious; she has always been able to tell whether Loki was just trying to blow her off or genuinely preoccupied. "Did you receive ill news from the Gatekeeper?"

Loki raises an eyebrow. "You are remarkably well-informed of my whereabouts."

"I was looking for you, and one of your guards told me that you had gone to the Observatory," Frigga replies mildly. "May I walk with you? I'm only asking for a moment of your time."

"Of course." There really is no way for Loki to deny her, and a part of him is actually relieved that he gets to put off dealing with Sif's discovery for a little longer. With a twist of his hand, he creates a bubble of silence around them; Frigga hasn't said so, but he doubts she wants them to be overheard. "What can I do for you, Allmother?"

If Frigga is troubled by the formality of the question, she doesn't show it; she merely falls into step beside him. "Lord Fjorgynn came to speak to me this morning."

Loki smiles thinly. "Of course he did."

"It's true, then? You'll remove him from the council?" Frigga's tone is calm, but Loki can still hear the worry underneath.

"Only if he forces my hand by refusing to resign." Did the old fool truly think that bringing the queen dowager into this would change anything? "If he resigns on his own, he will be commended for his long and faithful service and allowed to spend his remaining years in peaceful retirement. If he doesn't, however, there will be an official investigation of the glaring inconsistencies I've discovered in his handling of the tax administration, and since the results will prove that he has been stealing from the crown for centuries, the only place he'll retire to is a cell in the dungeons."

Frigga hesitates. "There's proof of an actual crime, not just negligence?"

"There will be if it becomes necessary."

Loki doesn't need to face Frigga to know exactly what kind of look she's giving him right now, although he is a little surprised that she remains silent. So you've finally learned not to ask me questions you don't really want answered, Mother?

"If it makes you feel better," he adds when the silence starts to become awkward, "what I've found has convinced me beyond a doubt that he has indeed been diverting tax money into his own pockets for quite some time. He covered his tracks rather carefully, but that's not going to save him if he's stupid enough to chance a trial."

Frigga mulls that over for a while. Loki can tell she isn't happy, but apparently she understands that she's not going to change his mind. He is well aware of the inherent risk, but he'd be foolish to let it deter him from seizing this opportunity.

"Who is going to replace him as your chancellor?"

"Lord Vidar," Loki replies and, noticing Frigga's startled expression, adds, "he's the oldest remaining council member, so the honor should go to him."

"I thought you detested him."

Loki shrugs. "I do, but that's hardly relevant. Vidar is very good at telling which way the wind is blowing, and he isn't going to cause me too much trouble after seeing how narrowly his predecessor escaped a conviction for high treason. I'll also take his advanced age into consideration and reduce the chancellor's responsibilities by putting the treasurer in charge of the tax administration, which makes far more sense from an organizational point of view anyway."

"That means you'll appoint your treasurer to the council to replace Fjorgynn?"

"He has proven himself both capable and reliable, so why wouldn't I?"

Frigga sighs. "Please don't play games with me, Loki. He's a good man, but his father was a street merchant and his mother a peasant's daughter, so you know as well as I do that the lords of the council will consider his appointment an affront to them and to Asgard's noble families."

"I'm aware," Loki replies tersely. "However, I believe that Lord Fjorgynn's fate will show them what happens to those who cross me. Don't worry too much, Mother," he cuts her off before Frigga can object, "most of Asgard's nobility despises me anyway and will keep despising me no matter what I do, so I might just as well do as I see fit. And now" – they've reached the throne room, and Loki gestures for the guards to open the massive double door for him – "please excuse me, there are matters that require my immediate attention."

.

Loki rarely makes use of Hliðskjálf's Sight during the day, but this can't wait. He has the Einherjar chase out the loitering courtiers, and then sends them to guard the doors under strict orders not to let anyone enter. Once he's alone in the echoing hall, he climbs the stairs to the throne and sits down under the beady gazes of Hugin and Munin, who seem to have been waiting for him from their perch on the throne's backrest.

Dread churning in the pit of his stomach, Loki closes his eyes and directs the Sight outwards, towards the worlds beyond the branches of Yggdrasil whose existence Asgard usually pretends to ignore. If Sif was right about the things she thought she saw on Xandar –

I see the aftermath of a battle, my king – and there seems to be an object of great power at the center of the fight, one that is coveted by several parties. I believe some of them are Kree, but I also spotted members of other races I could not identify at a glance. My Sight is less clear so far outside the Nine, but it looks to me like the guardians of the Nova Empire have prevailed against their attackers.

And then that final sentence, as if she'd wanted to save the worst for last –

I'm still not very proficient at listening across great distances, but… I thought I heard whispers of the Mad Titan's name.

Loki is familiar enough with the Nova Empire, of course – for millennia, Asgard's forces and the Nova Corps have maintained a mutual tacit agreement to stick to their respective parts of the cosmos and not get in each other's way, although both sides graciously overlooked occasional small incursions in their territory (especially since, as far as Asgard's dominion was concerned, they usually only affected Midgard due to its placement at the center of the Nine). He is also pretty certain that he did hear mentions of the Nova Empire during his… stay on Sanctuary, and as little as he wishes to remember anything about that time, he can't ignore the connection now. If Thanos is truly involved in events on Xandar, he might already be far closer to the Nine than Loki had previously hoped – which makes it imperative to identify Sif's mysterious 'object of great power' that seems to have ended up in the Nova Corps' keeping.

He doesn't even need to call on his two Infinity Stones once he has Xandar firmly in his Sight. The Tesseract rings out like a bell, its joyful eagerness quickly followed by the Aether's low, content purr at the discovery of their last and most fearsome missing sibling.

The Power Stone.

Even after Loki has let go of the throne's Sight, it takes a while until he can bring himself to open his eyes again. Deep down, he knew what he was going to find ever since he heard Sif's report, but a childish part of him still wants to put off the moment when he has to face this new reality.

There will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where he can't find you…

The Power Stone is on Xandar, and Thanos is coming for it.

.

Loki spends the following nights on the throne with Hliðskjálf's Sight set on Xandar. He has no time to waste, and the growing exhaustion is preferable to the dreams that would await him if he actually could bring himself to sleep. He has to resort to wearing a glamor during the day so his subjects won't see the ever-darkening circles around his eyes (if Frigga notices, she thankfully doesn't comment on it), and the slight drain on his magic – which he would barely feel under normal circumstances – aggravates the headache which has become his constant companion after the second sleepless night. It's an additional nuisance he hardly needs, but it doesn't worry him overmuch; he has gone weeks without sleep before, and he will have to decide on a course of action long before his body collapses under the strain.

He can't risk letting his Sight stray too far from his target, now that he knows that Thanos might be anywhere in the general vicinity, but he still needs to learn everything he can about the Power Stone's exact location, and the way the Xandarians are trying to protect it. If Sif heard those whispers about the Titan's involvement correctly, the Stone's new guardians might have some idea about the danger they're courting by accepting such a responsibility, but they cannot possibly grasp the true amount of deadly power they are harboring at the heart of their empire – if they did, Loki doubts they would ever have agreed to it in the first place.

For a short while, Loki toys with the idea of dropping his guard and approaching the Nova Corps openly. Asgard has dealt with powers outside the Nine in the past, although no ruler of Asgard has ever considered seeking alliances beyond the boundaries of Yggdrasil before – but the old rules hardly apply when they are facing a foe whose ultimate goal constitutes a threat to the whole universe. Then again, such an unheard-of move would necessarily draw attention throughout the entire Nova Empire, and given that parts of it already seem to have the Titan's eyes on them, Loki might be putting himself straight in Thanos' sights. Besides, not only does he lack sufficient information about the leaders of the Nova Corps to decide who among them might or might not be trustworthy – it has ever been unwise to trust anyone if Thanos is involved.

Which means that Loki is on his own.

I guess I'll just have to do it alone like I've always done.

The thought is accompanied by such an overwhelming feeling of déjà vu that it gives him pause for a moment. Didn't he once say the exact same thing to Thor, back when they... Loki keeps wracking his brain, but even though he feels like he has the memory right at his fingertips, it keeps eluding his grasp no matter how hard he tries to pin it down. Eventually, Munin's irritated caw pulls him out of his rumination and reminds him that he can ill afford to get sidetracked by idle thoughts right now.

From what he has seen, security around the Power Stone appears to be tight, so even if he should have no trouble reaching Xandar with the Tesseract's help, actually getting near his target might prove extremely difficult given that he cannot risk drawing any kind of attention to himself. Removing the Stone without getting caught seems out of the question even if Loki could think of a hiding place where it might actually be safe. The Power Stone is by far the strongest of the Infinity Gems, and the power it emanates is nearly impossible to hide completely. Even without another Infinity Stone in Thanos' possession to guide him, there are several of his children who might have either the magical or the technical skills to track the Power Stone's signature from a considerable distance once they knew what to look for.

Loki was rather surprised to discover that the Nova Corps doesn't make use of this fact in their security measures – while there are copious precautions in place to prevent anyone from approaching the place where the Power Stone is kept, the only means by which its guardians are trying to ensure that the Stone still is where it's supposed to be is some kind of overly complicated video surveillance. Loki can't help thinking that Tony Stark would likely have done better, and then mentally stops in his tracks when he's hit by an unexpected idea.

It seems both far-fetched and fraught with risk, but Loki can still see the rough outline of a plan taking shape in his mind – a plan that, unlike every other course of action he has considered during the last days, might at least have a chance of working if he can pull it off.

Besides, if it turns out that he can't, it's highly unlikely that he'll survive the attempt, which is a prospect that seems vastly preferable to the alternative.

You think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as pain…

Not even Thanos can reach those who are already dead, can he? Considering that, Loki figures he has very little to lose and everything to gain from the gamble he's now determined to take.

Not a great plan, Stark's voice pipes up in his memory, but the insolent little mortal might just be wrong about it a second time.

.

"You wanted to speak to me, my son?" The hope in Frigga's tone is impossible to miss, but Loki does his best to ignore it since he knows he will have to disappoint her.

"There's a matter of grave importance we need to discuss, Mother." He regrets the familiar address the moment he sees her polite smile brighten into a real one; if he had called her Allmother, she might have understood that she isn't here for the private heart to heart she's obviously expecting.

"Are you finally going to tell me what's troubling you? I see the weariness you're trying to hide, and I wish you could…"

The queen dowager falls silent when a guard appears in the open door of Loki's study. "My king, Lady Gullveig is here."

"Let her enter." Out of the corner of his eye, Loki watches Frigga's crestfallen expression disappear behind the mask of royal composure, but he cannot allow himself to dwell on it now that the old volva is bowing before them with ill grace.

"My king." Given that she manages to make the salutation sound like an insult, Lady Gullveig is apparently not best pleased with Loki's summons. "I would have sent you my monthly report within the week, there was no need to make me deliver in person."

When Loki merely raises an eyebrow at her, she continues in the same gruff tone, "Your little protégé keeps doing well, and another boy was presented to us for an assessment of his magical abilities a fortnight ago."

"Did he pass?" Frigga's interest is either genuine or well-feigned, but it still causes Gullveig's scowl to deepen.

"He isn't going to become the world's greatest sorcerer, but he has enough talent to warrant training. There's also a boy who asked for our assessment without his parents' consent, but we wanted to hear your opinion on the matter before we decided how to proceed, my king."

Loki is hardly in the mood for matters of magical education right now, but it seems unwise to dismiss Gullveig's request considering that he's about to ask for her help. "What would you do if the applicant were a girl?"

The old woman shrugs. "If the girl is at least four hundred years of age and passes the assessment, the Volur usually appeal to the crown to grant her permission to be trained against her parents' wishes."

Frigga nods as if she were familiar with the procedure, but then, she likely is the person who deals with those appeals – at least, Loki has never heard of such a case before, so he doubts the issue ever came up in Odin's presence.

"And the boy in question is how old?"

"Close to five hundred."

It costs Loki some effort not to sound impatient. "Then test him and consider my permission granted if he passes."

"As you wish, my king." Gullveig's sudden formality is a little surprising until she adds, "My report was also going to inform you that the number of girls who are seeking training is on the rise; one might almost think that magical skills are beginning to be held in higher regard among Asgard's people than they used to. However, a growing number of students also means that –"

Loki holds up a hand to cut her off; it's easy enough to guess where this is going. "I will keep providing the Volur with the funding they require in order to train every child they consider talented enough. Send your records to my treasurer, he will see to it that your needs are met."

That, at last, manages to bring a smile to the old woman's wrinkled face. "I thank you, my king."

Loki, who can't help wishing his own problems were that easy to resolve, shakes his head. "Don't thank me yet, Lady Gullveig; I didn't send for you to discuss your students. I need to perform a working that is both difficult and dangerous, and since you and the Allmother are Asgard's most skilled sorceresses, I'm asking both of you if you are willing to assist me."

All of her queenly poise doesn't manage to hide the brief flash of hurt across Frigga's expression. "Do you truly need to ask me that, my king?"

Loki holds her gaze without flinching. "You don't even know yet what I'm asking of you."

"It doesn't matter." Frigga's answer sounds downright defiant, as if she were daring him to doubt her. "Whenever you need my support, you have it."

"A little more information still wouldn't come amiss, though," Gullveig adds drily, reminding Frigga that this is neither the time nor the place for unresolved family issues. "In order to assist, we will need to know what kind of working you're preparing."

"Fair enough." Loki keeps his tone as businesslike as he can manage. "I have been made aware that Thanos is looking for an object of great power which has recently surfaced at the heart of the Nova Empire. Its guardians are strong, but still not strong enough to fend off an attack by the Titan if he comes for the object, so I need to hide it from his sight before it can draw his attention."

The queen dowager frowns. "The Nova Corps will hardly tolerate that kind of interference from Asgard."

"Which is why I don't intend to let them know." He can tell that Frigga wants to interrupt, so he presses on. "Reaching Xandar without being noticed won't be a problem since –"

Frigga's eyes widen in alarm. "You can't mean to skywalk outside the Nine!"

The look on Gullveig's face is far too knowing; unlike Frigga, the old witch seems well aware that Loki has done just that quite a few times, but she's smart enough to keep quiet.

"I don't," he replies curtly. "The object is reasonably well guarded, and approaching it undetected would be extremely difficult and unnecessarily risky. I plan to hide it by magic, so I don't need to be in direct physical contact with it."

Now Gullveig is beginning to look concerned as well. "If I understand you correctly, my king, you mean to project your consciousness to a place beyond Yggdrasil and channel enough seiðr through that connection to affect a powerful magical object?"

Loki can only nod because Frigga doesn't give him time to reply. "Loki, that's insanely dangerous!"

"I have to agree." Even Gullveig has gone a little pale. "Keeping your mind, body and magic connected over such a distance would be incredibly taxing, and if the connection is severed…" She doesn't finish since they all know what the result would be.

"I'm not quite as reckless as that." Loki does his best to sound reassuring, although it seems to have little effect on Frigga. "I'm going to use Hliðskjálf as a focus since I need to see where I'm going anyway, and I have other means as well to ensure I don't lose my way between worlds."

Again, his traitorous mind supplies, and for a heart-stopping moment, the memory of the all-encompassing, deathly silent blackness of the Void catches up with him. Before it can overwhelm him, though, the gentle hum of the Tesseract's ever-present song pulls him back from the brink.

This time the Void won't be able to claim me.

It isn't lost on him that neither Frigga nor Gullveig enquired about the nature of the object the Titan is seeking; Gullveig might think it's not her place to ask such a question, but Frigga is probably (and rightly) assuming that Loki would refuse to tell her anyway. He knows it will only reinforce her belief that he doesn't trust her, but there's nothing he can do about it.

"So that's not what you need us for." The old volva has herself under control again, and Loki finds her brusque pragmatism downright reassuring.

"Indeed it isn't." He tries to meet Frigga's eyes, but she refuses to look at him. "I need you to anchor me so I'll be able to find my way back."

.

A/N: I haven't been able to find out what exactly "Yggdrasil" is supposed to be the MCU, so I chose to go with the assumption that it's Asgard's poetic name for the galaxy we call the Milky Way. According to the Marvel Wiki, Xandar is located in the Andromeda Galaxy, the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way.