Loki heard a pitiful sob behind him somewhere, but his eyes were fixed on the purple eyes of his wife.

"Mamma." Lin made a move to jump to her, to hug her but stopped herself, remembering Freya's warning. Freya sat up straight "Okay Lin, I will untie the string and then we will let go slowly. Let me just look for something first. Can you do that?"

Lin nodded.

Freya glowed up once more, brightly and then said "Now, Lin, bring the string back to you. Remember, do not let go of your momma's head until the string is out." The small child nodded again and closed her eyes. She nodded again. Freya gave her the go- ahead to let go of her mother's head. She sobbed again and cried "Momma." Leiyah mainly smiled and beckoned with her left arm for Lin to come closer. Loki pushed his chair closer and Lin tried to wrap an arm around her mother's waist and hugged her, crying into her mother's dress. Junia was still fidgeting around, making sure the babies were okay.

"Leiyah." Mechel spoke, taking her other hand, "I am so sorry. I failed you. In every way."

She shook her head.

Freya was running her hands above Leiyah's head, no doubt making sure she was fully healed. "It worked. The herbs are gone. You are healed, Leiyah." Leiyah's eyes finally found her cousin's and she gave a small smile. She then looked over her friends, her aunt, over Aelinnea who was still crying silently and then settled on Loki. Her stars swirled once, the purple becoming bright and so piercing. She twitched with her hand and Loki took her hand in his again. "Welcome back, my love."

Calia asked "Can she speak?"

"Yes, I can." The first words Leiyah had spoken in over a month. It made Loki choke back a sob. "My throat is just very dry."

Shuffling and Vidal handed her a glass of water. Freya and Junia helped her sit up and she drank it carefully. Once she was done, she said "I thank you all. I do not have the measures or the words to thank you enough. But know that I love you all so much. Thank you."

Freya smiled "You might still feel weak a bit for a while. But I would say tomorrow, after a good night's rest, we should try to drain some of that pent of power. With simple measures. But for now, I think you would profit of a good bit of sleep, in your own bed."

Leiyah smiled and then looked up to the projected twins. "Are they healthy?"

Junia answered, "Yes, very much. They grew some more."

Freya continued "I can confirm that. They tried to help you. But now, rest. We can talk tomorrow. Or later in the evening if you feel like it." She directed the last sentence to the crowd "Come, let us go. We will all talk later."

Once they left, Loki helped Leiyah stand, slowly. She gripped his hand thankfully. "Lin, my gem, come let us bring momma to our bedroom. She will want to sleep."

Lin got up and said "Not long sleep."

Loki grinned "No, just a few hours. All three of us. You must be tired too."

As if on cue, Lin yawned. Slowly they walked to the bedroom and Leiyah sank down thankfully. "Honestly, I wish to take a quick shower, if you do not mind."

"Not at all. Lin why don't you look for the book we were reading all together. And then wait here on the bed and I can read it to you again." Lin nodded and dashed to her room.

Leiyah walked with Loki to the bathing rooms and Loki turned on the shower. He undressed himself first and then turned to Leiyah, "May I?" She was holding onto the sink and nodded. He unbuttoned the dress and let it drop. He left the necklace on, for protection. He conjured some new sleeping clothes for the two of them and then helped Leiyah into the shower. Once inside, once the water was running over the two of them, Leiyah started crying. She held onto Loki and sobbed, while he held her. "It will be alright. I am here." He sat her down on the tiny bench they had installed and started washing her. Once done, he dried her off and dressed her. Her sobs had stopped.

"I heard you. I heard you all the time. I wanted to reach out to you so badly, to let you know I was fighting too. To please not give up hope."

He kissed her forehead "I would never have given up. I would have ripped apart the universe to save you."

"I know. I would not have even stopped you. I am not done with our life yet. There is still so much we need to do together."

He stroked over her hair "I love you Leiyah. I love you and I will scream it into the world." A short pause, "May I kiss you?"

"Yes. And Loki?" He quirked an eyebrow. "I love you, too." He leaned down to capture her lips in a soft kiss, and the darkness around them shattered. Finally, his life was complete again. Finally, he had his starlight back.

"We should go, Lin will be waiting." Her eyes brightened some more. "I missed her so much."

Lin was sitting on her parent's giant bed and held out the book to Loki. Leiyah engulfed her in a giant hug and kissed her, making her snuggle into her side, getting cozy under the blankets and Loki started reading. Both Lin and Leiyah fell asleep fast and were snuggled close to each other. Loki merely observed. He feared that if he fell asleep all of this would be a dream and she would fall back into the coma. He knew it was not going to happen, but he just wanted to look at her. Her breathing was deep, but not as deep as before. He touched her stomach and felt the twins move, it made him smile. Her free hand came to rest over his and he snuggled close to his wife and daughter and fell into a calm sleep, the first time in a long time.

"Loki. Come wake up." The calm voice lulled him out of sleep and he looked at her. She was smiling and was stroking a few strands of hair from his face. He sat up slightly and patted the space beside him. Leiyah gave a smile and sat, close to him and he closed the distance. "Where is Lin?"

"Playing with her dolls."

He looked her over, the blush on her cheeks, her plump pink lips, the eyes he loved, the hair which was braided back. His throat closed off and he choked out "I missed you."

Leiyah's eyes turned glassy and wet and she whispered, "Me too. I wanted nothing more than to hold your hand and tell you I had faith in you."

He kissed her, needing the reassurance that this was not a dream. "Did you hear? Who it was?"

"Yes. But right now I do not want to think of it. Freya is right, I need to release some of this power. Then, in a few days, I can think of ways to punish the little slut for trying to kill me."

Loki smirked, "Did you try to use your powers again?"

"Not yet. I am worried that I might snap. I don't need to draw attention to me right now. And I would rather not give the Allfather a reason to watch me any closer than he already does."

Loki then realized he would need to inform Odin and his mother of Leiyah's awakening. But he pushed that aside for now, he could have this day with his wife.
A knock on the door. He went to open it; it was the maid with a tray of tea. "Some tea?"

He nodded and took the tray from her before she could walk in. "My prince?"

"I will take it from here, princess Aelinnea is not feeling too well. She is resting."

"Shall I bring anything for her, or you?"

"No. You can go."

He sat the tea down and saw Leiyah eye it wearily. "It is strange that we suddenly got new tea. We should have been more aware."

Loki agreed, "But it is our home, who thought someone would try to harm us here."

"Yes," Leiyah nodded, "Mechel and Freya will be here soon. They will let me release some of my power. Protected of course. I do not wish to hurt you or Lin."

"You could never. But I could take Lin out to the gardens, to make sure she is safe."

"Yes, please. That would ease my mind. Also that you are safe."

Mechel and Freya entered, smiling at them both. Mechel looked rested finally, and he gave Leiyah a hug, which she appreciated. Loki took Lin and walked with her out to the gardens. Once they were gone Freya said "I will perform a cloaking and protection spell around here. Nobody can see or feel anything that is going on inside here. Nothing will break. We will both be here to guide you."

Leiyah stood and smoothed her dress, "Will the twins be alright?"

"Of course, it will be easy tasks. Small things."

Another nod. Mechel continued, "Alright, easy now, light this candle for me." Leiyah took another deep breath and raised her hand. She did not need it, but she wanted to focus it more. After a few seconds, the candle was lit.

"Wonderful. Now the next one." Leiyah lit 50 candles, before Mechel commanded her to blow them all out in a single swipe.

"Are you certain? Could I not harm anything?"

"No, I have faith in you." She closed her eyes and envisioned the candles all not lit, the smoke of the flames moving upwards slowly. When she opened her eyes, they were all dark.

"Very good. Let us try something else. I want you to summon the things I point to or which I name, and you should change their appearance, their smell, color, weight, what they are, and then return them to their original state. And to make it a challenge for you, not to fail; your daughter's favorite stuffed animal." Leiyah's eyes widened. Determination flooding in them.

"Is mamma good now?"

Loki smiled down at his daughter, who was sitting in the grass, playing with the swirls Loki had conjured. "Yes, my gem. Momma is very good now. She just has to practice a bit and then we can play again."

"And babies?"

"Also very good. Do you want to meet them?"

"Yes!"

"Me too. And then I think it will be a good idea to visit grandmamma and grandpappa in Vanaheim. Get away from this place a bit. To relax."

"And unce Thor?"

"He is working. I don't know when he will be back."

Lin looked down and tried to reach out to touch a butterfly. It flew away before she could catch it. "I love you dada."

He kissed her head, "I love you. You will always be my little gem."

"And momma?"

Loki laughed, "Momma will always be my starlight. You two are my precious girls that I won't let anyone hurt."

Loki and Lin returned to find Leiyah sitting with Calia, Marielle and Vidal, talking. Lin immediately ran to Leiyah and cuddled close to her. "Dada said you are sta- stalight."

"He did?" Leiyah looked up to Loki and grinned, "Well isn't he just the best pappa ever?"

"Yes!" Everyone laughed.

"How was it?"

Calia gushed "Oh wonderful. I came in an hour after they started, expecting her to be done and tired, but no. There she was summoning items, pouring water and changing the flavor, creating small figurines. Like she never stopped."

Loki sat next to Leiyah and asked "And you are feeling fine?"

"More than fine. I feel like myself again. I can feel the seidr in me. It is too much still, so I do not want to risk taking off the necklace, but I think I am on the road to being back in control again."

Loki kissed her hand and turned to his friends. The situation felt so normal, as if nothing had happened. Until Vidal asked the question he had been trying to forget, "When will you tell the Allfather?"

Leiyah looked down slightly, "I assume we must do it soon. We can't deceive him forever."

"And then justice will be served. That little maid will pay for what she did." Calia said in a low voice.

"I wonder where she found the idea? Not even I have ever heard of bloodmonk anymore. For good reason of course, but I doubt a maid would have had the access to such things."

"You think someone else was behind it?"

Leiyah merely shrugged, "I am not sure. The whitewith I think was also not her idea."

"What?"

"Lin, my gem, go play a bit. Later we can paint something, alright?" Lin hopped off and started singing silently to herself. Once she was out of reach Leiyah continued, "What would she get out of making Loki and I more attracted to each other? Out of another pregnancy?"

"The same as she did before? Throwing herself at your husband," Marielle said.

Calia answered, "But it did not work last time. Loki was, forgive me, enticed with Leiyah during her pregnancy. Therefore, there would be no reason for her to think that the aphrodisiac would get her Loki."

Leiyah continued, "Precisely. But I know of someone who wanted another pregnancy."

Vidal tried to cover up a laugh, "Loki?"

Loki laughed and Leiyah answered, "No, not that he did not try. I meant Odin."

Loki's eyes opened wide, "Odin?"

"He wanted an heir. Thor was still upset about Jane, and in no rush to find someone else. He was desperate. I overheard your mother once mentioning that he has been delaying the Odinsleep for too long now. And now with Thor gone, he will wait even longer."

Marielle asked, "Do you think he was behind the bloodmonk as well?"

"No. Why would he want to kill me while I am carrying the next heir of Asgard? No. This was someone else. I am not sure who."

Loki thought about the words of his wife and his mind already started looking for the one who could have tried to harm her. In a time like this he wished Thor were still here, to give his own suggestions so his own mind would clear up.
The door opened and Freya entered. "Leiyah, how are you feeling?"

"Very well, thank you. I can't thank you enough for what you have done for me."

"We are family. Do not mention it. But that is why I am here. Frey is sure that the necklace will be helpful. But try not to have any strong emotional outbursts. But I think in a week, everything should be fine again. And do try the other practices we have talked about."

Leiyah blushed slightly, "I will think of it."

"I am afraid I also bring bad news. I fear Heimdall has been detecting something. Not that you are awake. But he is trying to break down my own cloaking. It will only last for a few days. But by then you will be more in control."

Loki asked "Meaning what?"

"That in 3 days the Allfather needs to be notified. And then the investigation will be started. I had wanted to try to push this out for another week, to be sure Leiyah is back to normal."

"I will be fine, Freya. You have shown me all the exercises."

Freya smiled, all teeth and brightness, "This also brings me to my next issue. I must leave tomorrow. The Allfather has been wanting to meet me for the longest time, and I have never answered. I do not wish for it to happen this week. If anything happens, I am easily reached now. But Vanaheim needs me back again. Your parents will be happy to hear you are well. I will them personally, no letters should be sent yet."

Loki understood. Something about Odin scared Freya and he would not push her to stay. "I will say goodbye now. I will give instructions to Mechel and then leave in the late night." Leiyah stood and hugged her cousin tightly. She thanked her again and Loki mirrored the sentiment. Everyone else also got a hug.

"May I say goodbye to your daughter?"

"Of course. She is in her room."

"If her powers start manifesting, come to me. I would love to teach her."

Freya smiled once more and left to Lin's room.

In the depths of night, Loki and Leiyah were holding each other, enjoying the quiet and darkness. Leiyah had conjured small stars for their chambers, keeping them in control. She was tracing small patterns on Loki's naked chest, while Loki's one hand was resting on her stomach, the other holding hers.

"This was not how our second pregnancy was supposed to go."

Loki gave a small huff, "As long as they and you are healthy."

"To think that one of them might not have been here. I can't imagine it."

"I know. I love them. No matter how they came to be."

Leiyah smiled and kissed Loki's hand. "They will be determined fighters, like their father."

"And their mother."

She smiled again, the stars around them burning a little brighter. "Do you still feel safe here, my love?"

Hesitation. "I am not sure. I wish we knew who did it. But Odin won't let us leave." Quiet, until she asked, "How is the library? Are the people enjoying it?"

"Yes. It is always full. The children love it a lot."

"I am glad."

Loki saw a small silver light on the edge of their window. He remembered what Freya had said. "What did Freya imply that had you blushing?"

A small blush again but she chuckled, "She said a great way to release some of my powers would be during love- making. I said I would think about it when I feel stronger."

He laughed and kissed her, "Whenever you are ready."