Like Thor, Loki had learned to observe Kaysa. The training sessions had gone from being sporadic to more frequent. Two days a week they met in the training room and Loki tried to teach Kaysa the art of illusionism. He tried because in reality he only made the queen believe that she was capable of doing these illusions.
"Every day you control them better, my queen." Loki laughed, making a movement with his fingers that made the images disappear just as Kaysa moved her arm. "Maybe it's time for the student to become a teacher."
Kaysa just looked at Loki with her amber eyes and a faint smile drawn on her face. She had become accustomed to Loki's presence, so much so that she had eliminated the surveillance of his room.
"What could I teach you?" Loki knew the answer perfectly. Since the night he saw those shadows in the forest, he needed that power.
"Maybe, you could show me your magic." Loki glanced sideways at Kaysa. To his surprise, her expression did not change.
"I think it's still early." Kaysa answered as she collected her things. "I have to leave, there are issues that require my attention." And with this, Kaysa left the training room. Loki watched as the door closed. He knew perfectly well the matters that Kaysa had to deal with. He remembered then that he also had things to do. With a mischievous smile, he left the room with the image of Einar, walking towards Kaysa's room.
Thor and Kaira became more and more accustomed to each other's presence. They used to go for a walk in the palace gardens while talking about life in both kingdoms.
"Someday you could visit me in Asgard." Thor spoke with joy. "You would like all that." His pace was relaxed, enjoying the company of Kaira, watching as her dark hair danced with each step.
"I would love to." Kaira smiled as she imagined what it would be like to visit Asgard, the palace, its gardens, and everything with Thor at her side. When thinking about being with Thor, her face blushed.
"You could stay as long as you want." Thor seemed so excited. Kaira, however, began to be sad. The idea that Thor had to leave was real. Kaira stood suddenly, her gaze lost on the horizon. "Kaira?" Thor stopped beside her, gently stroking her arm. "What's going on?". Kaira came to her senses and looked at Thor in puzzlement.
"Do not worry." She smiled but her smile was sad. "If you'll excuse me, I have to go back to the palace." Thor looked at her with some doubt.
"I accompany you." Thor started walking back to the palace but stopped when he saw that Kaira was not following him. "Let's go?" He smiled offering her his arm to walk together. Kaira decided to leave her problems for another time and take advantage of the little time left to be with Thor.
Einar reached the room where Thor waited impatiently.
"What's going on?" Einar had received a message from Thor asking him to meet as soon as possible.
"I need your help." Thor seemed more nervous than usual. "I want to organize a dinner." Einar looked puzzled at the blond. "Only for Kaira."
"Count on me." Einar smiled. He had heard rumors about Thor's strange relationship with Queen Kaira, but he did not expect them to be so true.
"What's wrong, Einar?" Kaira asked as he followed the knight through its corridors.
"We have to deal with a very important issue."
"Einar, it's not because you're discourteous but you're not Alheim's adviser." Kaira seemed increasingly confused.
"It's not an Alheim problem." Einar stopped in front of the door of the great hall. "But it's a problem for all the elves." And with this, Einar opened the door and gestured for her to enter. Kaira watched her room, empty. The noise of the door closing made her startle. Behind her, a figure slowly approached.
Kaira turned slowly on guard to finally find Thor's blue eyes. Without saying anything, Thor took her hand and led her to the center of the room where there was a large table full of different delicacies. Kaira could not hide her amazement.
"I hope you did not care that I went hunting." Thor said as he lifted a tray and showed one of the dishes he had prepared. Kaira could not speak, so she just shook her head as she watched every gesture of the God.
"What is this about?" Finally, Kaira could speak.
"I just wanted to thank you for your hospitality." Thor sat near Kaira and began to serve her. That was a half-truth since Thor actually wanted to propose a somewhat crazy plan.
The dinner passed as Thor had planned it, arriving at the time of dessert. The moment that Thor was waiting for. Nerves began to take hold of him, but he made an effort to try to control them. A flash caught Thor attention. Kaira followed the direction of his gaze.
"I have to find out what that is." Kaira said standing up. Thor did not say anything but followed her.
They mounted a horse to the door through which Thor had passed by Einar some time ago. Thor instantly recognized the armor of the Asgard soldiers. Kaisa stopped a few feet from the soldiers who had passed through the door. With a gesture they formed two rows, leaving space in between. Thor grabbed the reins of Kaira's horse to draw her to him, positioning himself in protective mode.
"Father." He said when he saw the figure of Odin emerge from the end of the ranks of soldiers. Kaira looked respectfully at the old man who rode towards them with his armor and his serious and hardened face.
Kaysa lay on her bed, with a thin sheet covering her body. Einar, sitting on the edge of the bed, put on his boots. His green eyes shining more than ever.
"We can not repeat this." Despite the amused look in his eyes, his tone sounded serious and authoritative. Kaysa said nothing, just stroked his back. "I'm serious." Einar looked over his shoulder at the queen. "I'm leaving." Kaysa's face changed completely.
"You can not do that." Kaysa spoke with a hardened tone. "You can not leave me now, problems are coming, you know." Einar remained motionless without knowing exactly what to do.
"You'll have to look for help in another." He finally said as he stood up, grabbed his shirt and left Kaysa's room.
Loki soon got rid of the image of Einar. He knew that what he had done would have its results soon. He was not wrong. That night Kaysa called him. Unlike other times, the guard did not lead him to the training room. When he opened the door he found himself in Kaysa's private room. Loki did not have to wait long.
"My queen." Loki greeted Kaysa with a small bow and a mischievous smile.
"Loki." Kaysa waved back as she offered him a glass of wine. "Maybe you wonder why you're here." Loki nodded taking a sip of his drink. "Well, sometimes it's good to relax." She laughed as she sat on her bed, inviting him to join her. Loki could not deny the attraction he felt towards the elf, and something in his pants was screaming at him to accept the invitation, remembering how the experience had been a few hours before.
The moment was exhausted and wild. Loki lay on his back with his eyes wide open. Kaysa's movements repeated again and again in Loki's mind. Only the brush of her hair on his chest brought him back to reality. Loki looked into Kaysa's eyes, completely dark.
"So, is this the kind of relaxation you were talking about?" Loki smiled. Kaysa just looked at him and kissed him. A dark mist began to surround them. Loki felt his head start to spin. The last thing he saw before unraveling was Kaysa's face staring at him.
Kaysa woke up next to Loki, without remembering anything of what happened. She looked at the God, tied to the head of her bed and moaning as he slowly opened his eyes. Kaysa dressed quickly, covering herself with one of her suits and separating from him.
"What the hell...?" Loki did not stop complaining. He tried rubbing his face and it was when he realized he was tied. "Hey!" He shouted and fixed his green eyes on Kaysa. The queen looked at him horrified.
"Tell me what happened last night." Kaysa seemed a totally different person than the one who a few hours ago had invited Loki to 'relax' with her.
"We were relaxing." Laughed Loki, remembering everything from last night. The image of the mist hit his head. "The mist!"
"Oh my God." Kaysa was horrified. "You should not remember any of that." Kaysa kept scouring her room with panic in her eyes.
"You have to tell me what that was." Loki spoke seriously, examining every move of Kaysa.
"Einar is gone, who is going to help me now?" Kaysa did not seem to hear Loki, which desperate the God even more. Loki used his magic and created an illusion of himself. He positioned himself in front of the queen and held her by the shoulders, immobilizing her.
"Let go of me and let me help you." Loki squeezed hard. Her movements seemed mechanical. She went to the bed and released Loki. After that, the illusion he had created disappeared. Kaysa did not seem to react.
Loki took Kaysa and mounted her on a horse. He climbed on afterward, holding her in his arms. They rode to the depths of the forest until they reached the lake where Loki was captured when he landed in the kingdom. He dismounted and took Kaysa in his arms, placing her on a rock near the shore. He did not want to pressure her to speak, he knew he had to have lead feet and nerves of steel if he wanted to get the magic that the queen had.
"The first time it happened I was 12 years old." Kaysa finally spoke, her gaze fixed on the reflection of the two over the lake. "The night was closed and a strange figure woke me up, I was afraid, but something made me want to follow it. I had to leave my room, but Einar had posted two guards at the door of my room. Its bony, dark hand told me to jump around my balcony." Loki stared at Kaysa, her story bored him, but he had to keep pretending. "I followed it to this place. The figure stopped in the middle of the lake, something told me that I had to get there, and I did so. I went down to my shoulders and that was when I began to feel dizzy. I was immersing my head in the water, and I heard its voice. It was dark, its cries and moans were heartbreaking. I was afraid, but it caught me, it needed my help. It promised me that in return it would give me what I needed, what I would like." Kaysa paused briefly. "I helped it, I just nod and I felt its sadness, tears, and fury fill my little body. Einar found me the next morning, totally soaked." Kaysa was trembling. Loki stroked her shoulder trying to comfort her. "It was not until two years later that I began to experience memory loss, and when I told Einar everything, he made me go to many different healers. It was useless, nobody knew what was happening. Only a strange woman was able to tell me what had happened. I had the feeling that I knew her before, but my memories were blurry. A long time ago, a necromancer ruled the kingdom of Svartalheim. His actions were ruinous, he just wanted the total destruction of the rest of the kingdoms. The Gods did not approve it. They decided to trap him and condemn him to exile, I do not know how he came back here, but he did. His strength was very weak, he could not materialize, so he needed a 'container', someone from whom he could feed himself growing stronger. "
"And what better than the future queen?" Loki finally concluded.
"Yes. You have to promise me that you will help me. The Gods will soon know of his return and there is only one way to kill him." Kaysa stared at Loki.
"Busting you." Loki had managed to know what that magic was. Now he just had to get hold of it. He knew that he could control that necromancer, he was not weak like Kaysa. He just needed to bring it up.
Kaysa and Loki stayed there for a long time. Each one thinking about their affairs. They returned to the palace at nightfall without exchanging a word.
