"You promised me this would never happen!"
Loki waves a hand in front of his face to disperse the flames. "Surt, relax, you're going to give yourself angina."
"But you swore! None of us believed it when we first heard the prophecy. That the child of two einherjar would defeat me and destroy Muspellheim. It was impossible. But we killed every hero we could get our hands on before he could get his hands on a blade, just in case. Before he could reproduce. And then a child was born to the god of life and fertility and we all got worried. But we succeeded, we killed him before he could father a child! But it wasn't enough. Dead mortals do not reproduce. But Magnus Chase managed it anyway...he's an einherji who is the child of the god of fertility!"
"I'm not an infant you have explain everything to, I was there. Yes, and I tried to make him look bad, I manipulated that girl, that Valkyrie, the one who died, whatever her name was...she fixed the tape, Chase looked like a fool by the time she got done with him. But they still let him in. That's not my fault", Loki says.
"And impregnated a child of yours! A male child! How is this possible?", Surt screams.
"First of all, if you ever met Alex, you'd know how little "male child" describes her and how little she cares for my opinion...anyway, I warned him. I came to him in a vision and I warned him not to touch her. He did anyway. Lustful mortals, and Alex always did her own thing", Loki answers.
"Kill her! You can control your children, Lord Loki, I know you can. Just kill her..."
"I've tried. It's not so easy. She has a...mind of her own", Loki grumbles. "Besides, maybe I'm not of a mind to kill my kid and grandkid."
Steam rises from Surt's head and flames belch from his throat.
"Jeeze, lay off the Chipotle..."
"Are you refusing to cooperate, God of Mischief?", Surt booms.
"No, I'm asking what's in it for me."
"Rulership over half the domains of Musspellheim?"
"Ding, ding, that, Surt, is the right answer...for now. I have my eyes on a much larger prize...wow where was all this eloquence when I battled Chase..."
"Don't forget, God of Mischief, I freed you from that walnut, and I can put you right back inside", Surt threatens.
"Like talking my kid into offing herself, you may find that a little more difficult than you planned..."
"Care to find out Laufeyson..."
"No." Loki waves him away. "I'm happy to cooperate and become ruler of Musspellheim."
"Half ruler..."
"Right, right, silly me...
"Lord Loki, I would not get greedy if I were you", Surt warns.
"Do me a favor and when you go after these two, come at them with everything you've got. They're tougher than they look, and be sure to murder that despicable, revolting, son of the revolting god of life, Magnus Chase."
Back at Hotel Valhalla
Sam POV
"What did I do now? But I didn't do anything!" Magnus yells.
"It's okay, I'll check on her", I say, carrying a plate with a breakfast burrito, oatmeal, and a banana on it to Alex's room.
"She can take care of herself", Halfborn calls after me, unhelpfully.
"No, she really can't", I mumble.
I push the door open.
"Hey, I could have hit you with a vase!" Alex insists.
"No, you wouldn't have. Sit down."
"I don't take orders!"
"Sit down!"
She sits on her bed.
"Here, eat", I order.
"No, thank you, that looks disgusting..."
"Alex, you have to take care of yourself", I insist.
"How is eating half-melted processed cheese spread on a fake-egg filled tortilla 'taking care of myself'?"
"Alex...eat! At least have the banana. You have to tell him, honey..." I run my fingers through her green hair, and she doesn't pull away. "You have to tell Magnus you're carrying his child. He deserves to know."
"I have nothing to say to him."
"You love him."
"I have to decide what to do about this before I talk to him. I have to have it together when I do."
"Okay, okay, but then you have to tell him...", I insist.
"Stop pressuring me! I don't HAVE to do anything. Look, what I need is to get out of here for a while, away, away away, from Magnus, from the whole crew. Do you have some mission to go on for Odin? I volunteer. I need the time away", she says.
"You can't risk yourself or the baby on some mission for Odin. Anything could happen, and if you died away from here, I couldn't save you—or the baby- from Helheim..."
She looks horrified.
"For the love of the gods, sis, I don't even know if there's going to be any baby! Really. I don't know what I want to do. I'm not going to wrap myself in bubble wrap and wait to deliver!" she howls. "Everyone here risks themselves every day, there are no special rules for me."
"There ARE special rules for you, right now. Don't you really? Know what you want to do? Because I think you do, and I think you're too scared to admit it to yourself, and way too scared to admit it to Magnus. He's not going to leave you, sis! He loves you!" I cry.
"He's never said it!" Tears flow down her cheeks.
Oh my. "He loves you..." I touch her hand.
"Don't touch me." She yanks her hand back like I burned her.
"I think you want be a mother, and I think you want Magnus to be the father of your child."
"Doesn't matter what I want...", she weeps again, "I never get it."
"In this case, you just might...listen, do you want to move in with Amir and me...I mean just for a little while until you sort yourself out?" I ask.
She nods vigorously. "Y...yes. I can't see them every day. I can't see...every day."
"Okay, okay. This stress is not good for you." I wrap an arm around her shoulders. "Let's pack you a bag, and get out of here fast. I don't want to deal with questions either."
We throw some clothes in a bag and quietly head for the elevator. The entire cohort is still sitting at the table waiting patiently for us to show ourselves.
"F..."
"Don't say it!" I order.
"Where are you going?", Magnus insists, jumping up from his seat. My heart breaks for him. "What's going on? What did I do? I'm sorry, okay."
"She just needs a little time", I say.
"A little time for what? A little time from me? Listen, Alex, I'm sorry I broke up with you, I just didn't want to..."
"You should have thought of that!", Alex spits, fear making her vicious. But I don't want her to say something she can't take back.
"I hate you", she yells, and I squeeze my eyes closed. "You did this to me."
Magnus looks like he's dying. He grabs his chest like she stabbed him.
"Alex...", he whispers and the doors to the elevator close.
My House
"That was cruel, Alex, not to mention untrue", I tell her.
"I needed him to step back. I forgot my pottery equipment! My clay! I can't be without it, I, I...get nervous..."
"I'll go get it, I'll go get it", Amir offers fast, and I thank Allah for him yet again.
"Thank you", she says. "Besides, it wasn't untrue. It's partly true. Part of me does hate him, and he did do this to me."
She's with us for weeks, rarely coming up for air from her pottery. She continues to wear all black and eat little. I know sometimes transgender people can feel uncomfortable showing off their bodies to others, and for Alex in this state, it must be all the more confusing. But I also know my sister, and it's not like her to shut herself off and walk around like she's at a wake.
She has a pile of pottery just sitting around. She never stops making it for a second. I'm about to ask her if we can toss some of it when I see a big cup on a beautiful pedestal, entwined with the Urnes snakes, glazed bright green, they twist along the stem of the cup. The bowl of the cup itself is half pink, and half blue and reads "Baby's First Christmas."