AN: I do not own Thor... what a surprise and what a shame.

Chapter 3

Loki glanced down at the hand on his shoulder and then back to Sora who slowly removed it. She feared that her close contact may have had a different effect on him than she had intended.

He stared at her in silence, her touch still warm on his shoulder, the deep pools of his eyes unreadable. Their close proximity was now apparent to them both; a closeness that Sora never feared until now. Loki was a man with great advantage over her in both political power and strength. And now that her opposition towards his stance was becoming clearer to him the danger of their conversation became quite evident.

She was worried that this would happen- being made Loki's enemy in the pursuit of saving Asgard- but somehow it seemed inevitable. Sora was going to have to sacrifice something; it was only a question of what. Now she knew that it was his love.

Pushing her sorrow away, Sora straightened up and met his gaze with renewed determination, "Since Thor is no longer in charge of our defense I have to know what you plan to do about Laufey's declaration of war."

"You said that diplomacy was over, I'm afraid there is nothing more you can do Sora. You must leave this to me now." He told her, dismissing her as he began to turn away. Sora knew he was avoiding her; she had to get him to talk.

"Still, I am a member of your high council Loki," She pushed, quickly stepping beside him again and forcing him to acknowledge her. Loki looked down to her out of the corner of his eye. "I must know," she said finally.

Loki, seeing the concern mounting in her eyes, placed both of his hands on her shoulders, "Be well assured that you can trust me to protect us." He then leaned in and softly kissed her forehead as he used to. The touch of his lips sent cold shivers down Sora's spine as she fought through his false placating,

"Loki-"

"Sora!" He snapped. All pretense of comfort had vanished from his countenance. "That is all on the subject."

The fire in his eyes warned her against speaking another word but she refused to be silenced by him. She had to take hold of her courage and find out what he was planning, even if it meant putting herself in danger.

"Why won't you tell me Loki? Is it because you do not have a plan of action or is it that you know I won't approve of it?" Silence filled the room for a moment as Loki thought-up an elaborate lie to tell her however Sora could see right through him. He was about to answer her but she was already a step ahead of him. "That's what it is isn't it? You already know what you're going to do you don't want to tell me."

The god let out a small sigh, seeing that Sora had figured him out. He gazed sadly into her eyes and said, "You would not understand Sora."

Sora's heart dropped at his words, she had been right all along.

"What are you going to do to Jotenhiem?" She whispered in fear.

Loki's hands slipped further up her shoulders, his hold on her becoming tighter, "I'm taking care of it once and for all."

"You mean you're going to destroy it," she said, her heart now pounding in her chest. She could not allow this to happen, years of her life were poured into the preservation of the peace of both these worlds.

"Yes," He confirmed.

"Loki, that's genocide!" She cried, gripping tightly onto his sleeves, trying to make him listen to reason.

"It must be done Sora. You cannot see it now but after it is done you will understand the necessity of it. I will keep Asgard safe in the way that Thor never could." He explained, taking her face in his hands and caressing her with his thumbs. "You'll never have to worry about the Frost Giants entering our realm again. You can leave the council knowing that there will be eternal peace for Asgard and we can finally be together without the threat of war hanging over our heads."

Sora shook her head in staunch refusal, "Loki-"

"No Sora," Loki snapped viciously, forcing her to look into his eyes. "Your answer is yes."

He then pulled her to him and claimed her lips in a fierce kiss. Sora struggled adamantly against him but Loki refused to release her from his hold. He may not have been as strong as his brother but he easily overpowered her. She whimpered against his mouth in protest, realizing she could not break free. Once Sora had stopped fighting him, Loki softened his kiss and brushed her long golden hair away from her luminescent skin; two features which served as continual reminders to him that they were not of the same race.

Sora was stiff and unresponsive as his lips moved passionately over hers. She remained quiet and still in his arms, her heart breaking inside. This was the man whom she worked alongside to try and bring peace to Asgard, the same man who was now trying to force her to stand for violence and bloodshed. Jealousy and hate had driven him from the path of good and now he was lost to the darkness inside of him.

Loki then brushed his tongue over Sora's lips and her whole body went cold and rigid. She would not allow him to further use her. He may have been a son of Odin and her king, but she would not allow him to rule her. Using all her strength, Sora pushed against his chest in one final attempt and managed to break away from him.

"Loki, stop!" She yelled, immediately backing away so she was at a safe distance from him.

Her heart weighed heavily in her chest as she brought her fingers up to her mouth, gently touching where he had bruised her. She was breathing heavily from his dominating kiss and her stomach was knotted in fear. He had never treated her in such a forceful manner and she thought him against such behavior until now.

Loki felt a pang of guilt when he saw her swollen lips. He did not mean to be so rough with her. It seemed that his anger had driven him to this. And the way she was looking at him now made him sick with anxiety. Did she really find him that repulsive now? He approached Sora once more, searching her eyes for anything that might tell him otherwise but she stepped away from him in distrust.

"Do you not love me?" He asked quietly, the sting of regret still fresh in his heart. Couldn't she see that he was only doing what was best for all of them? His sad eyes captured hers and she was confronted with his beautiful face once more. A silent tear slipped down his smooth white skin as he gazed sorrowfully into her eyes. He had never felt more alone in his world until that very moment. "I love you Sora. Even though I do not say it or dare have spoken it until now, I do love you."

Sora's lips were trembling, still burning from his kiss. What he said was no lie. It was no sorcery or trick to confuse her, to twist her mind, or to sway her opinion. He stood there, raw and ungarded as he confessed his love to her.

Sora hardly knew what to say to him. A part of her wanted to hit him, to fight him with everything she had inside of her for what he was doing. The other part of her knew he was still the man she loved and she wanted to have him hold her in his arms like he used to.

It was true, Sora did love Loki; the god of mischief, Odin's quiet and dark son. Even now, after all that he had done and still threatened to do, she loved him. But she would not allow that to blind her.

"Yes, I do love you," she confessed, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall from her clear blue eyes. "But I will not follow you."

IMPORTANT for ALL readers! I want to ask you guys if you would like this story to be raised to an M rating (meaning the story will match that of an M rating... it's not just for the hell of it). Also I wanted to thank everyone who reviewed, they really help inspire me.