Author's Note: Hello there everyone! This chapter is rated M for violence, but just to be on the safe side (it's not really all that violent, I promise). This chapter isn't very long, but I do hit you with quite a bit at once, so sorry for that! Cosima N Thank you very much :) I hope this chapter can keep you as on the edge of your seat as the last one. Enixord Thank you very much! Guest Chills are a good thing, at least I think they are. Anonymous 1662 I hope this can live up to your excitement :) Mybonded It will all begin to tie together soon, I promise.


Sigyn's mind was reeling, and Loki's reaction wasn't helping. Her husband was close to crushing the fragile sheet of paper in his hand, and though he didn't know it, his eyes were turning red. More of his Jotun appearance might start showing through if he kept this up, and as much as she wanted him to know the truth, she knew that this was not the way he should discover it.

"Loki… Loki?"

Her husband seemed to snap out of his daze at the sound of her voice. His eyes returned to their green shade, and Sigyn let out a mental sigh of relief. She gently grabbed his hand and pulled the paper from his clutches before he could accidentally destroy it.

"Perhaps we need to take a break from this room." She suggested, while placing the partially crumpled paper back into the pages of the journal.

Loki didn't reply verbally, but pushed past her with a sense of urgency. He paused in the corridor to steady himself, but apparently even that wasn't far enough away from the chamber for his taste. He set off down the hall, and Sigyn clutched the journal to her chest with one hand, while using the other to lift the hem of her dress up so she could chase after her husband. She was just able to keep sight of him as he stalked down the hallway to his unknown destination. Sigyn called out for him to stop once, but he didn't even slow down. Something odd began to happen though as she chased Loki down the corridor. The hall began to morph every so often. One moment she was trailing her husband in the early afternoon, and the next she was being led down the same hall by the guards from her nightmares in the dead of night. She stopped mid stride the first time it happened, but it flashed by her eyes so quickly that it only took her a second to write it off as a figment of her imagination. She quickened her pace, and the strange distortions began to occur more frequently. She was soon running desperately after Loki, calling for him to stop walking. As she reached the open archway that led outside her vision blurred again. A third guard was waiting for her there, and he reached his hand out to grab her arm. She pulled back fearfully till a familiar voice shook her to her senses.

"Sigyn? What's wrong?"

Sigyn blinked, and when she reopened her eyes she realized that the third guard had actually been Loki. She was too flabbergasted to reply, and Loki grabbed her arm gently.

"Sigyn. What is going on?" His voice was calm, but there was a strong sense of concern behind his words.

"You just walked out… you didn't even say anything. I didn't know where you were going, and you wouldn't stop when I asked you to… and Loki… I am frightened." Sigyn's words spilled out in a stuttering manner. "Where in the Nine Realms are you rushing off to anyways!?"

Loki pulled back from Sigyn slightly and looked back over his shoulder.

"To the beach. That note… this house… I just need to know." He answered cryptically before strutting off towards the path that led from the cliff down to the beach.

Sigyn quickly followed after him.

"Know what? You need to know what!?" She demanded as she grabbed his arm and pulled.

Loki stopped out of courtesy.

"I need to know what they mean." He stated before starting down the path. "You should wait here for me."

Sigyn had no intention of just standing around while Loki went off searching the beach alone, so she followed her husband down the path. Loki heard her footsteps and paused to look up at her.

"Sigyn you really shouldn't come with me."

"Why? So that if you do find the cave I won't know and you can lie to me and say it isn't there?"

A look of guilt flashed in Loki's eyes, and Sigyn took advantage of his pause to make it all the way to him.

"If I don't go looking with you I will just sneak out and go looking for myself. Is that what you want?"

Loki let out a sigh and offered her his arm in defeat. With one arm cradling the journal, and the other locked firmly with her husband's, Sigyn made her way to the beach. Her heeled boots made walking in the soft sand a tad difficult, but Loki's flat boots made walking easy enough for him to help support her. The shoreline was rather extensive in both directions, but without discussing it Sigyn and Loki travelled up the northern stretch of the beach. Their feet seemed to lead them on as if by instinct. After a few minutes of silent walking the pair spotted an opening in the wall of the cliff. Sigyn shook off the disturbing discovery. There were plenty of caves within the cliffs of Asgard's shoreline, so of course this stretch of beach would be no different. Though she wished she could write off the cave completely, she knew she needed to go in to expel her fears entirely.

"I assume you wish to go in?" Loki queried.

"I do. You don't have to come in with me if you do not wish to."

"I was the one who wanted to come to look for the cave originally. Of course I am going in."

Husband and wife walked with a sense of trepidation towards the cavern's entrance. The dark void of the cavern seemed to beckon to Sigyn, and she was beginning to feel completely drawn in by the mysterious aura. Stepping foot inside the cave itself was less exciting than she would have thought. Apart from the few feet of light that shone in from the entrance, the cave was completely shrouded in darkness. Loki ventured past where the light shone, taking Sigyn willingly with him. Despite the ill foreboding the cave had held when viewed from the beach, there seemed to be nothing unnatural about the cavern where they now stood. It was dark and dank. Sigyn's eyes began to adjust to the lack of light, but she couldn't make much out of the cave's features. Loki must have been having just as much difficulty seeing anything as she was because a light began to emanate from his right hand. Sigyn glanced across at his hand, and saw that he was cupping a small flame. He unhooked his left arm from hers and cupped the flame with both of his hands.

"Hold out your right hand." He requested.

Sigyn bit the inside of her lip a tad unsure. Was Loki going to put that little fire in her hand? Sure, Loki was a powerful magician and he had probably learned this trick when he was five, but the idea of just holding fire made Sigyn a tad nervous. Sigyn did hold out her hand as he requested however, despite her reluctance.

"I can't tell you how many times I burned myself trying to get this one right when I was younger." He remarked with a grin.

Sigyn grinned at the admission as Loki placed the fire in her cupped hand. Sigyn marveled at the little flame for a moment. It surprisingly didn't even feel warm in the palm of her hand, and it managed to shed quite a bit of light despite its small size. Loki had already created another little fire in his hand when she looked back at him, and he moved silently towards the cavern's walls. Sigyn examined the area around where she was standing as he moved along the wall. The floor of the cave was a bit uneven and rocky so she moved about carefully. She eventually came upon an area stained brown, and her stomach turned. Blood stained brown, and there had been a lot of blood in the cavern from her nightmares. A cold sensation shot up her spine, but she shook it off. Blood couldn't stain rocks… could it? Well even if it could it would have faded long before now. There was probably some very logical explanation for this, and her mind was simply overlooking it because it was so worked up from the other events of the day. She determined to go over to Loki and see if he had seen anything of interest. He was walking carefully along the side of the wall, and he didn't even acknowledge her when she began to walk by his side. Though he probably wouldn't admit what he was looking for to her, Sigyn already knew what it was. If this was the cavern from their shared nightmares, then there would be some evidence of someone having been bound against the cavern wall. Sigyn spotted the answer he was looking for first. It was a metallic object sitting a few feet away from them. Sigyn strode over and looked down at the piece of metal, but she couldn't pick it up because of the fire in one hand and the journal in her other.

"Loki. What do you think this is?" She inquired.

Loki came over to her, and knelt down to pick the piece of metal up.

"I'm not sure, but its in extremely good condition. It must have been dropped recently." He concluded as he turned the small chunk of metal over in his hand. He spotted another, larger piece, and went over to pick it up too.

"This looks like part of a bracelet." He remarked as he showed Sigyn the curved piece of metal.

"I don't think that is a decorative bracelet." She stated as she walked a little further down the cavern wall, bathing the area in light.

Scattered about the floor where various lengths of chain links. Some of them had appeared to be melted through, but aside from that they were all in pristine condition.

"Someone has been kept here recently." Loki reasoned.

Though she knew Loki was hoping she would agree with his statement, and rid him of his fears, she simply couldn't.

"Perhaps, these do look rather new, but wouldn't they still look new if they were created by magic?"

Loki didn't reply, but examined the wall closer.

"What do you make of this, Sigyn?" He asked, while trailing a finger down the wall.

Sigyn approached the wall to get a better look at what he was indicating. There were narrow grooves running down the cavern wall, and Sigyn traced one with her hand. Now this could be easily explained.

"It looks like water has been trailing down from the ceiling and eroding the rock of the cavern's walls."

"Then why is it only happening at this one section of the wall? There have been no signs of erosion up till this point." He noted.

Sigyn began to feel light-headed. Loki was correct; there had been no other signs of erosion in the cavern except for here. The same place where the chains were scattered. Loki lifted his hand a little for the light to reach further up the cavern wall revealing a little overhang. Sigyn's knees began to feel weak, and Loki took a staggering step backwards. That was the same overhang where the snake had been curled up in her nightmares, and apparently Loki recognized it as well.

"I've seen enough." Loki remarked.

Sigyn looked over at her husband to say she agreed, and saw that he was shaking rather violently.

"Loki!?" She exclaimed, while quickly going to his side. "Are you ok?"

"I am fine, I just need to get out of here." He answered before turning on his heel and walking brusquely towards the entrance of the cave.

His long strides took him outside the cave before Sigyn could catch up to him, but a familiar female voice stopped her just before she could step into the daylight.

"They are coming." It warned.

Sigyn turned quickly, but she was still only in time to catch the deathly side of Hel's face disappear into the inky shadows of the cavern. Sigyn would have loved to ask who specifically 'they' were, but Hel was already gone and she didn't have the time to think on her warning. She needed to make sure Loki was ok. The little flame in her hand disappeared as she stepped into the daylight, and she used her free hand to once again lift up the hem of her dress so she could run over to where Loki was leaning with his back against the cliff. His eyes were squeezed shut when she approached, almost as if he were in pain.

"Loki?" She asked gently, while placing her hand on his shoulder. "Darling, what's wrong?"

Loki's eyes opened revealing their red color yet again, and as Sigyn studied his face she could see faint raised markings on his forehead. She placed the journal on a rock and ran her hand over his facial features in a soothing gesture. Loki took in a few deep breaths and began to relax under her touch. His eyes faded to their usual green, and the markings that had begun to show on his forehead slowly disappeared as well. Though the physical evidence of her husband's Frost Giant heritage began to subside, his skin was unusually flushed and warm.

"We need to leave, tonight." Loki stated.

Sigyn took in her husband's strained features, and checked to see if his cheeks were as warm as his forehead.

"Yes, we do need to leave, but not tonight. You don't seem well enough to make the half-day ride back to the palace."

"I am perfectly able to make the ride."

"You have a fever Loki, in all the years I have known you, you have never had a fever before. You are going to spend the rest of the day resting, while I prepare everything for us to leave first thing tomorrow morning."

Sigyn had left no room for argument in her tone of voice, so Loki didn't even bother trying. She grabbed the journal from the rock before assisting her husband back to their chambers. Once she was certain that he was asleep, she began preparing for their early departure. She went in search of the groundskeeper and informed him of the now opened bedchamber. After requesting that he see to the rest of the cleaning of the room she returned to the chamber she and Loki were staying in. Loki was still asleep, so she quietly began to pack away their things. Servants would have to be sent to the estate after they left to retrieve the trunks, since she and Loki were riding horseback. The final item she placed in her trunk was the journal she had found in the bedroom. Perhaps she should leave it here at the estate with the other items they had found, but she wanted to pursue the text further. The packing completed, Sigyn set about penning a quick note to arrange for an early dinner to be brought from an inn from the nearest village, and then wrote a few letters to inform her family and Frigga that she and Loki would be arriving home the next evening. She did not state the reasons for their shortened trip, but she did mention to Frida the anxiety that the estate was causing for both Loki and her. Sigyn looked over Loki yet again before going to the closest village and dispatching the letters with one of the guards. She returned to the estate after dropping her note off at the inn, and she arrived back just as Loki was just beginning to stir. She went to sit on the edge of the bed next to him, and was beaming down at him when his eyes finally did open.

"Feeling better?" She inquired.

Loki nodded that he did, but Sigyn checked his forehead again anyways. She was relieved to find it was no longer warm, and she brushed Loki's hair tenderly.

"Good. Would you like me to bring dinner in here when it is brought from the town, or would you rather eat in the dining room?"

"Let's eat it outside on the lawn. I would rather be outside of the house."

"Very well." She agreed. "Help me grab some blankets for us to spread out on the grass."

Loki did as she requested, and in no time the couple were sitting on the lawn waiting for their meal to arrive. They said very little while they waited, and instead Loki held her hand quietly as they looked out over the cliff at the ocean. Sigyn finally did break the silence however.

"Loki?"

"Yes?"

"They are coming for us aren't they?"

"Who? The War Council? Yes, I believe it is likely."

A pause.

"We will never truly be safe from them here on Asgard will we…"

"As long as we don't comply with them, no, we will not."

"Then why even stay here?"

"What?"

"Why stay here on Asgard. It doesn't matter if we live here, or in the palace, or in any of the other estates we have seen, they can still reach us."

"You are suggesting that we leave Asgard?"

Sigyn thought for a moment. Was that what she was really suggesting? Yes, yes it was.

"Run away with me. If the War Council wants us, they are going to have to chase us down."

"Chase us down where? Where would we run to?" Loki pressed.

"I don't know. Somewhere, anywhere!"

"There is nowhere in the Nine Realms where they wouldn't be able to reach us with little difficulty." Loki pointed out.

Sigyn sighed. Loki was right… or was he?

"Jotunheim." She breathed.

"Jotunheim?" Loki asked in surprise. "You cannot be serious Sigyn. We wouldn't last ten minutes in Jotunheim."

"You might take to it better than you think, and besides, it is the one place in the Nine Realms where the War Council cannot follow. We could leave this all behind us, we could truly be free."

"We would never be free in the wastelands of Jotunheim, or any other Realm. We would always be glancing over our shoulder in fear…"

"We are already doing that."

"But better to be doing it here, where we have some friends and family, than to be in a strange land completely alone. Besides, could you truly leave your family behind like that?"

Sigyn felt her shoulders sag a little. Loki brought up a good point. If they ran off she would never have the chance to say goodbye to her family, and she couldn't live with that. She couldn't deprive her parents of yet another child in such a cold manner. Loki scooted behind her and gently pulled her back to rest her head on his chest. They both looked out over the ocean again, and Loki let his chin rest atop her head.

"If anyone can think their way out of this mess, it is us." He assured.

"Is there a way out of it?" Sigyn quietly asked, her mind replaying everything they had discovered that day.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that the Norns seem to have already decided that we can never have a happy ending." She explained.

Loki was probably about to scold her for thinking that anything they had seen today pertained to them, but their food arriving from the village interrupted the conversation. They ate their dinner silently, and then watched as the sun set and the stars rose. They lay on the blanket hand in hand for quite some time, but Sigyn did eventually roll on top of him.

"We should probably head to bed soon. We have an early start tomorrow, so it would be best if we were well rested." She noted.

Loki smiled up at her.

"How soon is soon?"

"Mmm I don't know… soon? Why?"

"Because someone made me take a nice long nap today, and I'm not tired yet."

"I see. That is a small problem."

"It depends on how you define 'problem' I suppose." Loki returned before rolling over so that Sigyn was below him.

Sigyn gave her husband a smile and a welcoming kiss before letting him take control. He was gentle, yet fervent as he took her under the stars. Sigyn was neither in control nor out of it. This coupling was a true give and take in which both Loki and Sigyn were one in heart, body, and mind. They had recklessly abandoned themselves to the cold night, but the motions of their bodies kept them warm. By the time they had each come undone in the others arms their hearts beat in unison, and neither wished to be the first to leave the other's embrace.

"I love you Sigyn, and I will love you even after the Nine Realms crumble." Loki murmured into her ear.

Sigyn unintentionally stiffened ever so slightly. Did Loki realize what he had just said? She highly doubted that he knew he had just quoted part of the note they had found that afternoon.

"As will I love you." She returned softly.

They laid under the stars for a few more minutes before heading to their bedchambers. Sleep descended quickly upon Sigyn, but it only led to a familiar nightmare. Guards drug here through the halls of this very estate, but it was Hel who met them at the door instead of a third guard.

"They're here." She whispered.

Sigyn shot up out of bed, and Loki sat up right after.

"Sigyn?"

"They're here."

"Who?"

"I don't know." She breathed.

She quickly jumped out of bed and began to dress in her riding kit and cloak.

"Sigyn, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to check around."

"For what!? Sigyn, there isn't anyone here."

"Then you shouldn't mind me going to take a look." She returned.

Loki gave a frustrated sigh, but slid out of bed and slipped his tunic over his head.

"I'll go with you." He remarked as he put his boots on.

Loki grabbed a couple of daggers and slid them into the top of his boot, and Sigyn did the same. Armed and ready to go, the pair slid out of their chamber and into the hallway. They meandered the dark corridors looking for any sign that someone might have entered the estate, but they found nothing. Despite not seeing anything or anyone, Sigyn still felt uneasy. Hel had warned her of this mysterious "they" twice in one day, and Sigyn couldn't just write that off. She unconsciously began to play with the green gem that hung around her neck in concern.

"Are you satisfied that there isn't anyone here Sigyn?" Loki finally asked as they came to stand in front of their chamber door.

"No, something isn't right, I can feel it."

"You're just tried is all…" Loki excused before fixating his glance on Sigyn's necklace.

"Is something the matter, Loki?" She asked as he continued to stare at the gem.

"No, no. Everything is fine. I thought… my eyes are playing tricks on me. I suppose I could use a little more sleep as well." He returned with a smile.

Sigyn knew that smile however. Something had startled Loki, and now he was trying to cover up for it. She quickly looked down at her necklace, but nothing seemed to be wrong with it. Loki opened the door to their room, but before he could enter a cloaked man pushed out of the door with his dagger brandished. Loki took the brunt of the man's momentum, but Sigyn was sent staggering backwards as well. She hit the ground, but recovered in time to see Loki wrestling with the attacker. She pulled her dagger to go to her husband's aid, but was grabbed around the waist by someone from behind. Instinctively, she rammed her head back into her captor, and she was greeted with a cracking sound as her skull came into contact with their nose. The person, whom she assumed to be a man, let go and she turned while slicing her dagger upwards. She caught the man across his forearms and hands as he shielded his face. Without hesitation, she kicked him in the stomach, and when he collapsed over she kicked him in the face. She could hear the crunching sounds as her boot made contact with his already broken nose, and the man slumped over. He didn't move as his body hit the ground, but she didn't have time to see if she had killed him or not as someone grabbed her wrist from behind. She turned with every intention of striking, but it was Loki who caught her arm before her knife could make contact with him.

"To the stable, now." He instructed.

Sigyn glanced behind him to see his attacker face first on the ground, and she caught sight of a red mark on the man's cloak.

"Thurisaz?" She asked as they began to run to the stable. "Why do they have that rune on their cloaks?"

"I'll explain it to you later." Loki replied.

Another attacker tried to block their path, but Loki threw his dagger straight into the man's heart without missing a stride.

"Do they work for the Council?" She managed to ask.

"No, but as you might have guessed they aren't fond of me."

Another three men came out of the shadows, and Sigyn and Loki were forced to face them. Loki smoothly took on two of them at once, while the third one came for her. As Sigyn avoided the man's attacks, she couldn't help but get the feeling that he wasn't trying to kill her. He was aiming for her pressure points and other non-vital spots. He was trying to abduct her. Unfortunately for him, she felt no need to avoid his vital areas, and she finally managed to drive her dagger into his abdomen. She turned just in time to see Loki land a turning kick to one of his foes heads while slicing the other one up and across the face. He didn't pause to finish his work, but nodded in the direction of the stable. The pair ran as fast as they could the rest of the way there. There wasn't any time to saddle their horses, so it was fortunate they were both capable bareback riders. Sigyn was on Roan before Loki could mount his horse. He quickly came to her side and took her hand.

"Ride to the garrison at the village. They will be able to protect you."

"Where are you going?" She asked in concern.

"I'm going to draw them away from you. I'll meet you at the garrison when I have lost them."

Sigyn leaned down and kissed Loki hard before spurring Roan out of the stable. She didn't look back till she began to hear hoofbeats behind her. She snuck a glance over her shoulder and spotted two men on horseback behind her. She turned to face ahead of her just in time to see another rider headed her way. She quickly turned Roan out of the path of the third rider, and began to lead all three of her pursuers towards the village. Surely they would give up the chase when she neared the little town. They were making no progress on her as she galloped across the open plain. She was almost on the road to the village when she heard a whirring sound. She felt the pain of the arrow in her left shoulder before she saw the shooter come out of hiding from alongside the road. Searing pain spread along her arm and shoulder as she continued to ride. She had Roan begin to swerve to try to avoid another arrow from the archer, but the zig zag route along with her injured shoulder slowed her progress. The three riders behind her were catching up. Sigyn heard a second and third whir, and Roan gave out a frightening whinny. He bucked up, and Sigyn was just barely able to keep herself from being thrown from his back. A fourth arrow found its mark right next to the first arrow that had landed in Sigyn's shoulder, and a fifth struck Roan. There was nothing Sigyn could do this time to keep from falling off of his back, and she hit the ground hard. Her vision swam from the pain of the two arrows lodged in her shoulder, and the impact from the fall. Roan was lying on the ground next to her, wheezing painfully. Sigyn moaned in pain as she crawled over to her precious horse. She stroked his mane comfortingly as she tried to come up with some plan to save them. Unfortunately, there was no time for planning. The three riders had reached her, and the bow man was almost to them as well. One of the men dismounted and approached her. She stealthily grabbed her dagger and when the man bent down to grab her, she struck at him with it. The rider saw her clumsy attack coming and easily disarmed her. He grabbed her around the waist, and Sigyn let out a cry as he jostled her wounded shoulder. One of the other riders dismounted and approached them. The man holding her gripped onto her upper arms tightly, and the other man grasped one of the arrows in his hand. Without warning, he broke the shaft off, while still leaving the arrowhead lodged in her shoulder. Sigyn let out a gasp of pain, and then he broke the second arrow shaft as well. The bow man had reached the group by this point, and before Sigyn could plead for him not to, he shot a final arrow into Roan's head. Sigyn let out a scream, but was quickly silenced by the man who was holding her. A gag was tied around her mouth, and she was then hoisted up onto one of the horses. The men were far from gentle with her, and blood streamed down from her two wounds. The pain was too much for her to handle as they began to gallop off, and the world around Sigyn quickly faded away.

The next time Sigyn opened her eyes, the sun was just about to rise. She tried to move, but realized that she was unable to. As she came to her senses, she realized that she was lying on a large stone slab with her hands and ankles chained to it. She was just barely able to move her head from side to side, but what she found lying next to her on the slab was troubling. A knife. This could only mean one of two things. Either these men intended to torture her, or kill her… or perhaps both. Sigyn closed her eyes and swallowed hard. She was strong. She could handle this. Pain was fleeting. All she needed to do was hold out till Loki came for her, and she knew he would come for her. He obviously knew who these men were, so he would know where to search. She lay on the stone for at least another ten minutes with her eyes closed before she heard footsteps. She opened her eyes to see about half a dozen men standing near the stone slab. Their hoods were pulled low so she couldn't see their faces, and two of them approached the slab on either side. One of them was carrying a chalice, and he held it against her lips.

"Drink this." He commanded in a low tone.

Sigyn turned her head away. She had no intention of following her captor's orders. The man on the other side of the stone grabbed her head however, and turned it to face the chalice again. The metal was cold against her lips, but she still refused to part them.

"It is so you won't feel it." The man stated as if that was supposed to encourage her to drink.

Feel what? She wondered to herself silently. That is when the image of the knife reentered her mind. Her blood began to run cold. They were going to kill her, but they didn't want her to feel the pain. What was going on here? The man with the chalice gave a slight head nod to the man holding her head, and he forced her mouth open. Sigyn tried to spit the liquid out as it was poured in, but a good amount of it made it down her throat. Her mind grew fuzzy and her body began to tingle. Panic began to sweep over her as she tried without success to fight whatever drug had been administered to her. Her vision began to swim, but not before she noticed a very familiar sight. Two ravens were flying overhead. Her temper began to flare as she watched the birds soar. Odin was watching. A blindfold was placed over her eyes and her body began to shake violently. The sound of the knife being sharpened reached Sigyn's ears, and her fury grew. She was going to be murdered under Odin's watch, without getting to say goodbye to Loki, or her family. These men had cruelly killed Roan, whom she had raised. She hated these men, and she hated Odin. They all deserved to die, and if she had to come back from the grave itself to bring that death she would. Her chest seemed to catch fire, and she sensed a power flow through her that she had never sensed before. She felt the tip of the dagger press against her sternum, and then it was lifted. She waited for the sudden pain of the blade to split her chest, but instead she felt a different phenomenon. The power growing within her suddenly seemed to burst forth, and she heard the dagger clatter onto the stone next to her. All was still and silent for a moment, and then darkness.