(SIGYN)

What more would another two weeks mean? Little, I imagined, and part of me wondered if he sensed it like the Vanir. Was he unsure if I knew because I hadn't said anything? Perhaps this was the reason for his rush to wed. Other women might've let it spill from their lips at the first quiet moment, and I hadn't.

Not that we had any more of those once he declared we would depart immediately for The Don City. Loki took to the front with the seven other sorcerers and Freyr, who led the way with a stern coldness. Grid insisted on joining us, so she kept me company at the back; having been only the second time in recent history that I'd ever ridden a horse, I was grateful that we took a slower pace. Not knowing where we were made time linger. Two days would pass like a week.

The first moonrise felt later than normal, though it likely was a side effect of my wanting to stop. I hadn't been plagued by constant nausea in a few days, but I certainly didn't want to make a mess and a fool of myself in front of so many people. Grid was one thing, but the whole troupe? She was mercifully silent and didn't try to engage me in pointless conversation. Perhaps she read my mind instead of needing me to say how conflicted I was.

I should've been happy—ecstatic, even. Loki, my husband?

The very thought sent a shiver up my spine and down to my toes, which the horse sensed as a command to jolt forward. I startled with a gasp and pulled back on the reins, keeping him from charging out of my control.

"You alright?" Grid asked, stopping next to me. The men ahead hardly noticed we were there in the first place, so none of them cared that we lagged behind.

"Yes...no...forgive me, I still can't believe we're on the road when Loki only woke up last night. It doesn't quite feel like reality." I put my hand over my heart while I breathed and listened to the cheery birdsongs that hadn't changed since we left the fortress. The creatures grounded me and helped make the whole realm feel as though it were protected behind the stone walls I knew so well.

"Did you think he'd want to stay at the village?" Grid asked in the same incredulous tone Loki had when I questioned his wish to leave.

"It's not that. It's the speed. We covered much ground when we first arrived because we had no other choice or refuge. Now?" I shrugged. "And marriage...with what we left behind in Asgard, I'm shocked with his insistence."

Grid nodded toward the men ahead to encourage us to follow, but she kept the small talk going. "What did you leave behind?"

"A man. A soldier." I chittered at the horse to move along, which he thankfully did without another jolt. "Months I was with him, and in many ways, Theo was a very good man. Would've made a good husband to anyone else. Loki...he's unpredictable and always has been. He was jealous of what I had with Theo."

She squinted. "And you chose the imp anyway?"

I snickered at her jibe, which was an appropriate assessment of Loki's nature. Yet as I recalled his stolen glances, friendly smiles as False Odin, and the last night in the bell tower where he confessed his affection, my chest swelled with a buzz of warmth. "If you ask Loki, he says we chose each other. He's not wrong. The short version is, Theo wished to marry me, but I didn't feel the same. And...and now that I think of all Loki said after I'd broken Theo's heart, marriage was on his mind, even then. He fantasized about marrying me in disguise so no one else could stake a claim."

"Certainly sounds like it's been brewing, then." Grid simpered. "You can't say it's too much of a surprise."

"I suppose not."

She let the time pass silently again, and I dove into nostalgic thoughts that carried with them the lovely lift of romance I once felt in Asgard for my secret prince. Our conversations played over and over in my mind, and more than once I laughed out loud, unable to suppress the joy for any memory of him tickling and teasing me. We had fun together; it wasn't all heartache and drama. He was what I wanted in the end. Even though he was preoccupied with the other sorcerers at that moment, the Don City journey was for the two of us.

Well. At least two of us, anyway.

When we stopped to make camp, the sorcerers gathered in their own circle while I sat beside Grid and Freyr, who remained annoyed and quiet. Loki stayed with the men, showing off some of his skills and flashing with bright green as he appeared in different attire all around them. Their awe was silent, but wide eyes and curious nods said enough.

Loki's laughter was nothing like what he shared with me in private moments. This was a show. His insecurities shone through in how he became someone else in front of them, playing for their approval and admiration. He'd earned it in spades but kept going, unable to rest and remaining heightened.

I whispered to Freyr, "Shouldn't he be conserving at least some of his energy? I can't imagine he is perfectly well so soon."

"Aye, he should. But he won't listen to me." He threw something in the small fire before us that crackled and barely released his frustration.

"What's making you so cross?"

Freyr sighed. "How well do you know him, Sigyn?"

An odd answer. "A decent amount, I imagine."

"You sure?" He narrowed his eyes as he glanced at me. "Enough to trust his word?"

I returned his suspicious expression. "What are you implying?"

Loki interrupted our small conversation, finally joining the three of us. "On schedule to reach it tomorrow evening, Uncle? Or should we expect another night under these stars?"

Freyr grumbled and stood to walk away. "Tomorrow evening. I'm turning in now."

"But you've barely had supper," I said, too anxious to hear what he had to say to let him leave so quickly.

"I'm afraid my appetite has disappeared. Goodnight." He continued on his way without so much as waving at us or the other sorcerers before disappearing into his blue tent in the trees, made of a thin blanket propped on a few choice branches. Not private, but no one would dare disturb him.

"Loki, will you please sit?" I asked, scooting myself to the right on the large log below so he'd know I wanted him next to me.

He joined me, but his knees bounced without end. "I'm glad we did not delay our departure. No time to waste."

Grid cleared her throat and stood, too, inching her way toward Freyr's direction while making small curtseys at us. "I'll leave you now. Goodnight, Sigyn. Loki."

"Goodnight, Grid," I said, and my heart jumped to my throat with the fact we'd be alone. It was a gift of opportunity.

Loki picked up a few hardened seed pods from the ground and tossed them one by one into the fire, not even flinching when the water inside made them burst. He stared straight ahead.

It was a good moment, perhaps even the right moment to be brave, but his attitude chilled me. The sour taste of judgment filled the air. At his side, I felt unwelcome and as though he were annoyed with me, like my mere presence was inconvenient. He had no interest in talking with me. Hadn't kissed me since we left. Hadn't tried to hold my hand. Hadn't cared about my discomfort with the horses. Didn't bother to—

Nonsense. The brain fog of my pregnancy wouldn't make me overemotional and paranoid if I had anything to say about it. I gently touched his thigh and pressed down so he'd know it was intentional. "Perhaps we can discuss these plans a bit?"

He turned his head so quickly, it added to my worry that he was on edge. "What's to discuss?"

"Well, the whole ordeal is incredibly sudden."

"Isn't it what you want? Weren't our many plans dependent on you staying by my side?"

I swallowed hard at his harshness. "I wasn't aware we'd made any plans. My concern since we came to Vanaheim was whether or not you'd still have a beating heart by harvest time. Less than a day later, we're engaged. Loki, you..."—turning my face to the ground, I hoped he wouldn't renege on his word—"...you didn't even ask."

He sighed. "Now, Sigyn—"

"If you feel I'm forcing your hand somehow, that is certainly not what I want. I want to be at your side because you and I care for each other, not because of...obligation." As soon as I said it, I knew my secret had to remain as such. If he didn't feel trapped already, this might push him over the edge. I desperately needed to know if the man I fell in love with felt the same for me alone.

It was only another excuse, but it took the mountain of weight off my shoulders to buy myself more time. "Truth be told, Lo, I'd rather not marry you if you're unsure in any way. I respect how much you value your freedom."

He knelt below me and raised my chin, as he always did, with a single finger. "All this means nothing if I am alone."

"Don't say that to appease me if you don't mean it."

"Ginny, no." He took my hands this time, staying on his knee. "There are many things in my life that are...uncertain. Perhaps I've been naïve in the past. But don't doubt my love for you. Please." His three-pulsed squeeze on my fingers echoed his sentiment. "We've come too far. I need you."

My chest was light again, filling with wings. "And I need you."

"Will you be my wife?" he asked, not blinking, showing me a panic of sorts behind his wide gaze. "Will you join me in The Don City, take my hand as I take yours, so we can see our future?"

"I will." My smile was involuntary, as was the anxious laugh that followed the quickening thumps of my heart. "Loki, Son of—"

"Don't say that. Not that." He stopped me with his hand. "My father is irrelevant, be it through blood or not."

I took his hand down. "That wasn't my aim."

His eyes narrowed.

"Loki, Son of Frigga," I said, caressing his face in our usual affection, "your wife I will become."

He smiled with closed lips while furrowing his brow. "Sigyn Eddasdottir, you honor me with every word."

"As you deserve."

Loki offered me a soft kiss, infused with the kind of sweetness I felt from him the night before, which gave me hope that the future he spoke of would be filled with moments such as this. So close to getting what we wanted. So close to moving past his pain and into real progress.

He pulled back and rested his forehead on mine to make me stop diving in. "A fortnight makes for such little time. I'll miss you until then."

"Excuse me?"

"It's best if we're apart until our wedding night," he said, kicking his head back to move some of his loose hair away from his face. There was no jest in his words, nor did I detect a hint of pain or regret for such a revelation.

"Apart? But—"

"Please understand, these people have traditions that we must honor. To partake in one means partaking in all of them. We'll be housed separately until we've made our vows." He locked his eyes with mine. "Promise me you'll trust this process and not let doubt take you away."

"I..." The very thought of spending time without him in a new place, a large place, was suffocating. "What will I do in that time without you?"

"You'll be fawned over by all the maidens in the city while I make council with the other sorcerers. There's much for me to learn about Vanaheim, and the sooner I know and understand it, the better it will be for both of us. Vanir folk celebrate marriage as a people before a couple does."

"Strange tradition," I grumbled, pulling my arms in against my chest tightly.

"If you want to make this realm your home, I must do this." He took my shoulders with a tight grasp, sending chills through me.

Do I know you enough to trust you? Or do I know you enough to doubt your motivations?

I pushed the seed of doubt Freyr planted aside. Giving Loki my word was an extension of my loyalty.

"So be it."