If you haven't already, please take the poll on my profile regarding a possible sequel. Your opinion matters! I don't want to write a story that nobody will read. Alternately, if you don't have a FF account, just mention your preference in a review.

I'll make my final decision within the next few days—let's say by the time I publish the final chapter. I'll include an A.N. at the end of Chapter 24 telling all of you if I'm writing a sequel, and if so, what it is.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

"You did what?"

Darcy giggled. She had never seen Loki's eyes go so wide, or his eyebrows furrowed in such an exaggerated way. "I broke into your room and memorized some of the spells in your books," she said cheerfully, sitting on his cot with a little bounce. "I brought one of the statues to life and I made the garden grow like crazy and attack the frost giants." She grinned, her eyes glazing over. "It was awesome."

"Suicidal, more like it," Loki sputtered. "Have you any idea how dangerous that was? You could have been killed."

"Yeah," Darcy said, her smile fading, "that was what Sif said when she saw what I was doing." Her eyes twinkled. "But, damn, you should have been there. It was literally the coolest thing I have ever done."

Loki sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in what Darcy could only assume was the godly equivalent of a face-palm. He lowered his hand to look at her severely. "That still doesn't answer how you managed to get into my room."

"Oh, that," Darcy said breezily. "I just walked in the front door." Loki raised a skeptical eyebrow. She sighed. "Okay, first I got through the enchantments. But those weren't that bad. It just kind of mind-raped me for a few minutes until I answered the riddle."

Loki laughed humorlessly. "Mind-rape sounds about right," he said flatly. "I designed those enchantments to test the limits of the humanoid mind, to force anyone who entered to face the darkest parts of their soul." He looked at Darcy with something between awe and suspicion. "You either cheated, or you managed to laugh in the face of fear, control your emotions to the point that you stopped a panic attack, and answer a very complex riddle." He paused, frowning. "And you found my books."

"Laugh in the face of fear," Darcy said slowly. Her face lit up. "Of course. That was what set me free. There were these snakes all over me, and a funny thought crossed my mind. I started giggling."

"Ah," Loki said softly. "So dumb luck." He gestured for her to continue. "And the second enchantment? The sensory deprivation and the panic hex?"

Darcy's face darkened. "That one was worse. I..." She bit her lip. "I started getting all these scary ideas stuck in my head. I thought that you had betrayed us all. I thought that you had been lying to me all along. But then I told my brain to be quiet. I reasoned my way out of that enchantment." She fell silent. Loki took her hand and laced his fingers with hers. Darcy gave him a little half-smile, and shook her head as if to brush away the memories. "I'm sorry. The second spell was...scary."

"What about the riddle?" Loki asked hurriedly. "How did you figure it out?"

She tilted her head. "It's funny," she said. "I can't really wrap my head around the idea, but...I think your doppelganger gave me a hint by not giving me a hint. As if the fact that he lied about helping me was the clue itself. But then...he wasn't lying, because he was actually giving me a hint..." She frowned. "Which means...?"

Loki laughed quietly. Darcy shot him a questioning look. He visibly fought to keep from smiling and failed miserably. "Sorry," he said, his lips twitching up at the corners in spite of his efforts. "You just make these weird little faces when you're thinking hard about something." He cleared his throat. "Please, go on."

She shook her head. "Oh, never mind. I don't think it can be explained, what I'm trying to understand."

"Yes, paradoxes can be quite paradoxicallike that," he said dryly. Darcy snorted. "So the fact that my doppelganger lied to you made some synapse in your mind connect, I take it?" She nodded.

"I had to think for a minute or two for a word that had the right number of syllables and letters. I felt like I was reliving elementary school, trying to think of long words that I never used for spelling tests. Oh," she added sheepishly, "by the way, when I got the book out, I kind of ruined your bed."

Loki narrowed his eyes in mock annoyance. "Yes, well, it was bound to happen at some point," he said, raising his eyebrows sarcastically.

Before Darcy could process what he was suggesting, much less come up with a suitably snarky reply, they were interrupted by a soft throat-clearing at the doorway. Darcy turned to look, Loki craning his head from the pillows to see their visitor.

Odin walked towards them, smiling. "I am glad to see that you two are the only ones not out of the infirmary yet," he said pleasantly.

"Just him, actually," Darcy said. "I'm perfectly fine, sir."

"Excellent," said Odin. "Then I'm sure you will both be curious to hear what I have uncovered in the time since your return to the palace."

Loki sat up suddenly, wincing slightly as the bandages wrapped around his chest shifted. Darcy belatedly made to help him with a bracing hand on his back as he struggled to sit upright. "Have you discerned how it is that I survived, father?" he asked.

"Indeed." Odin waved his hand at a large wooden chair sitting by one of the other cots and it slid to Loki's bedside with a quiet sliding sound. He sat down in it and folded his hands as he leaned forward, as if to convey some wonderful secret without telling the room at large. He turned first to Darcy. "Lady Darcy, did Loki explain the nature of the Thrice Blood spell to you?"

She frowned. "Uh, yeah, a bit. Something about the bridge connecting three worlds with three different kinds of magic, and needing blood from three different realms. But I don't know how he did the spell, or how the magic works or anything..."

Odin held a hand up. "That's quite alright. Knowing the mechanics of magic is not necessary to understand this explanation. You seem to have a fairly good grasp of the basic principle." He turned to Loki. "I have discovered, after much reading and searching of old texts, that the Thrice Blood spell serves another purpose, beyond that of healing magical wounds."

Loki's eyes narrowed. "What purpose?" he said cautiously.

"Nothing dangerous," Odin amended quickly, "nothing of the sort. Indeed, the second purpose is precisely what saved your life." He looked back and forth between Loki and Darcy solemnly. "The Thrice Magic spell was the same enchantment originally used to create the Bifrost, as you know, but its purpose had nothing to do with healing whatsoever. Its original purpose was a spell of binding. It connected the three realms, with Asgard, as the source of the magic, in control of the Bifrost. Likewise," he continued, "the Thrice Blood spell..."

"Connects the three people," Loki murmured.

"Precisely." Darcy and Loki glanced at each other in unison; it was impossible to say which of them was more shocked-Darcy with her mouth hanging open, or Loki, eyebrows practically vanishing into his hairline, for once completely at a loss for words. "It seems that the two of you," Odin gestured between them, "are tied together by more than emotional attachment. As long as Darcy lives, you, Loki, cannot die."

"But I did die," Loki said sharply. "I must have. I stopped breathing. My heart stopped beating. I was unconscious from a few seconds after the General stabbed me until Darcy..."

"Touched you," she finished hesitantly. Her brow furrowed; Loki could practically see the thoughts swirling in her eyes as she replayed the events in her mind. "I put my hand over your heart, and a moment or two later it started beating again."

Odin stroked his beard, nodding. "Certain magic has been known to require physical contact to work," he said thoughtfully. "For instance, Midgardian lore tells of a half-giant who could not be killed whenever he came in contact with the earth, his mother, and though I do not know if that particular tale holds any truth, I know—as do you, Loki—that the Greek gods and goddesses do exist, and they are accounted for in the same set of myths. It is entirely feasible that the Thrice Blood spell would operate in the same manner as Gaia's enchantment upon her son."

"I hope it does," Darcy murmured fervently. Loki narrowed his eyes.

"What," he said, "were you planning on killing me at some point?"

"No," Darcy said, shaking her head. "Loki, think: who else gave you blood?"

His face fell. "Damn. I didn't think of that." He grimaced. "Well, as long as I don't go touching the frosty bastard, I don't think that should be a problem."

"Quite apart from that," Odin interrupted, "the bond is not mutual. The spell was designed to give Asgard the ability to travel between the realms, but the inverse is not true. The jotun could not use the Bifrost to travel to Asgard." He frowned. "I'm afraid, Lady Darcy, that you are just as susceptible as any other mortal to death, as is the General. And, unfortunately, Loki, by extension, will die when you do."

Loki slumped against his pillows, suddenly looking drawn and paler than usual. Darcy grimaced. "Thank you, All-Father, sir. I, uh, think Loki needs to sleep on this a little bit."

"Of course," Odin said, smiling as he rose to his feet. "Returning from the dead is quite a lot to take in over the course of one conversation. Rest, my son. I imagine Thor would be highly displeased if you missed the feast in your honor."

The moment Odin left the room, Loki sat upright, all the weariness leaving his face. Darcy frowned. "What was that about?" she asked curiously as he rearranged his pillows so he was seated fully upright in the bed.

"I had to give him a reason to leave us alone for a few minutes," he explained. It may have been a trick of Darcy's imagination, but his words seemed to be coming out in a hurry, as if they were stumbling over each other in his rush to speak. He took Darcy's hands in his, and looked at her—no, it couldn't be, she thought to herself.

He looked nervous. What the hell? He's never nervous. At least…he never shows it. What the fuck is he thinking that's got him so worked up?

"This," he began, "this spell puts a bit of a new spin on our, uh, relationship. Our lives are bound to each other. It seems that I am not truly immortal anymore. I can only live as long as you do. And, as you probably understand, I want to live as long as possible."

Darcy nodded slowly, studying his face for some hint of where he was trying to go. "That makes sense," she said.

Loki licked his lips anxiously before speaking again. "There is a way for me to become truly immortal again," he said hesitantly. "It…involves you becoming immortal." He chuckled dryly. "And, er, there's really only one way for a mortal to become…not mortal."

Darcy blinked, not understanding.

Loki sighed. "Marriage," he said. "When a god or goddess marries a mortal, the mortal becomes a god or a goddess as well." He met her eyes, and she saw that his eyes were the same, deep-green shade they had been after he kissed her for the first time. He looked almost childish, as if he were just as confused and innocent as her. "I'm asking you to marry me," he said, unnecessarily.

Darcy's head spun, her heart racing. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu—

"I—" she stammered, "I—don't think I can. That…that's just not how we do it on Midgard anymore."

"Of course," Loki burst out. "I knew I was forgetting something." Wincing, he slid so that his legs hung off the edge of the cot, and tentatively lowered himself to the ground.

"What?" Darcy asked, baffled.

Loki held up a finger. "Hold on," he said, closing his eyes as if focusing very hard on something. "There we go," he said after a moment, removing his other hand from behind his back to reveal a small, green box. He shifted uncomfortably so that he was on one knee.

Oh no…

"Darcy Lewis," he said, his voice no longer shaking, but confident and much closer to its usual velvety tone, "will you marry me?"

She bit her lip, willing herself not to cry though her eyes began brimming with tears. It was beautiful—the look on his face, the utter sincerity in his eyes…the small band of white gold with tiny insets of opals. As she stared at it, she realized that the opals were the eyes to a pair of serpents, entwined in a delicate heart, kissing each other.

She closed her eyes. "I can't," she whispered softly. She couldn't open her eyes; she couldn't see the broken look that she knew would be flitting across Loki's face when she did. "I just…I don't know you that well," she said quietly. "It's not…No, that's wrong," she stammered, opening her eyes. "I do know you. And…I'm pretty sure I love you. But it's all so new. We've only known each other for a few weeks. We've only been together for two days, and even that isn't…it isn't really…official yet." She put her hand on Loki's cheek to comfort him. She felt like she was going to bawl at the adorably confused, hurt look on his face. "What I'm really trying to say is," she said hesitantly, "is not no. Just…not yet."

"Oh," he said, sighing. He seemed on the verge of collapsing with relief. "Yes," he said shakily, making the green box disappear with a flick of his finger as he pulled himself back up on to the bed. "That sounds…entirely reasonable. Of course. Most of the time we've known each other, I haven't even been courting you properly." He made a face. "I, er, apologize for putting you on the spot like that. I think I've rather made a fool of myself."

Darcy kissed him. When they broke apart, Darcy smiled broadly. "Can you make a fool of yourself more often? I think it's cute."

Loki sputtered, every hint of vulnerability vanishing from his face as it contorted into a disdainful scowl. "Cute?"

Darcy smiled innocently and stood up. "I should leave before you jinx me or turn me into something unnatural."

"Unnatural? A fluffy little bunny, more like it," Loki scoffed. As Darcy left the room, she thought she heard him muttering something to himself. "What is it with mortal girls and their ability to turn gods so soft? Cute. Honestly…"