The flattened copse of trees and the broken bodies of his soldiers bear witness to the short battle that had taken place and it is all that greets Malekith when he arrives. The trail of destruction speaks of a sorcerer's magic that had rushed back to its master and in doing so, cut a clumsy path that otherwise would not be there.
Perhaps he has truly underestimated the depths of Loki Laufeyson's sorcery and skills. If the Trickster had been restrained in the initial fight with the first son of Odin and his consort, the fey, recognisable residue is rude testament to the fact that he is neither bound nor useless any longer.
In his near-sightedness, he had failed to see what his master had always seen and intended.
From across the realms, Malekith takes his master's call and summons the son of Laufey.
oOo
In the fading light of the day, the feasting hall is empty where it should have been filled with the raucous laughter of Asgardians who impatiently await their evening meal.
Never has Thor seen a sadder sight.
Sighing softly, he pulls himself into one of the chairs and sinks down, taking comfort in its hardness and the sheer familiarity of its position in the hall. As the light of the stars grow more brilliant, he gets lost in the fond memories that assail him of this place, of the times when the overflowing mead had brought about behaviour from him and the Warriors Three that was best kept from his mother's ears…or of the time when Loki had-
A sudden, sharp pang forms in his chest at his brother's name. Thor thinks back to the time when he thought Loki fell into the void and how far into the depths of despair he'd fallen.
And then he wishes, not for the first time, that he knew a way to fix all that had been wrong between them from the very start. Wishes that he'd been less oblivious to his younger brother's perceived failings when as he'd excelled so naturally in sorcery than in the training of a warrior, or that he'd not felt as put out as he'd been as boys when Loki hadn't shown an affinity for the sword as he did.
But there's so much he admires in his brother: Loki's formidable will, the utter brilliance that he shows, the wit and the intellect that he can never hope to match, the deadly grace that never seems to leave him in battle as he despatches their enemies with ruthless efficiency-
All he wants is for Loki to be by his side again as much as he knows how treacherous his adopted brother is.
If there's a regret that Thor will never stop having, it's that he'd shouted his disdain for all Frost Giants and for his quickness to war with Jotunheim when these careless words had cost him more than a banishment to Midgard. Instead, the horror he'd felt when Odin had finally revealed the truth of Loki's Jotun birth hadn't compared to the great loss he knew when Loki had fallen into the void and into the hands of Thanos.
Even though stung by Loki's many betrayals, he'd never stopped nursing the flickering hope that he would one day, see the brother that he thought he'd known again. With that hope dashed away after Loki's attack on Midgard, he was convinced that he would have slain the Silvertongue himself if he'd shown the slightest trace of duplicity in Svartalfheim. Yet all it had taken was Jane and Loki's disappearance to cause him to rethink his actions.
Thor realises now that he is truly unwilling to mourn his brother for a second time. For that, he has to believe that Loki's devious resourcefulness – and his penchant for duplicity – will serve him well.
The cruel irony of it all leaves a bitter aftertaste in his throat.
The sound of a chair being gently moved from his right pulls Thor from his morose thoughts. It has been millennia since Heimdall has moved from his position at the Observatory as keeper of the Bifrost and his unlikely presence in the hall makes Thor blink in surprise. It's only then that he notices the deep weariness and the lines have all but wiped the usual placid serenity from the guardian's face. Even the golden sheen of Heimdall's armour and his fierce, golden eyes seem more muted, more sombre as parts of Asgard lie in ruins.
Is the lone being who sits next to him the one whom he knows to be indestructible and all-seeing, second only to the All-father?
"Tell me, what do your eyes see, Heimdall?" He asks more out of habit and ritual than necessity. There seems to be little that has changed in the time that he had been away.
A small, humourless smile temporarily erases the sternness of the keeper's face as he fingers the hilt of his sword lightly.
"I see a prince who returns from Svartalfheim more lost than when he left."
Thor acknowledges the wry answer with a chuckle. The journey back to Asgard had been long and arduous and only Mjolnir's tracking ability had pointed out the complex labyrinth of roads that the Svartalfar use to join their realm to others. He'd returned to Asgard with little of his strength left and needing a solitary moment of peace and quiet, had simply not sought out the queen or his closest friends.
What was he to say when he saw them? That he'd failed in this mission, or that he'd failed Jane and Loki…once again?
"Malekith has Jane and Loki. And I couldn't find them. I tried and I failed," Thor finds himself saying to Heimdall, unwilling to keep the burden to himself any longer. "I've failed in my role, as guardian, as protector, as someone who should have known better!"
"There is much bitterness in you, young prince," Heimdall observes. "Yet-"
"There is much bitterness in failure," he counters sharply.
"Hear me out, son of Odin," the guardian continues, unheeding of the impatience he hears in Thor's voice. "I had foreseen the armies of Malekith in the distance as they marched for Asgard. It was I who held off the first wave of attack from the Bifrost. Yet I cannot see where your brother and his mortal companion are."
Thor snaps his head up, seeking those unworldly eyes. The keeper's words are both a balm to his parched self and a teasing appetiser that leaves him wanting more.
"But you know that they live still?" He asks urgently, feeling his heartbeat double at the unexpected revelation.
There is a deliberate pause before Heimdall answers. "The Odin-force binds many living beings in a tapestry that is forever unfinished. Yet I have not felt the threads that hold the lives of your brother and the mortal break."
Relief, heavy and weighty, sweeps through him like one of the thundering winds that Mjolnir creates.
"That's good to know. I can only hope that Jane is-" He breaks off and purses his lips until they become a thin line, hugely vexed at the thought that she might find herself harmed by Loki's hand. As much as his adopted brother had been raised with the manners befitting a prince of Asgard, Thor knows Loki well enough not to expect anything good to come out of that meeting.
Had his insistence on Jane making the journey to Svartalfheim inadvertently doomed her when all he'd intended was to keep her safe by his side? As much as Thor knows that Jane Foster's place is not with the Aesir or with him for that matter, her welfare is another guilty burden that he will carry until he sees her safe and sound once again.
A heavy but insistent hand falls on his shoulder and Thor looks up to see the flare of fire in the guardian's golden orbs.
"There are bigger things that we must contend with, son of Odin. We face an enemy known only to a few...known only to one, until now."
Thor lifts his head in interest. "You speak about an ancient foe."
"Even the second prince's ambition cannot match his power. The armies of Malekith march in his name."
Heimdall's words bring back the memory of his recent ordeal with Algrim in the molten lake and he grimaces, unwilling to dwell on the heat of the flames-
Thor sits up in shock, remembering Malekith's increased strength and his unforeseen affinity with fire. As the second go by, these realisations coalesce into a single surety. There had been myths and rumours – no, stories, really – that had circulated in Asgard since time immemorial of the days when Ginnungagap separated Niflheim and Muspelheim…of a great evil that had submitted to Odin's power in a great battle that had finally brought peace to the Realm Eternal.
He wishes now, that he'd paid closer attention to these tales.
If a more terrifying spectre than Malekith has finally raised its head, then it could only be-
"Surtur of Muspelheim. You speak about Surtur." His deduction earns him a grim nod.
"His name has not been spoken for ages past."
Odin still sleeps as destruction rages about them. His father knows many things and it's his power alone that might be sufficient to combat this ancient evil that still remains caged. How much time did they have on their side before Surtur was unleashed upon them? Could they form an alliance with the leaders of the Nine perhaps, if they haven't already been conquered and subdued? Was it too late or were they on their own?
"Stories speak of Father's battle with Surtur and his subsequent imprisonment in the heart of Midgard. Until now, I was never sure if they were merely tall tales spun to entertain bored Aesir," Thor muses. "What can we do, Heimdall?"
Heimdall says nothing, but the troubled look on his face is telling.
"What will it take?" Thor presses more urgently, desperate for answers.
"I cannot tell you what you want to hear, son of Odin. I will only trust you to do what is best for us. There is however, one thing I know: the solution that we seek will cost us much, perhaps even too much."
A/N: Not to worry, Loki and Jane (for the shippers who read this) will return in the next chapter and it wouldn't be too long a wait, I promise. Thanks always, for reading and reviewing - you brighten my day.