Well, here it is! The final chapter of my first ever complete story! I'm so excited that I finally finished one, you have no idea. So sorry about the wait, I'm in the middle of the toughest stretch of student teaching and it is BRUTAL, so I had no time to write. Thank you so much for reading – it means the world to me. Really. Let me know what you think of the finished product! I would really appreciate your overall impression. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I only own original characters – the rest belong to Marvel.

Chapter 18 - Family

No.

That one word filled Loki's mind as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. This lifeless body could not belong to Kiera. He had to be dreaming. Delusional. Anything. But this could not be real. She could not be dead.

No. No. No no no no no…

He stumbled to her side. His blistered hand shook as he swept her radiant blonde hair from her face. Her cheeks were pale – too pale even for her. Her eyes were closed and peaceful. He could tell at once that she was not breathing.

Loki took one of Kiera's tiny hands in his. Her hand was impossibly cold, though moments earlier it had been blasting a cannon of fire at the Demon army. Looking more closely, he could see black scorch marks on each one of her fingertips.

He sat for what seemed an eternity, unable to move, forgetting to breathe. He sensed movement next to him, wrenching him from his trance. Thor knelt beside him, a somber look upon his face.

"Kiera," Loki whispered, hoping against hope that the utterance of her name would bring her back, but she remained still.

"Kiera," he said it louder this time. Perhaps she could not hear him. His voice was strangled and weak-sounding. He cleared his throat and took her face between his hands. "Kiera, please."

"Brother," Thor placed a hand on Loki's shoulder.

"Kiera," Loki was angry now. "This is not a joke. Nobody is laughing. Get up." Loki grabbed her by the shoulders and tried to shake her awake, but she only sagged limply in his arms. "This is not funny, wake up! Are you listening to me, Kiera? WAKE UP!"

Loki scooped Kiera's lifeless body into his arms and clutched her to his chest. He pressed her cold forehead against his own and choked on a sob. He felt Thor's arm supporting him and let his tears flow freely.

The warriors in the hall stood frozen in place, some watching the scene unfold in horror, others looking at their boots and trying to make sense of what had happened. A tear slid down Frigga's cheek as she clung to Odin. Sif and the Warrior's Three stood in a group, their weapons hanging limp at their sides.

Loki reached up and ran his fingers through Kiera's blonde hair, willing it all to be a dream. He would wake up before the war, even before he had discovered he was a Frost Giant. None of it was real. It could not be real.

He turned to Thor, pleading with him to make what was in front of him make sense. Thor shook his head to say what words could not.

Loki closed his eyes, resolved to his new reality. He cupped Kiera's face in his hands, leaned down, and kissed her forehead tenderly.

"I love you."

Loki exhaled deeply, accepting. An immense sorrow and disbelief welled up in his chest. The anger and grief built. His face felt hot. Even Kiera's face felt hot…

Suddenly, Loki's eyes snapped open. He looked down at his hands, which were experiencing an intense tingling sensation. Kiera's face was glowing a brilliant yellow between Loki's hands, getting brighter and brighter by the second. Loki stared, not daring to believe what was happening, not daring to hope. Loki saw that every inch of Kiera's exposed skin held the same warm glow. Finally, the shimmering subsided.

"Kiera?" Loki stroked her cheek with his thumb. "Kiera?"

Kiera's eyes fluttered open.

Loki sat stunned for a moment before realizing Kiera was alive. She closed her eyes again and winced in pain. When she opened her eyes again, a tear fell from her eyes.

"I love you too."

Loki wrapped her up in a firm embrace. He could hear the shouts and applause that rang through the hall as the warriors realized what was happening. He pulled back and looked down at her to make sure he was not imagining this. She looked right back at him, beaming. Loki placed his hand behind her neck, pulled her in close, and kissed her, earning an appreciative whoop from the Warriors Three. He felt Kiera's fingers reach up and run through his hair, causing him to kiss her more passionately, not caring that dozens of people were watching.

Suddenly, a loud bang rocked the hall. For a moment, Loki feared that the Fire Demons had somehow returned. Then he noticed a newly-ablaze tapestry engulfed in yellow flames.

He looked down at Kiera, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, don't look at me!" Kiera said. "I just saved all your butts and one more fire won't kill anyone. And you! You were going to slit my throat!"

"Now, now, I was merely diverting Surtur's attention from the Tesseract. You are quite distracting, you know."

"Still, you could have told me," Kiera replied. "All you told me was not to move! How stupid are you?"

"I wanted your reaction to be genuine to add credibility to my plan," Loki said. "I am sorry if I frightened you."

"Frightened me?" Kiera laughed. "Try freaked the living snot out of me." She winced again, and flexed her hands. When she saw the state they were in and the black marks that covered them her eyes widened in shock.

Thor stood up. "Come, we must bring her to the healers. And you as well, Brother." He grasped Loki's hand, helping him to his feet, and smoothly swept Kiera into his arms. The three of them made their way toward the infirmary, Thor carrying Kiera, as the thunderous applause of the warriors echoed throughout the hall.

Days later, Kiera walked through the corridors toward Jadef's study. Her hands were wrapped in bandages that had to be replaced frequently because she kept accidentally setting them on fire. Everywhere she went people looked upon her with appreciation and respect, something she did not expect and was not used to. Being a servant from Midgard had never made her very noteworthy, much less admired by the people of the court. They had heard of her abilities, but had never seen them in action like they had during the battle. Kiera found she enjoyed her new fame, but preferred the quiet life. She had trouble finding time to herself and jumped at any chance she got to hang out with Thor or spend quality time with Loki.

Kiera arrived at the study and knocked. When nobody answered, she knocked again, louder this time. She heard shuffling and what sounded suspiciously like a stack of books falling to the ground before the door opened.

"Kiera!" Jadef said. "It is good to see you out and about."

Kiera laughed. "Yeah, the healers did a great job."

"Come in, please." Jadef stepped back to allow her inside. Kiera noticed a bandage covering his left ear.

"The healers thought it was singed beyond repair, but they assure me it will be fully healed in no time," Jadef said. "Until then, I might be a bit hard of hearing."

Kiera stepped inside and flopped down on a chair. "So, Jadef, you have some explaining to do."

"Do I?"

"Yes, you do." Kiera folded her arms across her chest and winced as she accidentally hit one of her injured hands on the arm of the chair. "Did you know all along?"

"Did I know what?"

"That my fire was more powerful than a normal Fire Demon?"

Jadef sighed. "As always, I…"

"…had your suspicions," Kiera finished for him. "But what made you so confident about that? Everyone could have been killed if you were wrong and my power didn't work."

"That is true," Jadef replied. "But I believe Loki saw it before I did. We all knew that your power is driven by love. The Fire Demons use hatred and anger to fuel their power."

"Yeah, but that still doesn't explain how you knew my power would be greater than hundreds of Fire Demons put together."

Jadef sat in a chair across from Kiera. "Ever since you arrived in Asgard I could tell there was something different about you. We all could, to be honest. You came from such oppression and adversity. Most people would fall prey to their circumstances and emerge bitter individuals. But you…you emerged hopeful for something better. All you wanted was to be loved. This shows enormous strength. That was my first indication that there was something special about you.

"Then, I saw what you could do with your fire. That was when I knew you were more than strong. Powers fueled by love are much more easily controlled than the negative emotions – anger, jealousy, and the like. You just needed some refinement to control it. You did not have much time, but you were forced to step up when it mattered most. As horrible as it was when Surtur was torturing Loki, I think it was exactly the push you needed to truly manifest your power. It was driven by love, but specifically, it was driven by love for the people around you."

Kiera blushed and covered her face with her hands. "Oh my goodness…"

"Please do not be embarrassed. To be frank, it was your love for Loki that saved Asgard."

Kiera looked at him, still slightly embarrassed, but understanding.

"How are your hands?"

Kiera looked down at her bandage-covered hands. "They're okay. I think they're healing. Just as long as the Demons don't come back any time soon we should be good."

She unwrapped the bandage on her left hand clumsily. She pulled back the bandage and showed Jadef her still blackened fingertips. "Why did this happen?"

"My theory is this," Jadef replied, taking her burned hand in his own. "You are half Fire Demon and half a mortal human. I have heard talk that the range of human emotion is such that if a human were to possess magical abilities of an emotional nature he or she would wield a greater power than most beings of other realms. Since this is a great rarity I have never had the privilege to see this theory in action. The power you exhibited in the great hall was more than you have ever shown in your lessons. However, I think your humanity could not handle the immense power of your fire in that moment."

"Will it heal?"

"It seems so. Have you been able to produce fire since the battle?"

Kiera smirked. "I keep accidentally burning the bandages off. The healers have redressed my hands almost fourteen times."

Jadef smiled. "You have been spending much time with Loki then?"

Kiera laughed. "You know way too much about my personal life for your own good."

"Ah, but you are involved with an Asgardian prince," Jadef replied. "Your personal life is no longer secret."

Kiera stood up and made her way to the door. She reached for the handle and hesitated.

"Jadef?"

"Yes, Kiera?"

Kiera turned around to face him. "Thank you. If it hadn't been for you, I never would have been able to do any of that. You're…like family to me."

Jadef crossed the room and wrapped her into a tight embrace.

Kiera was sorting through her books a few days later when a knock on the door startled her out of her trance.

"Who is it?" Kiera shouted, setting a book on her bookshelf. "Is that you, Thor?"

"Do not be silly, Kiera," Loki said, opening the door. "Thor never knocks."

Kiera sat up, her heart beating a little faster. "Well, don't wait for me to say you can come in or anything."

Loki smirked. "You mind?"

Kiera laughed. "No. What did Odin say?"

"He told me my actions during the war were enough to pardon me of my past transgressions."

"So, you're…"

"He will keep a close eye on me, of course, but I am no longer a criminal."

"Loki, that's great!"

"I cannot speak for how the people of Asgard will treat me."

"They'll be fine. Just give it some time."

Kiera noticed that the scarring on Loki's face from when Surtur had tortured him were finally beginning to heal. She found she had difficulty looking at him without being reminded of everything that had transpired. Somehow she felt personally responsible for his injuries. Had she trusted him and not revealed to Surtur that Loki was using a double he would not have been hurt.

Loki crossed over to where she stood by the bookshelf. "How are your hands?"

"They're almost healed. Here." She started to unwrap the bandage from around her left hand. Loki took her hand in his, sending a shiver up her spine from where his cold skin touched hers. He gently removed the bandage from around her hand.

"See?" Kiera said, showing him her hand. "The scorch marks are almost gone."

Loki touched the tender pink flesh where her skin had healed. They looked much better, but a little blackness remained around her fingernails, reminding them both of their ordeal during the battle in the Great Hall.

"How are you faring?" said Loki. He gently touched her fingertips as if he was trying to rub away the black.

Kiera shrugged. "I don't know." She paused, not knowing what to say.

"Hey," Loki took her chin in his hand and lifted her face so she was looking into his eyes. She fought the urge to look away. "What troubles you?"

"I…" Kiera took a deep breath. "I talked with Jadef a few days ago. He said I was only able to produce that level of magic because of you."

Loki looked puzzled. "Why is this worrisome to you?"

"It's not…" Kiera walked over to her bed and sat down. "I don't know. I guess it's just…I never thought anyone could love me. But you and Thor and Jadef and Niva…you're all so nice to me and even when everyone found out I was a Fire Demon that didn't change anything."

"What are you trying to say, Kiera?" Loki said, following her and sitting down beside her.

"What makes me so worth your love? Any of you? What makes me deserve it?"

Loki's eyes softened. "Any person who does not love you has no idea what they are missing."

He leaned over and kissed her. It was startling at first, but it only took a matter of moments for Kiera to relax and kiss him back. She shivered when his cold hand found the back of her neck. She wrapped her fingers in his black hair as the kiss got more passionate. She had to focus very hard not to set his hair on fire.

Suddenly, the door burst open. Kiera tried to break away and pretend nothing had happened, but Loki kept her close.

"Brother, you truly need to learn the art of knocking." Loki said, his hand still holding the back of Kiera's neck.

Thor ignored him. "I have come to see if the lady is faring well." He shot a smile at Kiera.

"I'm fine, Thor," Kiera said, giggling in embarrassment.

Thor sat down on the bed on the other side of Kiera, completely ignoring the look Loki was giving him.

"Everyone is talking about your prowess during the war, Kiera," Thor bellowed.

"Thor…" Loki said.

"They say your power rivals that of Mjolnir or any other great weapon of Asgard."

"Thor…"

"You must join the Warriors Three and lady Sif and me for dueling practice."

"THOR!"

Thor looked at Loki, puzzled by his outburst.

Loki rolled his eyes. "Take a hint."

Thor looked back and forth between Loki and Kiera. Finally, Kiera saw a light bulb flick on in his mind.

"I apologize. Please resume…whatever it is you were doing." He awkwardly got up to leave.

Kiera fought the massive urge to laugh.

"Thanks for everything, Thor," Kiera said. "I mean, without you and Loki going to take back the Tesseract, we might not have made it out of that one."

Thor nodded. "It has been my genuine pleasure to get to know you."

The door closed. Kiera locked eyes with Loki and the two of them burst out laughing.

"I think Thor might be even more awkward than me," Kiera giggled.

Loki smiled and gently stroked his thumb against Kiera's chin. "I thought he would never leave."

Kiera laughed harder.

"No, I mean I really did not think he would ever leave."

"Give him a break, Loki," Kiera said.

"You know I cannot do that while you are here."

"So, you do like me?"

"So much more than that."

Loki leaned in and kissed her again, pulling her close. Kiera was filled with warmth and hardly believed her luck. She had Jadef and Niva, two people who genuinely cared for her. Thor had become the brother she never had. And of course, she had Loki. Sitting there, kissing him, feeling his arm around her waist and his lips against hers, Kiera knew that she had finally found a place where she belonged. She had found her family.

The End