Reagan walked out along the rainbow bridge enjoying the cool kiss of the evening breeze and the peaceful solitude the length of bridge seemed to promise. She still couldn't quite comprehend why; it was one of the most breathtaking sights she'd ever laid eyes on and yet the Asgardians only ever used the bridge to access the Bifrost, leaving it otherwise abandoned.

A week had passed since her conversation with Frigga about the permanence of the Mark of Sjelevii. That meant it had also been an entire week since she had last interacted with Loki. Despite his threat to torment and torture her, he had retreated from her mind and slammed his shields down that night, and they hadn't budged since.

Reagan had wondered after a few days of radio silence if he'd perhaps realised he'd been a little too cruel to her that night, and was now giving her some space. She quickly dismissed the idea, determining it was too great an act of kindness. Whatever the true reason for his absence, she wasn't going to complain. She'd felt whispers of him here and there, but it had felt less like he was trying to invade her mind and more as though he'd let a stray thought trickle her way accidentally. She wondered if he'd been avoiding sleep just to keep the shields in place.

How long could an Asgardian go without sleep?

She'd have to ask Thor the next time she saw him. It had been almost a week since she'd seen him, too. Having the Tesseract back in Asgard had meant that Odin had established a working Bifrost once again and so Thor and his companions had eagerly headed off-world, with much work to be done throughout the Nine Realms having been cut off for so long.

And so it had been a lonely few days. Lonelier even, than when she'd first arrived in Asgard.

Word had well and truly spread by now of the mortal girl who shared the Mark of Sjelevii with the traitorous Loki. She'd overheard her handmaid, Malin, speaking in hushed tones to another woman when she'd returned to her chambers a few days earlier. The people were angry, she'd said. Sure, Asgard had sworn an oath to protect any future bearers of the marks from the Atraxis, but they had not anticipated that the bearers would be Loki, who had committed such heinous crimes, and some mortal girl who had such a fleetingly short lifespan anyway. It wasn't fair for their people to put themselves at such risk for the likes of them. If the Atraxis did come for them, was Asgard really expected to lay down their lives to protect them? Malin had divulged to her friend that the pair weren't even on speaking terms and so Reagan was fairly confident that information would be spreading through Asgard like wildfire too.

It had stung, overhearing that.

She liked Malin, and had thought Malin had liked her too.

But she could hardly blame her.

The Atraxis. She'd barely spared them a thought since all this had begun - yet they were the reason she was still even in Asgard. She'd been so consumed by trying to rid her mind of Loki's presence that they'd been the last thing she was worried about.

But the Asgardians, they seemed afraid. And if they were, then she probably should have been too. If they were to come for her, she couldn't let these people (as resentful as they were of her) risk their lives for her. She wondered if Odin had some other far, abandoned corner of the Universe he could stuff her away in instead. She wondered if they did come, would be better to just surrender herself to them? Asgard would likely hand over Loki as well, she supposed.

She shook her head. It all just seemed too outlandish for her to take seriously - for her to be afraid. It occurred to her that maybe if she did hand herself over she'd at least get to watch them roast Loki like a pig on a spit.

Silver lining, she thought to herself and she couldn't help but to smirk at how ridiculous her current train of thought had become.

Did Loki fear the Atraxis, she wondered. Was he at all worried that they would come for them?

And some small part of her itched to reach out and ask him.

But she knew his shields couldn't remain up forever. A clock was ticking down somewhere, she was sure of it, and soon enough she'd have him plundering through her thoughts once again. So she had no intention of poking that bear. Wanting desperately to savour any time she had before that happened, she did her best to suppress her dread and focus on the brilliant bridge of colours jutting out over the ocean.

"Are you making a getaway?"

Reagan turned, surprised that someone might be speaking to her.

A tall, blonde man stood behind her, smiling widely at her. She eyed him for a moment, unsure of what he meant before realising that he was familiar to her. She'd met him briefly, she realised, on yet another unsuccessful attempt to familiarise herself with the city.

"Oh, uh... Halvor, right?" she said, as the name came back to her. "Hi, what are you doing here?"

He moved to stand beside her, hands clasped behind his back.

"I saw you from the window," he inclined his head towards one of the many towers of the city behind them; such a contrast to the open expanse of ocean she'd been staring out over. "You looked as if you could use the company."

Reagan opened her mouth to respond but found she didn't really know what to say. In truth, she yearned for company. But not just anyone. She wanted to feel at home. She wanted her mother. Her old friends. Clint and Natasha. Perhaps even Thor. Still, she supposed he meant well and so she offered him a tight-lipped smile.

"I was just trying to clear my head," she told him, turning back towards the water again. "The past few weeks have been a lot."

"Are you alright?"

A short sharp laugh burst from her lips, surprising him.

"Sorry," she said. "I just- I have no idea how to answer that question."

"Ah," Halvor replied. "Suffice it to say that it would be something along the lines of 'no, I absolutely am not alright'?"

Reagan chuckled.

"Yeah, something along the lines of that."

She could sense him studying her and when she turned to look his way he shot his focus quickly back to the horizon, his cheeks tinged a soft pink. She too returned her gaze to the ocean as silence settled between them.

"So was I right?" he asked eventually.

She looked up at him, confused.

"About what?"

"Is this a getaway? Are you hoping to commandeer the Bifrost so you can return to Midgard?"

She knew he was trying to make a joke, but the question made her ache.

She let out a low sigh.

"Part of me thinks I should," she told him, earnestly. "I know going home wouldn't solve anything but at least I'd feel a little less like an outsider. And honestly, I think everyone here would be glad if I-"

"Not everyone," he interjected, with a small smile.

Reagan looked up to meet his eye and smiled a little too before dropping his gaze.

"You shouldn't listen to common gossip," Halvor told her and Reagan nodded, solemnly.

She considered feigning ignorance for a moment, but they both knew everyone was talking about her.

"Truth be told," Halvor continued, "a great many of them have spent their lives wishing that they'd be the next bearer. That they'd be given the gift of finding the other half of them."

She couldn't help but to scowl a little at that.

"Yeah, well, you can go ahead and tell them that if they want it, it's theirs. The mark and the asshole that comes with it."

Halvor turned to study her openly then.

"You know, I wouldn't worry so much about Loki if I were you."

"Easy for you to say," she grumbled. "Why do you say that?"

He gazed down at her for a few moments, a slow smile spreading across his face like warm honey.

"You just seem like a girl who makes her own fate," he said.

Reagan weighed his words. "I don't know about that."

They fell into another lull in the conversation which stretched just long enough that Reagan was about to say goodbye when Halvor spoke again, only just beating her to the punch.

"Would you like to have a drink with me?" he asked. "There's a tavern just up the way there."

"Oh, um..."

Halvor smiled.

"It's usually not very heavily occupied," he assured her, as if reading her mind. "You'd have about as many pairs of eyes staring at you as you do right now."

She breathed a soft laugh.

"Come," he said, his hand falling to the small of her back to guide her towards the tavern. "It'll do you good."

"You know what? Why not," she relented. "God knows I could use one."

True to his word, the tavern Halvor took her to was almost completely deserted.

When Reagan went to sit down, Halvor pulled her chair out for her.

When she asked if there was a menu, Halvor waved away the request and ordered two of something she'd never heard of before.

Annoyed as she was by this, she didn't say anything. She was, after all, on an alien planet. The chances of getting herself a Pina Colada were probably pretty slim.

"So," she began, once again a little uncomfortable after they'd settled in. "What is it that you do? I mean, do Asgardians have jobs? Or are you all just warriors?"

Halvor tilted his head back and laughed.

"There are a wealth of jobs all throughout Asgard. However, yes, I myself am a warrior. I live for the battle. Thrive on it. I suspect that's something you and I have in common."

Reagan wrinkled her nose in disagreement.

"I don't know. Before I got my powers I'd just finished a communications degree and had I no idea what I was going to do with it. But then what happened happened and I went into training with this government organisation to learn to control my flames because I had no other choice. It was never my intention to fight. And when Loki came with his army, SHIELD threw everything they had at him. Me included. New York was the first sort of battle type situation I've ever been involved in... it was nothing like I expected. And honestly, I was in way over my head. But we won, so, I guess that makes me undefeated, right?" She laughed a little, attempting to lighten the mood.

Halvor was staring at her again, arms folded over a broad chest.

"What?" she asked him at last.

"You're special, Reagan," he told her. "A mortal with the ability to summon forth an element. And to have been gifted with the Mark of Sjelevii. You deserve far better than the likes of Loki Odinson. You deserve to be courted by a man of a much higher calibre."

It was such a strange shift in the conversation that it jarred her a little. She cocked her head.

"Um, well thanks, I guess, but... I'm not here to be courted," she told him, pointedly. "By anyone, Halvor."

The pair eyed each other for a moment, tension suddenly rising between them. The way he was staring her down, Reagan soon realised that he was waiting for her to be one to submit. To play the part of the shy young girl blushing under the intense attention of the charming stranger. She'd be doing no such thing. Instead, she stared right back at him, her expression growing cold.

"I've made you uncomfortable," Halvor said at last. "I apologise. I wasn't trying to-"

"Really?" she cut him off. "Because it definitely sounded like you were."

"Forgive me," he went on. "I only meant to reiterate what I said earlier about him not determining your fate. I misspoke."

"Why don't we talk about something else?" she said instead of accepting his apology.

"Of course," he said brightly, with a forced smile. "What would you suggest?"

Reagan decided she couldn't wait for her drink to arrive. She had every intention of downing it as quickly as possible before making an excuse to get the hell out of there.

"Um, what was it like growing up in Asgard?" she asked, hoping that would be enough to shift his focus off of her.

Mercifully, it seemed to do the trick. Halvor quickly found his footing in the conversation once more and started on a tangent of various childhood memories while Reagan reclined back in her seat, only half listening and willing her drink to arrive.

At long last the barkeep hobbled up to their table, holding two matching goblets of deep indigo liquid. She thanked the barkeep as Halvor pushed one of the cups her way, all the while continuing with his story. She took it in both hands and brought it to her nose, sniffing experimentally. It smelled of plums and molasses and something else she couldn't quite place. She inhaled deeply once more, chasing the note that was eluding her when it happened.

Reagan froze the instant she felt it. After a whole week of walking around with the icy barrier at the corner of her mind's eye, the moment it budged even a fraction she could feel it like an earthquake. Her attention snapped towards the link, and anger rose in her like a flash flood as she felt him slink his way back into her mind.

Go. Away. She snarled at him instantly, attempting to bring her own shield up. She pictured her bed of thorns growing thicker and more grotesque, weaving jagged razor wire through any gaps she thought she might find.

Loki fought against it, harder than he ever had. There was an urgency to the way he forced his way in.

Reagan, you need to listen to me.

She hesitated. It was the first time he'd ever called her by her name. Her brow furrowed as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

What do you want? She asked, still bristling at his very presence.

Her eyes were still trained on Halvor as he continued his story, but her focus now belonged to Loki.

Do not drink that, he said to her, sternly. Put it down and don't touch it again. Don't take anything he tries to make you drink.

A chill swept through her.

Why are you saying that?

You're not safe with him.

The pit of her stomach seemed to turn to ice at his warning. She eyed Halvor as he continued his tale, a light, carefree smile upon his features. He didn't seem to detect her unease.

Reagan leaned forward slowly, her eyes still trained on the blonde man opposite her, as she placed her cup down on the table between them.

If this is some sort of trick-

It isn't, Loki insisted, sounding frustrated.

A swirl of apprehension trickled down the link and Reagan's pulse quickened the moment she felt it. Loki was worried... worried for her.

It made no sense.

"Reagan?"

Her eyes snapped up to Halvor's.

"Hmm?" she asked.

"Are you alright? You seem distracted."

Tell him you're fine.

"I'm- I'm fine," she managed to squeeze out.

"Are you sure?"

Loki, you better tell me what's going on right this second.

"Yeah... yeah everything is fine."

Reagan, I know that you have no reason to trust me but you do trust my brother. Mention Thor, and say you want to go find him. He will say anything to stop you.

Reagan weighed Loki's words carefully. If Loki was lying to her, all that would happen was that she'd remove herself from a situation that she didn't want to be in anymore anyway. But if he was telling her the truth, and she stayed just to spite him...

"Halvor," she interrupted the tale he was still rambling on about. "I'm so sorry, but it's just occurred to me that I'm supposed to be meeting with Thor."

Halvor stilled, and the way he looked at her was all the confirmation she needed. She'd just gone off the script he was having them play to. Again. And he wasn't happy.

"What?" He asked. "Now?"

"Thanks for this," she said as she stood from her chair. "And I'm sorry. Maybe some other time."

She turned to make her way to the exit but a vicelike grip caught her wrist.

Reagan, get out of there, now.

She felt Loki's fury flooding down the link, crashing over her panic like a title wave, as she turned to face the man who towered over her. She'd forgotten until he had grabbed her, that Asgardians didn't just have extended lifespans. They were also so much stronger. It was as if a giant statue had wrapped its marble fingers around her wrist.

She pulled against his grip defiantly.

"Let me go," she said through gritted teeth.

"I could make you happy," Halvor insisted, desperation in his voice.

A beat of stunned silence passed as Reagan's brain struggled to comprehend the fact that he'd really just said that.

"What?!" Reagan asked in sheer disbelief.

"I could be better than him," he said, as his grip on her tightened once again. "I could be everything you need."

"Let me go," she hissed at him.

"I need to see the mark. Just show it to me."

"Get your hands off me!"

Halvor shrieked in pain as Reagan's whole body erupted into searing hot flames.

He staggered back, holding his ruined hands helplessly in front of him, now trembling in pain. He looked up to stare at her in wide-eyed horror.

Her dress was all but ruined, falling off her in charred scraps, exposing her. Still, she stared him down defiantly, tongues of fire still dancing all around her.

"If you ever touch me again, I'll roast you alive," she promised him in a low voice, before quelling her flames.

She turned towards the door and mercifully, a deep navy cloak hung on a hook nearby hook. No one protested as she grabbed it unceremoniously and wrapped it around herself, before hurrying out of the tavern without so much as a glance behind her.

She strode through the streets as quickly as her feet would carry her without breaking into an all-out sprint. She forced herself to round five different corners before she, at last, allowed herself to lean against a wall to collect herself.

She sucked in deep, shuddering breaths and pulled the cloak tighter around her body as she began to shake with the aftermath of adrenaline.

Are you alright? Loki asked, his voice uncharacteristically gentle.

"No," she barked at him. "I'm not. What the fuck was that? What the fuck is wrong with everyone on this goddamn planet?!"

Most Asgardians have some penchant for magic but for most it's limited.

Reagan could tell that Loki was attempting to keep his voice even with suppressed anger. Anger that, for once, was not directed at her.

Halvor is one such individual. Since we were young he has endlessly attempted to cast beyond his skill level, it's left him half-crazed.

"Okay? What does that have to do with me?"

He's always been envious of my affinity for the art. I think due to the mark, he saw you as some sort of conquest. He has always wanted to covet what's mine-

"I am NOT yours," she spat back at him in her fury.

No, Loki agreed. But he doesn't see it that way. I knew what he was doing when he approached you the other day. I just never thought the vile pustule would stoop to such depravity.

Reagan stilled, trying to wrap her head around what Loki was telling her.

"That drink, what was it?"

A type of Asgardian liqueur. Harmless to him or me, but for a mortal like yourself. A single sip would have rendered you unconscious.

"From a liqueur?" she confirmed.

Indeed. And Halvor was well aware of the fact.

Fury bubbled up in her once again.

"I should have burned him alive."

She was met with a few beats of silence before Loki responded.

Yes, his voice was dark. Yes, you should have.

Reagan furrowed her brow as a new thought dawned on her.

"Wait, so that day in the garden, when you started harassing me," she said, shaking her head. "Were you trying to help me?"

Loki didn't respond, but she felt it down the link. The fact that she was right.

Reagan actually laughed a little.

"I just thought you were trying to make my life miserable."

Well, that has been the trend. I figured annoying you into leaving was the easier alternative to getting you to believe me.

"You're probably not wrong," she relented. "Wow, so you saved me from getting roofied and a garden walking tour. I guess I really owe you one."

To her surprise, amusement trickled down the link.

What were you doing in Frigga's garden anyway?

"One of the maids told me it was the best thing to see in Asgard," she admitted.

What?!

She jolted a little, not expecting such a strong reaction.

You should have her dismissed.

"Well, I'm not going to do that so..."

Are you certain? She told you the Queen's garden was the first thing you ought to see? Loki scoffed. This entire planet is teaming with imbeciles.

"Okay, but to be fair, you seem to think that about most planets."

And I stand by it.

Reagan couldn't quite suppress her smirk.

Wouldn't you agree? Loki pressed. Just based upon the limited company you've managed to drum up during your time here.

"Hey, come on," she said. "Give me a break. It's not exactly easy making friends here with the reputation you've saddled me with, thank you."

Now, how did I know that would be my fault?

"Because everything is, obviously, " she responded, playfully. "Do try to keep up."

What was happening here? Was she actually bantering with Loki? Perhaps just breathing in the fumes of the liqueur had left her a little tipsy. Whatever the reason, she decided to run with it. It was strangely helping to calm her nerves.

"Okay, so if not the gardens, then what? What do you think I should go see?"

She waited as she felt him contemplating. There was something to it. Something that gave her a sense that he hesitated, not because he was unsure of what to suggest, but because he didn't know if it was a secret he wanted to give away.

Tomorrow morning, he said at last. Before dawn, take this path and wait for the sun to rise.

A new sensation swept through Reagan's mind, though it was not an unpleasant one. It was strange that her first instinct wasn't to fight against it but to welcome it. A new memory filled her mind, one that was not hers. One that showed her a pathway through the city and into the surrounding mountainsides. One that faded right before it got to the ending.

I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise, he told her when he sensed she was perplexed by it.

"Why are you being nice to me?" she asked softly.

But this question, Loki didn't answer. Instead, he retreated back into his own mind. She let it go and slowly made her way back to her chambers. All the while she was hyperaware that Loki didn't fully seal his shields back up until she was safely back behind the locked doors of her room.

She wasn't sure why she was doing it. The sensible thing would have been to forget the whole encounter and to go about her business as usual. She could have chalked it up to even Loki having a limit to what he could stand by and watch happen - Halvor having surpassed that limit. But curiosity had gotten the better of her, and that's how Reagan found herself in the earliest hours of the morning, making her way alone down a trodden path through a lush forest with a palmful of flames to light her way.

Before long, the trees grew more sparse and the underbrush began to clear and the path Reagan followed gave way to a clearing. Reagan stepped out into it and dowsed the flames she held in her palm as the morning sun glowed just beyond the distant mountain peaks just enough to light the view before. She found herself standing on a cliff face, high above a sprawling view of tree-topped mountainsides. A massive lake was at its centre, adorned with cascading waterfalls of all sizes, from gentle trickles to mighty gushing columns of water. The lake itself was so clear Reagan could see the bottom. She thought, at first, that the water was reflecting the glittering lights of the stars overhead, but she soon realised the bottom of the lake was decorated with a hundred thousand tiny glowing lights. She had no idea what they were, but there was something to them that told her they were a natural phenomenon.

When the first rays of sunlight, at last, burst forth from behind the mountain the air, it distracted her from the lights in the lake and swept the breath right out of her lungs.

Tendrils of glimmering lights shot out over the open valley. Reagan had thought the colours of the Rainbow Bridge were the most brilliant she had ever seen. She was wrong. Throughout the valley, waves of light danced and swayed, as if the cool morning breeze was coaxing them into movement.

All around her as the sun continued to pour into the gorge, the forest was waking up. Songbirds echoed from every direction. Morning dew allowed the tree tops to glisten as they were bathed in the first strokes of the day's sunlight.

When she looked up, Reagan realised that the sky above was so vast that half of it was still cloaked in the dark of night, stars blazing and as she turned her head she could track the gradient of night fading into day above her, all while the rainbow lights danced over a glittering lake below.

This time, when he entered her mind, he moved gently and she didn't feel the need to fight it.

Thoughts? Loki said by way of greeting. It was the first time he'd spoken to her since their conversation yesterday.

She smirked.

"Can't you read them?" she challenged.

I was trying to be polite.

She quirked her head to the side.

"Look at you, trying new things. How are you finding it?"

I don't really care for it if I'm honest.

She laughed softly before they fell into a strangely comfortable silence. Reagan had to admit, this temporary ceasefire between them was oddly cathartic. Sitting there under the swaying lights, overlooking a glimmering lake and endless mile of lush, green forest. No presence tearing through her memories and no wall of ice looming just beyond the corner of her eye... She knew she was walking a tightrope - just one tiny misstep and it would be over. But for now, she felt like she could breathe properly for the first time since she'd stepped foot in Asgard.

"Thank you for showing this to me," she murmured as she gazed unblinkingly at the sight before her. "Can... can you see it too?"

I can, he said, hesitantly. Is that an issue?

She supposed it should have been, but at that moment as she basked in the incredible sight before her she couldn't bring herself to care. So instead, she shook her head.

"Like I said, I owe you one."

Loki seemed content with that response.

"It's funny," she told him. "This is the reason I was in Norway. This is the type of thing I went to see. They're called the aurora borealis on Earth. But you can only really see them at night and at certain times of the year. They're mostly greens. And they're beautiful, they really are. But this... This is- I never could have imagined anything like this."

I'm glad that you like it. Loki said earnestly. There are few I've told about this place so just promise me you won't go bringing our dear friend Halvor up here.

"Tsk, but look at all these cliff faces I could push him off," she protested.

Loki laughed suddenly - genuinely.

My, my, planning to lure a man to his death. I fear I might be rubbing off on you.

Reagan huffed out a laugh. "You know, I did have my suspicions that maybe that's what this was. You somehow leading me to my 'accidental' demise."

The thought did cross my mind.

"It's what I would have done. If roles were reversed."

And despite talks of murdering each other, they soon fell into a comfortable silence once again and watched until the sun rose high enough into the sky that the light effects finally began to fade away. Watching them disappear, Reagan felt an unexpected lump forming in her throat. It felt symbolic, as though it marked the end of their strange little truce.

"Loki," she forced herself to say his name, as it felt as though time was running out. She felt vulnerable. Carved open. And she was certain he could tell. "Please, help me. I can't- I can't live like this. It's not right. I feel like a prisoner inside my own head. And surely, don't you want to be rid of me too?"

Silence. Agonising silence.

The seconds ticked by slowly and Reagan grew crestfallen, figuring he wasn't going to respond.

I can block you out, he said at last. So what's in it for me?

"Not while you're sleeping, you can't."

Her heartbeat quickened. She knew it was a risk to bring that night up, but she was getting desperate. She could feel him slipping away, closing up.

"I know how much you hated that you let me in. I know you don't want it to happen ever again."

She felt a twinge of hostility shoot down the link but she pressed on.

"Loki, I know you well enough now to know that you're not planning to stay in that cell for very long," she said, boldly. "I know it's only a matter of time until you figure something out - a way to escape. And I know that you have a way to hide yourself from Heimdall. But you don't know how to hide from me. I can feel you, even when you're blocking me out and I could tell them where to look for you. After all, you'll need to sleep eventually."

His agitation was building, she could feel it seeping, oppressively over her.

"But if you help me. If show me how to block you out with strong, proper barriers then I will leave them up forever," she promised. "I'll never even peek. If they ask, I'll tell them you're too well hidden, that there's nothing I can do. So long as you leave Midgard alone."

Reagan waited patiently after that, allowing Loki time to consider her offer. It was a long time before his voice sounded in her mind again.

I could just wait you out, he said at last. Wait until you meet a mortal end. Then I wouldn't have to rely on you keeping your word.

"After your mother came back from speaking with the High Priestess, she told me that this power I have - whatever it is - it's Asgardian. They think there's a chance it could extend my lifespan by a few decades."

Or it could burn you out all the quicker.

"It could," she agreed. "But are you really prepared to take that risk? Are prepared to rot away in there for decades, when I'm offering you a chance to get out in the near future? When all you'd have to do is teach me this one thing?"

Loki fell quiet, and she tell she almost had him. He just needed one final push.

"It's not like you've got anything better to do at the moment," she added and bit her lip nervously, hoping that wasn't a misstep.

To her surprise, Loki laughed.

Here I was thinking that the one final push might be a form of flattery.

Her cheeks reddened.

"This is so weird," she shook her head, laughing along a little too. "I completely forgot you could hear me-"

Manipulating me? Loki finished for her, but his tone was light. Yes, I can.

"Well? Did it work?"

Loki sighed in defeat.

Very well, mortal. If I have your word, then I'll teach you.

"Okay," she responded, her heart slowly beginning to flutter with newfound hope. "So, it's a truce then?"

Yes, I suppose it is for now.

"Okay," she nodded. "You know, that means you're going to have to back off with all the dream-walking shit, right? You can't just keep tormenting me if we're going to do this."

Amusement whirled down the link.

The best I can promise is to dial it back by twenty per cent, Loki countered. You can't ask the God of Mischief to swear to be a saint.

And though she rolled her eyes, she couldn't help but to smirk.

"I'll take it."