Asta moved frantically around the rotting back room in the ramshackle tavern that she'd made her home for the past three decades, tearing open cupboards and drawers, scouring the place for anything to help reinforce her warding. Herbs. Talismans. Anything.
Dark energy coursed out of her, thrumming in the atmosphere, so potent it distorted reality around her.
"Come on..." she begged in a whisper as she rifled through overstuffed cabinets. "Come on... Ah, ha!"
She exclaimed in manic triumph as she found the thing she'd been searching for - a single, precious vial of essence of starleaf. One of the most expensive magical herbs she'd ever come into possession of. She still remembered the day she'd purchased it - a millennia ago now. She'd had to place a battalion of near seven hundred soldiers into an ever-sleep in exchange for that single vial. She snatched it up, rushing to a basin of water she had waiting on the table in the centre of the decrepit room.
Asta unstoppered the vial with her teeth and dumped the entire contents into the water.
The herb would be of no use to her anyway if she was dead.
She wanted to run. She needed to run. But having tethered herself to a couple branded with the Mark of Sjelevii - with the Atraxis nigh on her doorstep? There was nowhere that she could go - they'd scent her out. It was too late now unless Loki and his mortal broke the tether.
Fleetingly, she wondered if this had all been a set-up - a way for Loki to finally be rid of her.
But the way he'd looked at the mortal... no. He'd not risk her. Odinson had no idea what was coming for him or his lover.
Asta, swirled the water in the basin impatiently, willing the starleaf to fully dissolve.
She next took up a fistful of bird bones, snapping them violently and scattering them into the liquid. Lastly, hissing words of magic in an ancient tongue, she ran a blade over her wrist, spilling her blood into the swirling liquid before her. She breathed a sigh of relief as the basin began to glow. She leaned over the concoction, breathing in the heavy scent of magic.
And finally, she called to him.
Odinson... Odinson...
Nothing.
Asta frowned.
Odinson?
She splashed an impatient hand onto the surface of the water as if that might hurry things along.
Hear me now!
Again, nothing.
Asta's lip curled into a snarl as realisation dawned upon her - that lecherous, soul-sucking cretin was ignoring her.
"Loki!" she shouted, sending a pulse of angry, black magic into the concoction for good measure.
When he pointedly ignored her magic once again, Asta let out a scream of frustration, pulling at her hair. With every second she was running out of time. With every second the Atraxis drew closer.
"I always knew you'd be the death of me, you bastard."
A million, million lightyears away in a small town in the North-most regions of Norway, a pregnant silence hung within a small, cozy kitchen.
Heika sat patiently, watching as her guests weighed her words following her declaration, her steaming tea nursed close to her lips.
Reagan studied the old woman, her brow furrowing slightly as - for the first time in the woman's presence - unease began to swell within her. She leaned back in her chair as if to put a little distance between her and the woman opposite her.
True enough, Reagan had always longed to know where her powers had originated from. She'd yearned for answers - for even a hint - as to why it all had happened. Why her? But Reagan, for all the innumerable times she'd wondered why... she'd always considered it an accident - happenstance - her being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not once, not even for a moment, had she ever imagined she'd been chosen by someone on purpose.
A horrible pit settled in her stomach at the idea of it.
This woman - this stranger - had chosen her.
How long had she watched her? How much had she known about her before she made her choice?
Why?
Why?
Reagan soon sensed Loki, inspecting the bond, monitoring her train of thought, sensing her unease. With every passing second, his rage seemed to grow. She glanced his way, his attention may have been with the bond but his gaze was fixed upon Heika. Every muscle in his body was tensed as if he were waiting for the slightest hint of movement from the woman so that he might strike first.
It came as a surprise to no one when it was he who broke the strained silence at long last.
"You gave her flames to her," he repeated evenly, addressing Heika.
"That's right," she replied, leaning back in her chair to look up at him and meet his eye.
"You did that."
"Yes."
Loki's nostrils flared as he glowered at the woman. The kitchen lights flickered, darkening, as wild, poorly-suppressed energy pulsed off of him. Reagan's pulse quickened in response but she didn't move to intercept, still somewhat reeling from Heika's revelation. Loki moved closer to the old woman - like a predator - his icy gaze fixed upon her.
"Have you any idea what you put her through?" he asked her slowly, the words were laced with the tell-tale tremor of suppressed rage. "Have you any idea the ways you've made her suffer?"
Reagan's heart leapt in surprise as her eyes shot up to Loki's face. She hadn't expected him to say that. Not at all. Reagan watched him, her brow pinching and her lips parting slightly, but Loki's gaze remained resolutely fixed on the woman sitting at the opposite side of the kitchen table.
She opened her mouth to try and speak but her voice failed her, her throat tightening with emotion.
Loki, however, was not experiencing such a problem.
"The agony you forced her to endure," Loki glowered down at the woman. "The years of loneliness and guilt and isolation she faced because of you. Do you know how afraid she's had to be?"
Reagan had been well prepared for Loki to react in anger, no matter what Heika said to him - he'd been ready for blood the moment he'd laid eyes on her. But she realised in that moment that she'd supposed his rage was coming from something possessive in him.
She was well aware of Loki's penchant for jealousy. She knew of that part of him that he sorely wished to keep a secret from her - that he longed to hide her away in some unseen place made only for the two of them, to shield her from anything that might threaten to steal her from him. She knew it took a great deal of his self-control not to behave in such a way. Especial today... around Asta. Around Heika. Especially when she'd made choices he'd thought were reckless. Choices that had hurt him. Choices... that she hadn't realised until this very moment, were pushing him away from her against his will. She hadn't meant to do that. But she'd done it, nonetheless.
So used to going it alone. So used to standing with nothing but a wall behind her.
And still, this anger in him - it was for her. It had been his first thought - his very first thought. That this woman had caused her suffering he'd never even had the chance to protect her from - to help her overcome. And still, he wished he could unmake it. It was so...
Reagan didn't even know the word for it.
Loki knew her. Loki understood her. She'd let him in - let him feel the pain and anguish she'd experienced. He'd felt the incomprehensible relief he'd brought to her when she'd learned to call back her flames. Since that day, she'd felt like she was moving forward. She hadn't forgotten - she'd never be able to forget - but it was as though it had become something smaller. Because, finally, she'd found a way to be able to move on and heal and grow. She hadn't lost the pain - the fear - but she'd felt... perhaps a form of closure, from her past. And Loki, he'd been such a massive part of that. An anchor. A rock. Holding steadfast in his reassurance that it was something she could conquer - until she finally believed that she could.
Until she was finally able to believe that she was more than it.
She'd conquered it.
Just as he'd believed that she could.
And still, here he stood, seething that she'd ever had to experience that suffering.
It suddenly felt as if her entire world had shifted, as she sat there, watching him utterly glowering at this stranger across from them. She wasn't alone anymore.
Reagan wasn't alone anymore.
It was such a strange feeling... Since her powers. Since she'd lost her mother. She'd gone so long without that feeling - without someone who put her first. She knew that Loki loved her - she knew that. She knew that he'd be with her whatever was to come. But the knowing of that was different to the knowing that she wasn't alone. She hadn't realised... This kind of love - this anger for her. It wasn't possessive. It was selfless. Loki was hers. And he was willing to do anything for her - to go to any length for her happiness. He was with her. She'd asked for him to stand beside her, totally oblivious to the fact that he was trying to do exactly that. She'd thought he was being possessive but... Loki had become her home - and only now could she see just how seriously he took that responsibility.
With her heart near bursting, Reagan at last turned her attention back to Heika, waiting to hear her response to Loki's accusations.
Have you any idea the ways you've made her suffer?
And for the first time, Heika's expression turned rather sombre as she held Loki's hateful gaze.
"Yes... I know."
Loki, utterly oblivious to the epiphany Reagan was in the middle of, practically snarled at the old woman's response.
His voice sounded in her mind then.
Are you sure I'm not allowed to stab this woman? Not even a little?
And she could hear it, the sincerity in the question, but also the way he needed to jest with her. Because he needed her to anchor him - to stop him from losing control. To bring him back to her, to help him find that balance. Because his rage was there and it was real and it threatened to consume him.
A smile settled in the corner of her mouth.
I can't tell you what you mean to me, she told him gently.
Loki stilled. And she felt him hesitate - evidently, it was far from the response he'd expected. It seemed such a strange thing to say in their current situation. He glanced her way, uncertain, and seemed to actually be surprised to find her gazing at him... kindly.
I'm sorry, she told him, sincerely.
Which appeared to confuse him all the more.
She watched his brow furrow, felt him prod at the bond. She let him search it freely. Heika be damned - she could wait. Reagan could sense his suspicion that this was the work of the woman. She was well aware that he thought she was under some kind of spell. And she felt the way he softened - calmed - as he read her revelation, understanding.
I know that I've fought you every step of the way today, she told him. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I'm just not used to having... It's been a long time since I-
Emotion choked her, cutting the thought short. The way he looked at her then, it was enough to melt her entirely and she knew that he understood.
Well, I'd suggest you learn to lean into it. It's my intention to ensure you never feel alone again.
I know... I'm going to try to stop being so...
Stubborn? Loki asked, teasingly.
And though she pursed her lips at him, she still looked slightly amused.
I was going to say 'independent.'
Ah, my mistake.
I still don't think this is a trap. And I don't want you to hurt her, Reagan clarified then, much to Loki's obvious displeasure. I want to hear what she has to say. But you don't have to worry I'm with you, okay? I'm with you.
The smallest hint of a smile ghosted over his lips before he - somewhat violently - kicked out the chair beside Reagan and with an uncharacteristic lack of grace, sat himself down heavily beside her and faced the old woman. And then by wild juxtaposition, he reached gently for Reagan's hand and laced his fingers between hers.
Loki set his withering gaze in place once more, the woman did not waiver.
"Tell us your tale then, witch," he spat impatiently. "And be quick about it."
The old woman smiled at him. "You may not believe this, Prince, but I'm actually trying to help you."
"You're right, I don't believe you at all."
She nodded calmly, her eyes flickering between him and Reagan. She could clearly see the change in them - the fact that an exchange had occurred that she was not privy to. It didn't seem to deter her. Rather, if anything, she seemed calmed by it.
"I'll have your trust soon enough," she promised them with a smile, to which Loki only scoffed.
"You sound rather confident in that."
"That would be because I am."
"Believe whatever you like, witch," he snarled at her. "Just know that if I detect even the whisper of a lie, I will gut right here on these ghastly tiles."
"Well, I certainly don't appreciate the attack on my taste in decor but I thank you for the warning regardless, my Prince."
"You keep calling him that," Reagan said, finding her voice again at last. "How do you know? Is it because of me?"
And the thought of it left her feeling vaguely dirty - that she might have divulged information about him to this woman he distrusted so. It was as though Reagan's mind had cleared. She couldn't quite believe the unwavering trust she'd followed this woman into her home with - that she'd coaxed Loki to come with her. What sort of danger had she led them into? Her stomach roiled at the thought. But beside her, Loki was calm, he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
Heika smiled kindly at her then.
"It wasn't your doing, sweet girl," she promised. "The answer to that actually brings us to the beginning of our tale. To Asgard."
"You know about Asgard?" Reagan asked.
"Intimately, my dear. I remember every cobblestone, the golden towers of the royal palace, the gods who lived among it - and of course, King Odin, Queen Frigga and their two sons."
"But how?"
"It's where I was born."
Loki shifted, hateful gaze still glued upon the woman.
"You're Asgardian?" he asked. It sounded almost like an accusation.
"I am," Heika smiled. "Or at least, I once was. I'm something a little different now."
"If you're from Asgard, then what are you doing here of all places?" he asked.
She shrugged a little, amused by the question as if it were some inside joke.
"My mother always said that I was born with wanderlust," Heika told them, her words warm with nostalgia. "As a child, she used to tell me that had I been born with wings, she feared I'd have left my cradle in the dark of night and never have returned again. I had a deep yearning to see the universe. Forever gazing up toward the stars. It was as though I had this innate sense in me that I was just supposed to be somewhere else. There were even times when I wondered if perhaps there'd been a mistake, and my very soul was born into the wrong body."
Heika laughed a little at the idea and Reagan couldn't help but to smile along with her.
"I longed to see every speck of the universe. It felt as though I needed to pull it apart with my bare hands. And so... when my older brother developed a gift that gave him sight beyond our realm alone, well, I can't even begin to explain to you my envy."
"Sight beyond your realm?" Reagan asked.
"My brother possesses an incredible gift. His sight extends to every corner of the nine realms. He can see all. Hear all. He can hear his name called out from across the universe. I still often find myself talking to him, even though I know he can't respond. In fact, he's likely watching us right now. Heaven knows he's been waiting for this day."
"This is ridiculous," Loki scoffed. "There's only one being alive to possess such a power."
"Yes, that's right," Heika smiled at him.
"Are you trying to tell us that-"
"I am, indeed. Heimdall, Gatekeeper of Asgard, is my older brother."
Loki didn't respond.
And Reagan had no idea how to.
Once again, they sat in silence, Heika's words sinking in.
Reagan studied the woman before her in surprise. The coy smile playing upon her face was evidence enough that she was rather enjoying the drama of the reveal. As Reagan looked at her, she realised it was actually a rather challenging task to compare the two in her head. By mortal standards, Heika looked decades older than Heimdall - her hair had greyed, heavy bags had formed beneath her eyes, and deep lines had formed around all of her features.
Also, Reagan had never seen Heimdall smile before.
But there was one rather striking, undeniable feature the two shared.
Those eyes.
Those golden eyes.
The ones that Reagan had dreamed about, time and time again.
Beside her, Loki seemed to be battling with the same revelation. He eyed Heika distrustfully but did not fight her on the declaration. Rather, it seemed he'd elected to remain quiet, allowing the woman to continue.
"He was so young when the gift came to him. And so wonderfully proud, too. He always longed to serve the realm - to contribute to the betterment, not only of Asgard, but all the nine realms. It aged him - it was inevitable, coming into such knowledge - wisdom had to come with it. And it wasn't long before word reached the King of the power he possessed, and my brother was called to serve. He went willingly. Went to do his duty. Training to become the next guardian of the Bifrost. He took to it like it was his very purpose for existing. It was lucky for me, though, that he also adored me fiercely, and so it wasn't long before I was spending every second I could spare begging him for whispers of what the universe held.
"I think it surprised us both, that it was Midgard that truly captured my interest. I couldn't learn enough. I'm certain it annoyed him to no end, but I do also like to think that he enjoyed my company, alone at the end of the Bifrost.
"Once my brother came into his powers, Odin's advisors kept close tabs on me for quite a time after that. I think the only reason I was permitted to spend so much time at my brother's side was that they were all hoping I'd develop a gift that could be of equal use to the realm. And I was not afraid to admit to any one of them who would listen that it was the last thing in the world that I desired - I did not wish to serve as my brother served. Nonetheless, they were utterly delighted when a gift appeared to awaken within me."
"What was it?" Reagan asked. "Your gift."
Heika heaved a heavy sigh.
"My brother can see much," she said to them. "But some might argue that I see more. My visions started as flashes - mere seconds - of glimpses into the future. But quickly, they grew into something more. Until I was slipping into hour-long trances, gazing eons into the future."
Heika shook her head, she seemed to grow weary at the very idea of it.
"Odin's council were delighted. And so my training began. But over the years, as Heimdall proved himself worthy in every respect, I failed them. I couldn't control the visions. I was too wild for what they asked of me, too undisciplined. Unwieldy. I couldn't summon my powers, could not call upon them or bend them to my will. The visions came to me instead at random."
"They tried to make use of me. Tried to have me record anything that I might see that would be of use to them so that they might have their elders decipher meaning from what I saw. There was never anything too significant. Much to their chagrin. Still, I tried my best to be helpful. I gave them everything I could."
Heika looked to Loki then, her eyes locking with his. She remained quiet for a moment, studying his face.
"All except for one thing," she told him. "One vision I saw of the youngest Asgardian Prince. One thing that felt so desperately important, but far too intimate to divulge."
The bond began to coil with nervous energy, and Reagan brushed against it reassuringly.
"I saw it to be true that the dark prince would one day become the bearer of the Mark of Sjelevii. I saw that he would share it with a girl from Midgard. I saw that he knew of this - that he'd glimpsed just a moment of his own fate himself. That he expected her to loathe him. And that he was doomed to lose her to a mortal lifespan."
Beside her, Loki wasn't breathing, and Reagan watched as Heika's eye remained only on him, genuine sympathy in her gaze.
"It was so cruel a thing. Too personal a secret. I couldn't bring myself to give that knowledge to the council. And I think they knew it - that I was hiding something from them. It was the final straw, I believe. My haphazard control. My cryptic, useless hints at the future. And now, my withholding of secrets. They were done with me.
"But it was no concern of mine. I never wanted to serve the realm. Only to explore it. And so, when the elders finally grew weary of me, I had far more time to myself - and I devoted a great deal of that time to pestering poor Heimdall once again. He'd been keeper of the Bifrost for decades by then - and he'd never admit to it, but he'd grown a little more... relaxed in his duties. He told me all I wanted to know. Which it turned out, was a rather vicious cycle. The more he told me of life on Midgard, the more I longed to know. The more I learned, the more I thought of it. And soon, the hearing of it was no longer enough. I had to see it for myself.
"It took me years to convince him. I'd beg and beg and always he'd deny me. Until at last, I wore him down. 'Five minutes,' I'd begged him. 'Just five, and then I'll never mention it again.' I'm sure we both knew it was a lie, but I think it made it easier for Heimdall to believe he was putting a problem to rest. And after he'd snuck me down here the once, the times that followed just became all the easier."
Heika smiled to herself, brushing away a tear that slipped down her cheek.
"I'm sure after a time, Heimdall began to wonder why I didn't ask to explore the other realms - why it was only Midgard I sought to return to over and over again. And in truth, if he had asked me, I wouldn't have been able to explain it myself. I think the truth of it is, that I spent all that time looking to the stars - all that time yearning to explore the realms - and then setting my sights so resolutely upon Midgard because somehow I knew that's where I'd find him. My Jonas."
Heika set her teacup aside then and leaned forward on the kitchen table. She clasped her gnarled hands together and smiled at the pair sitting opposite her.
"I promised you'd soon trust me," she reminded them.
"You did," Loki replied evenly, though there was an edge to her tone.
Heika dropped his gaze and reached slowly for the cuff of her sleeve. With age-stiff fingers, she pulled her sleeve back from her wrist and held it out for them to see.
The air rushed suddenly from Reagan's lungs.
"Is that-"
Upon the old woman's wrist, shifting in the light was an iridescent shape. A mark. So entirely unique, and yet, so intimately familiar.
The Mark of Sjelevii.
Wide-eyed, Reagan looked from Heika to Loki. He seemed to be trying to hold his mask in place, though his face had unquestionably paled. She reached for him, settling a reassuring hand upon his forearm. She squeezed it. He didn't react.
"I always thought it was so strange, that I'd foreseen yours but not my own. Still, I'll never forget the feeling," Heika told them as she stared down at her wrist, running her other hand gently over the marking. "That pull to be closer to him. I'd visited Midgard so many times by then I'd lost track, but that day, there was something different. Something in my very bones that knew I was going to find him. The second he touched me - it was as though the very foundations of the universe shifted. Our minds became one. Our souls became one. And for the first time in my long, long life, I finally understood what it was to feel at home. I'll never forget the calm - the serenity of that first moment... It felt like... finally."
Reagan dropped her gaze when she couldn't quite hide an amused grin - how lovely a story it sounded - and the absolute antithesis of what she'd felt when she first found Loki. She'd loathed him, set herself aflame, told him to get out of her head, threatened to kill him. How impossibly long ago that all seemed now. She hazarded an amused glance in Loki's direction, hoping to catch his eye but found his attention rather rigidly fixed upon Heika instead.
"And this Jonas of yours," Loki murmured, his gaze flicking to the woman's wrist. "He's a mortal?"
Heika nodded.
"He was," she responded gently.
Was.
How astounding it was, the weight a single word could bear. Reagan felt the way it all but shattered through him.
Loki let out a long, steadying breath, and slowly freed his hand from hers.
Reagan let him go, turning just a little to watch him, concerned. She brushed gently against the bond but found he didn't react - it almost felt as if he couldn't. There was pain there - pain he was desperately trying to conceal. His eyes were wild and unfocused, and looking at him, she began to suspect that he was staving off tears.
Loki? she tried carefully.
He didn't respond.
"To love a mortal, when you're to exist an eternity without them," Heika explained gently, drawing Reagan's attention back to her. "It's like falling in love with a shooting star. So bright and beautiful and wonderful... But so painfully fleeting."
Reagan could hardly breathe as she watched tears pool in Heika's eyes. And it was made all the worse by the muted bond beside her - the storm of emotions he was trying to hold back. She so desperately wanted to reach for him, but didn't know how to. Not while he was hiding from her the way he was.
"You begin to bargain with the universe," Heika explained. "You start searching it for secrets not yet uncovered - a way to keep them with you. You know in the very core of you that you would beg or borrow or steal. You do unspeakable things just to buy another minute - that you might prolong the inevitable... I suspect your prince has already begun to do the same - begun to search for a way that he might keep you."
The bond became all the more clouded in response to Heika's words, as Loki tried to shield his reaction from Reagan once again. He wasn't going to let her see - let her help him. It was all the confirmation she needed to know that Heika was right.
He hadn't mentioned it to her. Not a word. But she knew he could barely even bring himself to mention her mortality. He'd avoided it vehemently. She'd thought he still needed time to face it. She'd not dreamed that he'd been searching for an answer - for a way that she might cheat death.
Loki...
"So you never found a way, then," he said to Heika, attempting to sound indifferent, though it was all too obvious that he was not.
"No," Heika answered so terribly gently, as though she knew exactly how crushing that one word would be. "I never found a way to prolong his life. But I found something else instead - a way for us to grow old together."
"And what was that?"
Heika leaned forward.
"I found a way to become mortal," she explained. "At first Jonas wouldn't hear of it. He promised me that if I went through with it he'd never forgive me. Never speak to me again. And so, at least for the first few years we spent together it wasn't an option."
Reagan felt as if she'd been doused in ice water. The very thought of it coiled a horrible, unbearable sickness, deep within her gut. Only a few hours earlier, she'd watched as Loki attempted to freely give away fifty years for her sake. The idea of him trading thousands? She couldn't even entertain it. She'd never entertain it. There's no way she'd let him do something like that. She was suddenly filled with an overwhelming urge to run. To take Loki's hand and drag him from that house. Away from Heika. Away from her dangerous ideas.
"So what changed? It appears to me that you got your way," Loki asked, rudely gesturing to Heika's aged appearance.
Heika to her credit let loose an amused chuckle, running her hand over her wrinkled cheeks.
"Yes, I got my way," she agreed. "It took a few years. But Jonas and I made a rather unexpected discovery. One that meant my mind was made up. Jonas could threaten to disappear all he liked, I was done with immortality."
"What did you discover?" Loki asked.
But sudden clarity hit Reagan like a freight train and she answered for her, staring at her unblinking.
"You were pregnant," she murmured.
Heika smiled at her warmly.
"Clever girl."
Her hand went to her stomach as if flashing back to a moment long ago when it had swelled with life.
"It's strange," she said. "The women here - on Midgard - and those back home too, they often say you know things about your child long before they're born. Your motherly intuition kicks in. You can feel it. Many claim they know the sex of their babes, long before they ever come along. They know when something isn't right. You're connected to them, after all. You feel them. And I knew with everything I was that the life growing inside of me was mortal."
Reagan's heart sank.
"To love a mortal man was one thing, but to know I'd have to watch my own child age and wither and die, leaving me to endure centuries with nothing but the memory of them. I wouldn't have it. Not for one moment. Not when there was another way. Jonas tried so desperately to convince me otherwise. But from the moment I felt that life inside me, my mind was made up. I cast the spell that same day, cleaved myself free from my power, encapsulated it... I became mortal. And I determined that when our child came of age, Jonas and I would put it to them, offer them the gift. The gift of power. Of extended life... but alas, it was not to be."
"Why not?" Reagan asked, so very swept up in the tale.
She hadn't realised that beside her, Loki hadn't moved, had stopped speaking, was barely breathing.
Heika reached then for a photo frame that had been sat in the centre of the table facing her. She looked at it fondly for a few moments, brushing a reverent hand over the picture before handing the frame over to Reagan. Reagan took it carefully, studying Heika with curiosity before she turned the photograph to face her. She let out a breath as she looked down at the age-worn photo. It was faded in one of the corners, and tiny cracks and folds marred the image as if it had been handled countless a time over many, many years.
Girls. Two girls. Sat side by side in matching dresses. Smiling.
"You had twins," Reagan whispered, her eyes flicking back to Heika who nodded.
She leaned forward and tapped her finger above the girl on the left.
"This is Emilie, and this is my Nora," she explained. "They were the most beautiful babies I ever laid eyes on. They turned..." she thought for a moment, "sixty-eight last September."
"Wow," Reagan breathed, gazing back down at the round-cheeked faces.
"From the moment they were born, the girls were inseparable," Heika smiled. "They refused to even sleep in separate cribs. Jonas and I actually checked them for soulmarks of their own."
She laughed fondly at the idea of it.
"We couldn't offer the gift to one without the other. Neither would have accepted anyway. They'd never have parted from one another - never have endured the fate, I myself dreaded so."
"Of course," Reagan murmured understanding.
"And so, for years I kept the gift hidden. Considered it insurance, perhaps, in case we ever had need of it. Emilie and Nora grew, and more children followed. We built a life. We were happy together." Heika smiled such a heartbreakingly beautiful smile. "We were so wonderfully, wonderfully happy."
Heika reached out then and took Reagan's hand in hers.
"I spent so many years as a mortal that I actually began to forget. I might have entirely if I'd not still gotten whispers - ghosts of visions. They were simple things. I'd know when it was going to rain, even when the forecast had not predicted it. I'd know when Jonas was going to burn dinner - though I'm sure many wives claim that ability. I saw such simple, frivolous things, my dear, until one day, I began to see visions of you."
"Me?" Reagan murmured.
She'd been so absorbed in Heika's story, that she'd forgotten momentarily that she was there for answers about herself. But that realisation caused her heart to begin to thunder. Her fire. She'd almost forgotten. Heika had given her her fire.
"I knew who you were the instant the visions had begun. After all, I'd seen your flames once before. And I couldn't quite help myself from dwelling upon it over the years. The boy I'd seen a lifetime ago - the one who had looked into an orb and seen the face of his soulmate. The one destined to love and lose a mortal - just as I had been. I'd changed my fate. Made my peace with it. But that poor, lonely Prince, a million, million miles away in the kingdom of the gods. He'd have to lose what I'd found a way to keep. And I had a gift so precious to give - one that I could give to another doomed to suffer the same fate as I."
Beside Reagan, Loki was deathly still.
"I had to be sure it was the right choice. I had to know it would go to someone deserving. I'm no fool, Prince, I know you've always lived your life within the shades of grey. Though, I think I understood better than most as to why that was. And so, I watched. I waited. I let the visions come to me. I learned all I could about the girl who would take up my gift and let it manifest in her as brilliant, blazing flames. The girl made of fire - that's what he calls you, isn't it?"
Reagan's brow pinched, her throat tightening with emotion as she listened.
"I saw that you would find one another - that you'd fight it. I saw that you would come together. And I'm sorry to say, that I can't give too much away, but what I've seen of your future... I know with every cell I'm made of that I've passed this gift on to the right person.
"I saw where to leave it for you to find alone in the snow beneath the Northern Lights. And... and I knew what would happen when you did. I saw you ignite. It was such a beautiful thing - that first moment. I saw what would follow - the anguish I forced you to endure. I saw it, Reagan, and you must believe me that it weighed heavily upon me - to put you through that. To make those people suffer the way they did. But the way you bared it, it was that which convinced me that you could bear the gift. It was not going to someone greedy or selfish or to someone who would revel in suffering. I knew that it was right."
Reagan swallowed, her heart racing in her chest. Unshed tears welled in her eyes, blurring her vision as she stared at Heika. She opened her mouth to try to speak, but nothing would come to her.
"I can still feel the linger of it. It recognises me," Heika said. "It's why you feel so safe with me. My power. Your power. It knows that I'm no threat to you. It is ours. It bonds us. I wanted to tell you in the clearing, I just couldn't explain that without the rest of it. It's yours now... and I know you're going to do such wonderous things with it. It won't be easy, know that. But you'll have millennia to figure out how."
"Wait," Reagan managed at last. "Wait a minute... Ar-are you saying that-"
"I've given you a gift not just of fire, my girl, but of life... extended life."
"LOKI!" Asta screamed into the void, and he batted her efforts away once again. "LOKI, HEAR ME!"
Her magic sizzled around her with the threat of oncoming attack. Her time was almost up.
"LOKI, PLEASE!" she screamed
Beyond the door of her back room, a deafening boom resounded, shaking the very foundations she stood upon. Debris shook free from the rafters above, showering her in dust. It sounded as if half of the tavern had been obliterated. Shouts and screams quickly turned strangled and then silent.
Asta extended her arms, heart pounding, as she poured her power into her wards willing them - commanding them - to be enough to protect her.
Heavy footfalls made their way slowly up the hallway, towards the locked door.
The wood shattered into a million pieces - blasting into the room. Shards of rotten wood and splinters ricocheted off the surface of her wards. Asta didn't even blink. She stared defiantly at the hulking beast that stooped through the ruined doorway and paced towards her calmly.
The creature entered the room, standing to full height and exuding an aura of unearthly strength. Its frame was humanoid - though several feet taller - sculpted with bulging, sinewy muscles. It wore no clothing, its obsidian-black skin gleamed and crackled open as it moved as if it were scaled, revealing red-orange flesh beneath. It fixed yellow eyes upon the Witchling.
An Atraxi.
It stopped, still as stone at the edge of her spellwork. It growled at her through a hole in its face which appeared to be a mouth.
"Where are the paired?" it asked her in a gargled voice.
Asta snarled at the beast before her, she redoubled the energy she poured into her wards.
"You can do no harm here," she assured it, evenly. "Turn around now, creature, and I shall let you leave with your life."
The monster eyed the Witchling for a moment, before leaning forward and taking another step.
Asta's very blood turned to ice.
She watched in sheer horror as the Atraxi passed through her spellwork as if it didn't even exist.
She lowered her hands, taking a cautious step backwards as the beast came hulking her way. There is stood, in the centre of her magic - magic that should have obliterated any other living thing. It towered over her.
"Where are the paired?"
"But that's not possible," Reagan said calmly. "Everyone on Asgard, they can sense that I'm mortal. Asta could. Odin could. Loki... Loki can. I-I've gotten older since I got my powers. I have - it's been over five years, I can see it in myself."
"I know that, dear," Heika assured her. "And it's why I've called you here."
Reagan shook her head, confused.
"Because you're still holding yourself back," Heika told her calmly. "It's why I've needed to call to you. If been waiting for it to happen, the moment I'd feel it forge within you truly. I couldn't for the life of me understand why. It was as if you wouldn't entirely embrace it. As if, for whatever reason, you held it at arm's length. But then I realised - the way you feared it so - that all this time you've been holding yourself back intentionally. Living in that fear. I'm so sorry for it, dear."
"I don't understand."
Heika offered a kind smile.
"Tell me honestly, have you ever tested your powers to their full extent?"
A chill swept through Reagan at the question, goosebumps forming over every inch of her. Loki had asked her that very question not so long ago.
Why did you do that?
Do what?
You're holding yourself back. Why not push further? Show me what you're truly capable of, mortal.
I can't do that. It's not safe.
It hadn't been safe. She couldn't - wouldn't - risk hurting people the way she had that first day. She'd held it in. Kept it concealed. Controlled it as best she could. Never had she unleashed it fully - not even in New York, not even with the Dark Elves. She'd never fully set it free.
Not even when SHIELD had asked her to.
Loki, the one time they convinced me to test my limits at SHIELD they had to dowse me in liquid nitrogen because I was sucking all of the oxygen out of the facility and I was melting concrete. Do you know the melting point of concrete? It's about 2800 degrees Fahrenheit. You really think your stupid little Leviathan buddies would have come out the other side of that, butthead?
"Burn bright, dear," Heika said calmly. "And it will be yours."
There weren't words.
Even after she'd found her control. Even after Loki had helped her to see just how capable she was of wielding control over the flames - still, she'd never tested the limits.
Loki, it seemed, was reaching the same conclusion. His breathing had become slightly uneven. And even as he attempted to keep it shielded, she could feel a foreign kind of panic blooming in her. She looked at him, unsure... afraid... Not knowing what to do, or say. Her heart drummed in her chest. Adrenaline coursed through her. It was all too much - overwhelming. She didn't know what to do.
She didn't know what to do.
Loki stood suddenly, his chair toppled over behind him. He glowered at the woman with new and wild rage.
"If this is a trick-"
"It's no trick, Prince," Heika said. "It is a gift already given."
"Already given." He repeated coolly. "And what would you ask of me?" His voice was so terribly strained. "What would you have me give you in return?"
That thinly veiled desperation in his voice was enough to break Reagan's heart because she knew - she knew - Loki would give her anything. There would be no talking him down. No intercepting. In this moment, Loki belonged to the woman who sat opposite them - her slave. She could bid him to do whatever she willed, and he would bend to her.
She wished she'd never brought him to this place.
Loki, please-
Reagan attempted, but Loki wouldn't hear it. His attention fixed on Heika.
The old woman stood then, and moved slowly towards Loki. She hobbled forward. And Reagan stood too, staying close, ready to place herself between the two of them to keep him safe. Loki watched the woman wordlessly as she reached him, craning her neck to meet his eye.
"What would you ask of me?" Loki asked her once more.
Heika tutted, reaching and taking his hand.
"My boy... you've already given it."
Loki squinted at her, unsure.
Slow, terrified dread sunk into Reagan in that moment of uncertainty. She waited with bated breath for what Heika would say next.
"The only thing I regretted, coming to build my life here on Midgard, was having to leave her behind. But I knew that she'd be alright. After all, she still had my brother to watch over her. And whatever reason, the Prince of Asgard - Loki Odinson - had always treated her with such kindness, never once expecting anything in return."
"I'm not sure who..."
"She always spoke so highly of you, my mother," Heika smiled, squeezing his hand. "Though I suppose you'd know her as Sygran."
And the breath rushed out of Reagan's lungs and she watched the colour drain from Loki's face. He stared down at the woman, unable to speak.
"Treat her kindly," Heika said gently. "Take care of her where I no longer can. That is all I ask."
Reagan took a cautious step towards them.
"Though, if I may be so bold," Heika added as an amused afterthought. "I might also request that you refrain from any more invasions. On this planet, at least."
A surprised, manic kind of giggle burst from Reagan's lips then. She hadn't expected it - such an insane thing to think of with all the world-changing information Heika had just dumped upon them both.
Loki's attention suddenly snapped her way.
The look on his face - she'd never seen him look at her like that before. He looked... if Reagan hadn't known better, she would have thought he looked afraid. A chill swept through her, her heart clenching. His eyes were wild, fear and apprehension and uncertainty storming there.
he was terrified.
"Loki?" she said gently.
Reagan took a tentative step towards him but his entire frame visibly tensed - so impossibly rigid - as though he might actually flee from her. Reagan froze, watching him, unsure.
Loki... she called to him, trying to be gentle.
She received no response.
Unsure, she studied him. It was such a foreign feeling now, to be unsure of him. Neither of them moved, they just continued to stare at one another, neither sure of what to do.
It was then that Heika spoke once more.
"Why don't I give the two of you a few moments?" she said.
Reagan only nodded, her concerned gaze still fixed on Loki as she edged towards him cautiously. The old woman ambled slowly from the room as Loki and Reagan continued their strange and frightening staring match. Even after she'd made her way down the hall, leaving them in silence, Reagan only watched him. Her brow furrowed in concern.
He stared at her wildly, unblinking, as though he were worried that at any second she would spring and attack. Like he'd never really seen her before. It made Reagan want to cry.
Loki... It's okay. It's okay.
Slowly, she took a small, careful step towards him. A small wave of relief swept through her when, this time, he didn't flinch away. She reached out a hand. Slowly - so slowly - she moved to him, closing that painful distance. And all the while he watched her, guarded. But then, as she stood before him, and reached out slowly, her fingertips brushed against the back of his hand. It seemed to break him from his trance.
Loki loosed a shuddering breath, and with a slight tremor in his hands, he reached for her.
Reagan went to him gladly. Relief crashed through her as he let her touch him, draw into him - pull him closer. Her hands were on him. His were on her. And he held her as if she were made of glass.
"It's okay," she whispered.
Loki pressed his forehead to hers, and she cupped his face with a gentle, soothing touch.
It's okay, she promised him once more.
And it was then that Loki finally spoke, asking her the question he'd been afraid to ask from the moment he'd realised what Heika had given them. A question that had plagued him in secret as he had tried to find answers of his own. Because what if he had found it? What if he had found a way, and he had put it to her, and she answered 'no'?
One question.
The question.
He forced the words up his throat, knowing that her answer had the power to break him entirely.
"Is it what you would want?"
