TW: Further descriptions of SA in the first section.
So easy, it nearly bored me. Nearly.
Hela submitted to my every whim and naively believed my power over her was natural. Pitiful. Once I planted guilt in her mind, she did everything she could to snuff it out. The girl became little more than an object—a treasure trove of information for Lokison's fall—and she rarely resisted my tinctures to spin time. Keeping her in my chambers was the wisest choice since I couldn't very well have her following me and drawing attention to my erratic schedule, so I sedated her for hours at a time over the first week.
Only once did she refuse to take her poison willingly, insistent that she couldn't wait another moment to have me. Such a nasty thing, she was, begging for my cock to prove how worthy she was to receive it. Her eager wish was almost admirable, except she couldn't guess that what I offered was the only reason she was still alive. It was too sweet to know that once this was over, I could tell Vali what I'd done with glee.
Instead of granting her wish, I smiled and yanked her hair too hard, forcing her face to the ceiling so I could pour the liquid down her open throat. She coughed and choked and swatted me away from her nose and mouth to breathe, but I was stronger. As soon as her body went limp with the effect, I fucked her through pained screams, smearing the cum and blood that resulted from my force all over her face so she would have to clean it up and feel shame.
Those Dagheim mystics were nearly evil with the power in their potions. Once Hela woke again and saw my false tears of regret for "submitting to her despicable commands", she fell over herself to apologize for being so repulsively vulgar in her trance. I would forgive her, she would divulge Narvlheim secrets, and we would start all over again. Clockwork.
Gunnar and Tyr met in my chamber a few times while Hela was too drugged to notice, but both of them were jealous with how I kept her to myself. Gunnar only averted his eyes from her naked body sprawled across my bed when I openly watched him, and Tyr tugged at his trousers after glancing at her. She would've been an easy conquest to them in her current state; neither of them had much prowess with the servant girls who normally begged for my attention.
"Attracted to women who can't object, Tyr?" I asked, then tapped the table below. We reviewed a hand-drawn map of Narvlheim which Hela decorated with secret portal sites—a perfect way to plan our upcoming invasion. "I appreciate your distraction, but this is the priority."
He glared since I embarrassed him. "Doesn't matter if she's awake or not. She certainly doesn't look gross to me."
"That's only because she has voids to fill. You'd get off in a rodent if it bent over far enough." I raised my brow.
Gunnar tried to de-escalate by pretending we weren't talking about anything but the plan. "I'm still confused why Tyr gets to be with you when you bring Rasvelg here. Where am I supposed to be when this all starts, again?"
I groaned. "At the Bifrost. You're going to head Lokison off at the Bifrost. I'm certain he'll come through it. Tyr will stay with Hela to round up the other soldiers when we challenge my father first. You're my best man with a sword."
He threw one of the portal pins across the table in annoyance. "Come on. You know I can't fight him."
"That's the point. You'll confuse him."
Tyr kicked back in his chair with his arms folded. "Yeah, because he'll think you're on his side."
"No. Because he'll know you're not." I stood and circled our table with slow steps. "Vali thinks all soldiers in Asgard fight for the same cause by default. When he sees you, he'll know by then that I'm at the center of this. He's not stupid—he's soft-hearted. There's a huge difference. He'll know you're the enemy, but he won't try very hard to really defeat you. That will be your chance to take him out."
"Take out Vali Lokison. Sure." Gunnar rolled his eyes.
"Do you remember the first time I brought you out of Asgard and to the outer lands?" I stopped behind him and rubbed his shoulders to give him exaggerated attention. "That time we destroyed a few smoky demons from Muspelheim?"
He chuckled. "Yeah, I remember."
"You remember your first kill? That fire inside that made you feel ten feet tall?"
"That's such a high," Tyr said with a sideways smile.
"Uh-huh," said Gunnar. "It was good."
"Well, Vali hasn't killed anyone yet." I patted his shoulders with both hands together. "You really think he has what it takes to kill one of his own?"
Both of them hushed a bit. While I couldn't see Gunnar straight on, there was tacit fear in Tyr's expression as they watched one another.
I leaned over Gunnar's shoulder to look into his face. "Is there a problem?"
"What if he does?" Gunnar whispered. His voice skipped over its own anxiety.
"Then you have to act faster than him. In return, I'll give you a prize."
Tyr narrowed his eyes. "A prize? Why would he get a prize and I don't?"
"Relax. You'll get it, too." I slunk back to the bed and stroked Hela's bare thigh as she slept. "Kill Lokison, and I'll give this one to you. Both of you. It'll be your decision to use and abuse her however you wish, for however long you want. I only need her to force the hands of the other soldiers in Asgard. Once they're blindly subject to my command, she won't be necessary anymore. Consider her body my consolation for being outcasts to this point alongside me."
Gunnar shifted in his seat with the change in our conversation. "Isn't she a witch?"
"Are you frightened?" I asked, lifting her hand and dropping it to prove how lifeless she was. "How many times must I tell you not to be a coward? Her mind is moldable, like I said it would be. If you want her like this, that's no trouble. Personally, I prefer when she has a bit of fire in her. Gives me a challenge. Makes me feel like I win."
Tyr shook his head through a sigh.
"What's that, hmm? You disapprove?" I asked, stroking Hela's hair sweetly. "Wish no ill on the monster with a pretty face?"
"Stop it," Gunnar said. "Even you have limits, right, Modi?"
"Sire," I corrected, calmly rising to loom across the table from him. "I need no formal ceremony to be your king. Go on. Address me properly."
He put his hands in his lap and dropped his chubby face. "Yes, Sire."
"And you?" I asked Tyr, barely moving except for the sideways tilt of my eyes in his direction.
He was a bit more prone to challenge me, though Tyr chose wisely. Tucked a bit of his dark hair behind an ear and complied. "Yes, Sire."
"That's better." I crossed the room to the balcony with my hands behind my back, stoic and certain of the next steps. "Oh, how the fires of war will light the sky. Rasvelg has been patient enough, but he longs to feed. The carnage we'll leave behind will be plenty for him to feast on before we retreat to the outer lands and recruit again."
"How much longer are you going to wait, Sire?" Tyr asked, either learning quickly or patronizing me. Soon, it wouldn't really matter.
"Three days. Most soldiers will be gathered then to start a new season of training." I looked over my shoulder at them. "Three days, and Yggdrasil will be one step closer to perfection."
