All Hail The King // Loki - Book 2 ✓

Chapter 16

AFTER HOURS OF PACING AROUND HIS CELL, Loki finally settled himself into the single armchair to read one of the books Frigga brought him. The dungeons have long since been returned to order, with a squadron of guards returning various prisoners to their cells. Several of the guards he doesn't recognize, meaning they must have come from a different part of the palace to replace those who perished in the prison riot, and he notices a significant decrease in the number of prisoners populating the cells around his.

He flips the page, slowly reading and re-reading the first paragraph over and over again. None of the words are sinking in, not when he can't stop thinking about his last interaction with Anna. How he wished she had not left with Sif. While he knew the Asgardian warrior could take care of herself, he would've much preferred to keep Anna by his side where he knew she would be safe at all times. This state of not knowing - uncertain if the mortal woman who has claimed his heart is injured or worse - is absolutely excruciating. Her mortality had been the subject of his thoughts before, especially when he argued with himself over whether or not he should push her away, but it had never plagued him such as this. What he would give to speak to Iðunn and plead with her for one of her golden apples. He'd done much to the goddess of youth and immortality in the past, betraying her trust, but he'd long since pledged to protect Anna whatever the cost. Someday, he intended to pay that price to Iðunn in exchange for the knowledge that his beloved would remain young, strong, and healthy for what seems like an eternity.

An eternity with him.

He knows he does not deserve her love, and yet he savors every minute of it. Between Anna and Frigga, he can already feel himself returning to the man he once was - better still - even though remnants of his cold and callous temperament remain. It is difficult to let go of his past with Odin, his betrayal by the man he once called Father, and he cannot bring himself to forgive and forget.

Sighing, he reads the same paragraph once more. His thoughts flicker to Frigga and their last conversation. She lied to him, yes, but she also loved him - irrevocably - despite his horrific heritage. Despite his troubled upbringing, Frigga always made him feel special. She shared her magic with him, allowing him to flourish under her supervision, so that he might feel a drop of sunshine whilst standing in Thor's eternal shadow.

Footsteps draw his attention away from the pages of the book.

He turns to see one of his mother's guards standing on the other side of the forcefield - the one who frequently delivered the books Frigga sent him - with his helmet by his side, and immediately he knows. Oh gods, he knows what has happened.

Nodding to dismiss the man, Loki turns away - his expression blank - and closes the book. 

He places it on the ottoman and stands slowly, the pain in his heart building beyond that which he can stand as he takes in the knowledge that Frigga has died.

The woman who raised him. The woman who shared her magic with him. The woman who loved him despite who and what he is. His mother is dead.

Walking to the middle of the room, his eyes searching for any kind of answer - something to make sense of the anguish seeping through his entire body - only to be met with emptiness. 

His fists clench tightly, and he uses what little magic he retains to send out a shockwave that topples the furniture filling his cell in one powerful blow.

With that, he descends into madness.

He rapidly loses all control, his calm exterior slipping away to reveal the pain within him as destroys anything and everything he can touch without reserve. No longer clinging to any pretenses, Loki allows his inhibitions to slip away as he flies into a rage.

Now, his physical surroundings match the sheer anguish and overwhelming grief tearing his heart into pieces until nothing is left.

Now Playing: "The Lightning Strike" by Snow Patrol.