BOOK TWO. After being manipulated and kidnapped by Restitution, Anna + Loki narrowly escape with their lives only to be separated by Odin. Stuck on Earth with Jane Foster, Anna finds herself missing the one man she thought she would always hate.
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"JANE, COME ON," Anna urges, trying to rouse her friend from where Jane is unconscious on the ground, still oblivious to everything around her. "Jane..."
She glances up to see Thor in the distance, losing horribly in his fight against that horrid monster Kurse. Loki is nowhere to be seen, which only causes her to panic even more. She turns back to her friend whilst swearing under her breath.
"Jane," she says louder, this time propping the brunette upright and muttering an apology before slapping her soundly across the face.
Jane's eyes flutter open, and her hand flies to her cheek, "Ouch! What the hell was that for?"
"I'm sorry," Anna says rapidly, checking on Thor again and still not finding Loki. "We need to go, c'mon. Get up."
Looping her hand around Jane's waist, she pulls the woman's arm over her shoulder and hoists her upright. Luckily, Jane underwent no severe physical damage when Malekith pulled the Aether from her, only a drastic weakening of her strength. She stands with Anna's help, gripping the other woman tightly, and they begin to shuffle toward Thor.
"What are we going to do? We can't beat that thing," Jane mutters, watching in horror as Thor gets pummeled by Kurse.
They've sped up, thankfully, but there's still a large distance to cross before they arrive. Anna can't help but grin as Loki appears from behind an outcropping of rock, clutching a large sword, and sending it home between the monster's shoulder blades before he can continue his assault on Thor. Distracted by the sight, Jane missteps and they both tumble to the ground in dusty heap. Anna nearly cries out in pain, clutching her ankle, as she rolls out from underneath Jane, but she bites her lip to prevent any noise from slipping out and distracting the two brothers.
She pushes herself upright, ignoring Jane - who is doing the same, and opens her mouth in horror as Kurse turns to face Loki. Finally, his rage is satiated. Finally, he can find peace knowing that he has killed the creature that murdered Frigga. She recognizes the look on his face, the respite from the ceaseless inner torment of his guilt, and a smile begins to curl up the corners of her mouth.
Her joy becomes horror, however, as she watches Kurse clutch Loki's arms - lifting him until they are eye-to-eye - and pulls him forward until he is impaled on the sword still puncturing the creature's body. The whole world falls to pieces before her eyes, his cry of pain reaching her ears from where she scrambles to her feet and rushes toward him. Her ankle notwithstanding, Anna breaks into a run, blinded by tears that have not yet fallen, while the sounds of her fears lodge themselves in her throat.
She cannot move fast enough. She cannot yell loud enough. The impossible distance between them, although it is practically nothing, seems so large that her feet feel like concrete bricks smashing into the surface and preventing her from making any real progress.
Thor cries out as well, his voice joining another that she recognizes as her own, while Kurse tosses Loki to the ground. He clutches his wound, emerald eyes glaring up at the beast, while both Thor and Anna are scrambling to reach him.
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