Loki bit his bottom lip gently, sighing as his fortified walls came crashing down around him. You can't contain a man as sly as him in the cages of his mind for long.

"You, in my dreams. You were there every waking moment of the dream, hand in hand with me, walking by my side in a lavish dress of my colors," Loki said lowly, his brows furrowing. "I want you." As if my heart hadn't been pounding enough before. I sucked in a breath, surprised. My jaw hung ajar and instead of silence, I was met with a hundred loud thoughts, the wind shrieking through the building, my heart thundering in my chest like the rumbling thunder of a storm. The heart of the storm.

"Show me," I whispered breathlessly. "Show me this isn't an illusion we need to escape, show me this is real," My voice sounded frail and just barely above a whisper, almost taken away by the whistling of the wind.

Show me this love is real.

Loki rose to his knees, taking a half a step forward before tangling his icy slim fingers in the mess of my hair. He gripped the back of my hair tightly, bringing my head forward. The kiss was needy, but not as rushed and sloppy as before. This time, the kiss felt a million times different than the first. I was able to react, snaking my own hands up to his shoulders gently. His lips, unlike last time, were soft and gentle. The only alike thing between the two kisses being the length of them. They were too quick, and when he pulled away hesitantly, my lips cooled and had already begun tingling with neglect. That's when I came to a blunt conclusion.

I wanted him, I needed him. He was filling a gaping hole in my heart that no other could as I was doing the same for him.

***

By daybreak, I had fallen asleep once again, in my own bedroll. It had been agreed upon through actions rather than words that we both felt a certain need and fondness for each other. What we felt was no longer a child's game and rather much more lively than that. But we both agreed to push aside said feelings until we were out of Jotunheim. It would only be another burden to carry around in the middle of a war- another worry and distraction to add to the list.

Ignoring the young prince and my feelings was easier than I had expected. Loki kept out of my way, busying himself with another mundane task. I did so as well, occupying myself with tucking my bedroll up into my knapsack and eating up the last portions of food in my bag. Soon enough, the awkward atmosphere around us eased into a normal routine, focusing now on something far more challenging and important.

"By now, most of the city has been evacuated which is both good and bad," Orgnar grumbled as he gathered us around, explaining today's tasks. By tomorrow, we should easily be on our way to Asgard- home. I was ready for a warm bed and cold mead.

"Why would it be bad?" a foot soldier spoke up, his voice stern and authoritative. Orgnar's eyes just barely strayed to mine before he straightened himself up.

"We can't blend in with them, cover ourselves and run with the crowd. We are completely bare now, and with any movement the guards would know that there is an intruder. But delaying our attack might have helped us, as well. They expected us to attack immediately, harsh and unplanned, but alas we did not, throwing them off course," he explained. The foot soldier nodded his head slowly, satisfied with the answer he had received.

It had just occurred to me that I hadn't bothered to learn their names, the two foot soldiers. They were the only two remaining out of the ten we had brought- they deserved to at least be called by their names rather than 'soldier' or 'man.' Part of me, however, did not dare learn their names, for if they were to die in battle it would be another two names added to my list of guilt. Guilt that I could not save them no matter how little of my fault it was. To learn a name was to get attached to them, and I could not risk that at this time.

"Our plan is to wait till dusk to confront Laufey. After confronting him for his crime and wrongdoing on behalf of Asgard and its people, we shall ask for him to yield to us. I believe we all know better than to think Laufey will yield to us. Therefore, we sever his head from his shoulders and bring The Allfather his head," Orgnar said. No one argued, no one even batted an eye- except for me. Laufey's head did not belong to Odin, we all knew who it technically belonged to. I could only grit my teeth and dig my nails into my forearm in an attempt to stop the anger and retaliation boiling in my stomach.

Loki glanced my way, the slightest glint of mischief apparent in his eyes as usual. I had to remind myself that we were in the middle of a war, ready to bring a king to his knees. Now was not the time to run off to him and spill my worries and rant like a frantic child.

"We believe Laufey has some powerful Giants in his barracks including the oldest Frost Giant known to Asgard- Ymir," Orgnar said lowly. The air seemed to catch our breaths, the silence hung like a thick cloud around us. Ymir. We had all heard tales of Ymir the Oldest Frost Giant as children. The stories would differ, some saying that he was dead and that his corpse shaped the grounds of Jotunheim and his blood filled the oceans and waters. The Jotun Mountains that we had climbed were said to be his back while the trees were his wisps of hair. And the patchy clouds that hung over Jotunheim were the scattered pieces of his brain. Ymir was only meant to be a story, old history even, but at this moment the thought of Ymir alive seemed too great to dismiss.

If Ymir was truly alive, it could very well send us back to Asgard in defeat- most likely dead. The First Frost Giant had been alive longer than most Aesir including Odin. In fact, from hushed whispers and old tales, Ymir chased Odin away from Jotunheim and in anger for the Asgardian's childish actions, he drew a line across the galaxies. In doing so, Ymir ripped a large gap in the space between Asgard and Jotunheim, stars and energy spilled out of the wound. Because of its blue hue and ever shifting gravity pulls much like currents, the split was named the River Ifing. The River Ifing divided the Frost Giants from from Gods and Goddesses, keeping peace at most times.

But River Ifing did not provide us any comfort of peace. They had broken that shaking peace when they invaded Asgard, and we had broken it when we entered their realm. We were most definitely picking a fight, and now that the odds may have turned against us, Orgnar and his ducklings were weary, as they should have been."Ymir was a tale," Lady Sif hissed, her eyes growing dark with unrecognizable emotion.

"Indeed, he was," Orgnar grunted, rising to his feet with a sigh. "But it seems that our tales have been coming alive for the past few days." Thor's brows were furrowed and his hand rest on Mjolnir like it was a comfort item. Maybe it was to him, everyone had to lean on something once in a while for comfort. That included me. My eyes flitted across the worried faces of the warriors before I realized what I was doing. Loki was nowhere in sight, making my heart jump for a second.

As if reading my thoughts, which may be likely, a soft hand just barely touched mine. Our fingertips skimmed each others before the gentle warmth was gone. A silent reminder that he was here and undoubtedly had my back. It was little things like that that made me relax in seconds. We didn't need to be clinging to each other every second of the day. A simple touch was enough to reassure us both. Though my expression did not change, Asmund glanced towards me, his eyes landing on Loki who stood behind me. I bit my lip, hoping he did not witness our quick touch.

"For now, rest. We move out in a few hours time. Know that some of you may not return alive," Orgnar muttered under his breath. Our nerves had dulled to a certain numbness now. We didn't quite feel any emotion but a bit of anticipation and worry. Of course it would not show through our bodies and outward emotion forged by stone, though. A hollow feeling was a strong feeling. "Dismissed," Orgnar commented, waving his hand casually before walking away from the huddled group. It was only a few seconds before the group dispersed and began grimly fiddling with their weapons or knapsacks. Loki had moved away from me, as if nothing had happened.

He was quick and careful with his movements, and I could only hope that I was as well. He was good at lying and mischief making, it was probably easier for him to lie about the relationship between us to others. I, however, was less likely to succeed at lying, especially when your dear friend kept so close to you and your thoughts. In fact, he was hovering over me before I could even mutter a word to him.

"Lady Y/N," Asmund hummed softly, bumping my elbow with his. I knew then that Loki and my exchange of silent words had not gone unnoticed to Asmund. For once, I wished that we had not gone through rigorous training because it wasn't a second later that Asmund caught my gaze to Loki. To the untrained eyes, it would have looked like nothing, but to someone like Asmund or I, it held a deeper meaning.

"Asmund," I greeted back. "Did you ever remember her name?" I had changed the subject with ease, avoiding the conversation I knew Asmund would try to bring up. The night before he had seemed so hesitant to speak her name, even going as far as trying to convince me that he could not remember. Though I said that a distraction was the last thing I needed at the moment, Loki's occasional glances were doing everything but helping me. Asmund smirked slightly, tossing an apple in his hand before taking a gracious bite.

"I always remember her name, it's got a ring to it," Asmund said, his words slightly muffled by the food in his mouth. I rolled my eyes, today was not the day I would get this mysterious girl's name. He gave me a wink, accepting my defeat with a cheeky smile.

Our next move, instructed by Orgnar, was to wait until dusk which was another unbearable five hours or so to wait. He had said that it would be best to move then rather than dark since the Jotunheim sun would cast odd glares and shadows across the barren city. In the dark, they could see us well, we would have the biggest disadvantage.

------------------------------------

The hours passed slowly as if the possibility brutal death by a supposedly dead Jotun wasn't enough pain and weariness. The sun had begun to hang low in the sky, its light casting odd dancing shadows just as Orgnar had wanted it to be. The sun's rays shown through the old rickety barn we housed, making several light lines on the ground. It was peaceful just as the night had been, but we knew it would not last. We all knew it was time. Time to confront King Laufey of Jotunheim and return home with hopefully a victory. Hopefully.

Orgnar confirmed this by standing up and sheathing his drawn axe. With a nod of his head, we stood in unison, even I followed his command. Now was not the time to retaliate, not when some of us might not return home from the inevitable battle. Together we filed out of the barn, our footsteps silent and our heads on a constant swivel for danger. To all of our reliefs, the path remained mostly clear as we walked through the empty Jotunheim streets.

Despite Odin taking the Casket of Ancient Winters, Jotunheim's prized possession and biggest source of power, the city of Utgard didn't look half bad. The houses were mostly made of thick stones and the closer we got to the heart of the city and the palace the nicer the buildings got. They began to stand taller, appear more fortified and expensive with paved roadways coated in an icy charcoal color. If anything, it looked as if it hadn't affected them at all.

As if to confirm my beliefs, the palace came into view. Its towers were spiky and constructed of stone and thick ice particles imitating the structure of Asgard's palace. My best guess is that it was newly built after Odin and his Einherjar had gone to war with the Frost Giants long ago. They had practically everything now, besides the artifact that could rain chaos on other realms.

"Didn't really understand what the gods meant when they said 'into the fire,'" Asmund mumbled beside me. He had kept relatively close to me, Loki being ahead with Thor and Orgnar like a young Prince should be. I nodded my head as the once beautiful palace became more and more sinister as we approached it. Jagged spikes of stone and holes filled with skulls came into view as we snuck across the empty street into the palace. This place was sickly beautiful.

Even the smell of recent blood tainted these walls. I could only shudder and move forward, Asmund drawing close to me.

"Laufey will undoubtedly be in his throne room which is in the heart of the palace. Two rights and a left down a hallway should lead us there," Orgnar whispered, his voice echoing off the gigantic walls. We weren't even halfway past the wide open entrance of the palace and the light was fading. The hallways ahead of us were dark and the only light that showed the way was dim blue flames- most likely of their own creation. It sent chills down my spine and I was sure that was the reason to keep such flames there.

When none of us responded to Orgnar's comment, he huffed and began pushing forward, his hefty axe drawn and ready to swing. We followed, of course, this was our mission, our duty since Asgard was attacked. We were minutes away from returning home yet such a thought felt so far away.

"Into the fire, indeed," I whispered. Asmund shuddered beside me.

~*~*~*~*~

A/N

I am  sure you notice that this chapter is a whopping 4 days late. That is completely unacceptable by my part and I will attempt to explain what kept me busy- but no excuse will excuse this late of something. I hope you will understand, thank you again for reading and not (entirely- I got two comments) chewing me out on it.

1.) School for me started on Tuesday. Mondays, some Tuesdays, and Thursdays my brother has football practice from the end of school to 7:30 pm. I don't go home because my mom works at school so we just stay the whole time. As I am sure you know, school blocks a lot of internet stuff, this includes Wattpad, Quotev, and Archive of our own. That really really sucks- I can't even use my VPN to unlock those websites. I have to get up around 5:30 am to start my day and I can't get on the computer very often (about 2-5 minutes before I have to get off.)

2.) On the first day of school, my Science Teacher decided it would be a great idea to have us read the first chapter (Page 1-25) and have it do the next day with questions 1-10 answered. That really really sucked as that book has 1532 pages and the tiniest print in the world even with my reading glasses- it was heavy and stupid. I am not allowed on electronics at home unless I have my homework down or using it for homework. By the time we got home  as we live about 30 minutes away and have to eat supper in a nearby town) It was 9:00-9:30 pm ish. I still needed to finish up my homework. Long story short- I did not get my homework done and he decided not to grade it. I was ready to kill my teacher by the second day of school.

3.) Wednesday night was a little better, but I still got a lot of homework. I did end up finishing my homework but when we got home the internet was out. The whole town was without internet AND data so I wasn't able to even update my friends or tell anyone. I have never been so frustrated in my life. Around 11:30 pm the internet went back on and I was only able to try and respond to some of your comments (but obviously not all.) 

4.) Thursday night- my brother's football practice. I ended up getting homework in every single class and I didn't have a study hall. My parents had to do a closing statement and I had to go with them which meant no internet again. When we finally got home, I weighed my book bag (out of curiosity) and it weighed 20 pounds. TWENTY FREAKING POUNDS.... That's about 9 kilograms. I was up until ten before I finished my ridiculas homework and went to sleep. (Sounds early but I was tired and pretty cranky)

5.) Friday was a breeze. In all honesty, I probably could've updated that day. I probably should have, but I was asked to do three different tattoo designs for two of our good friends. That excited me and we are meeting with them today (around 3) for a cook out so I will be inactive for a while after that. I am sorry- I probably should've updated yesterday, that was my fault and my own dong. I do have homework (and I am procrastination horribly.)

I know you have all said not to overwork myself, I have realized it is about 1000x easier said than done. I know I should have updated sooner- as soon as I could and once again I am so sorry. I will do my darnest to have the next chapter updated by next Wednesday. I cannot promise you that there will be two chapters a week now. I am sorry, once again. It's the first time I have missed an update since I set a time to update. I hope you all enjoy your weekends.