Chapter 7
Awareness slowly came to Maggie. There was pain, but it was bearable. It wasn’t the same wrenching pain she’d woken with the last few times. Everything ached, though. Her lids felt like leaden weights, but she somehow managed to open her eyes. Two things were immediately clear: she was lying alone in a huge bed, and a piece of paper sat folded a few inches from where she lay. She moved slowly, tentatively, reaching for the paper before she drew up short. A long, dark green sleeve fell past her fingertips. Her eyes followed the sleeve and discovered that it was part of a loose-fitting dress. A glance beside the bed found a small empty table. Beside the table, sat a chair draped with what appeared to be a belt, something that looked like a scarf in various shades of brown, and…was that armor? She shook her head, and the very movement made her dizzy. She turned slowly back to the other side of the bed and picked up the piece of paper. It was thicker than any paper she’d ever seen. It was also soft, almost woven in texture. The writing was elegant and precise and in black ink. She read:
“Do not attempt to move too much. I will return with food and drink. Rest in our bed until my return.
Do not leave the room.”
It was signed with the letter L.
Maggie ran her fingers over the letters. Hardly a love letter, but that one phrase…”our bed”… kept drawing her eye. Heat filled her cheeks even as a smile curved her lips. She lay back on the bed, holding the note close. Loki would call it a foolish sentiment, she was sure, but she held the note close nonetheless. He’d never written anything to her before.
She had no intention of disobeying his edict. She had no clue where she was other than he was nearby. Weary and aching, Maggie let her eyes drift shut. As she slipped into sleep, the faint scent of citrus and spice…Loki’s scent…filled her.
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Voices woke her.
“He should be seeking your counsel!” a male voice cried.
“Thor seeks neither my counsel nor my approval.” This male’s voice was older, almost weary. “This is his wish, and I shall honor it.”
“But it is a mistake! He long ago chose the mortal woman,” another male’s voice, deeper still, responded.
"He has made a new choice,” spoke the weary older man. “It will be done as he wishes.” The male voices spoke atop one another, and the weary older man’s voice resounded, as if he’d lost all patience, “Enough! I, Odin AllFather, have agreed and will do has Thor has bid.”
There were sounds of meek acquiescence and departing footsteps.
Maggie watched the seams of a door appear on the far side of the room, and an older man entered the room. He had shoulder length white hair, and a metal patch covered his right eye. She bolted upright in the bed, and made to scramble off until the old man began to glow. When the glow had faded, Loki stood in his place, wearing the earth tone clothes she’d seen him wear only that last time in the library.
Her jaw dropped open, and Loki chuckled, “Someone’s awake at last.”
Maggie stared at him then back at the wall he’d just walked through. The seams had disappeared as soon as he’d finished stepping through. She looked back at Loki as he started toward her, a grin on his face. “You’ve seen me transform before, pet.”
She nodded slowly, and moved to the edge of the bed. The green gown she’d been clothed in bunched around her, and she had to stand to straighten it. She swayed when she stood, and Loki caught her shoulders. He steadied her, and she looked up into his eyes. She opened her mouth and closed it again. She had so many questions and no idea where to start. She shook her head slightly and winced at the sudden pain that bounded through her skull. “Note to self,” she groaned, clutching at Loki’s arms as the pain faded as quickly as it had come, “do not do that again.”
Loki chuckled, and she opened her eyes to find him smiling down at her. “Not going to ask me any of the questions running through that mind of yours?” He lightly tapped one of her temples before sliding his fingers through her hair, tucking a few errant strands behind her ear.
“This is real?” she asked. It was really the only question that mattered. “It’s…it’s not like the Library?”
“Do I feel real to you?” he asked, running his hands over the flowing folds of the green gown, raising gooseflesh in his wake.
She shivered. Memories of those hands on her naked flesh flashed through her mind. She bit back a groan, forced herself to meet his eyes though a blush heated her cheeks. “You felt real in the Library,” she said breathlessly.
“The Library was real,” he said with a smile, “after a fashion.” Those hands of his pulled the gown taut over her breasts and his thumbs skimmed over her nipples. “You should know, you created it.”
Maggie shuddered, and her eyes drifted shut. Loki’s hands slid the gown from her shoulders and down until her arms were trapped within it. “I never knew it was real,” she gasped, swaying toward him only to collapse against him with a groan as a sudden jolt of pain throbbed through her.
“The pain’s back again?” he asked softly, releasing his hold on her gown to gently grasp her shoulders. Without his hands holding it taut against her, the gown slid to her waist, leaving her chest bare.
She pulled her arms from the sleeves and slid them around Loki. She nodded mutely, slowly, clinging to him until the pain receded again. His lips at her temple were soft, soothing. “Where is this pain coming from?” she whispered.
Loki looked uncomfortable as he pulled back. He swiftly pulled up the gown, covering her once more, before he settled her on the edge of the bed and sat beside her. “I believe it’s because I brought you here.”
She looked at him, waiting for more. He didn’t elaborate. She opened her mouth to speak then shut it again, thinking instead. She had been in the lab with Jane before losing all patience and going to the Library…and then Loki had brought her here, wherever here…”Wait, this is Asgard?” she asked. Loki only nodded. “That’s…”
“Not so impossible,” he finished with a small smile that faded. “I’d forgotten how fragile you mortals really are.”
Maggie stared at him. “You mean…you not only brought…me…however real I was in the Library…you brought my body from the lab, too?” Again, he nodded, watching her. She didn’t know how he’d done it, and that didn’t seem to matter as much as it should. She’d realized quite some time ago that Loki was capable of doing incredible things…well, incredible to her. She wouldn’t allow herself to wonder why he’d brought her either. She’d asked him why her just before he’d brought her here, and his response had left her blushing, “Why not you?” he countered. “Smart, beautiful, creative, but a dark side as well.”
Her stomach rumbled noisily, and she blushed. Questions, it would seem, would have to wait. She was starving. She frowned then met his gaze. “How long have I been here?”
“I was waiting for you to get to that,” he said softly, and his smile was once more apologetic. “You’ve been unconscious for quite some time.” He lightly caressed her cheek before rising and heading for the wall he’d walked through earlier. “I’ll just arrange for us to have some food…”
“How long?” she asked again, watching as he stopped just short of the wall. She thought she heard him mutter a faint, “damn,” before he turned to face her.
Meeting her gaze evenly, he said, “You’ve been unconscious for nine days.”
End Chapter 7