Chapter 5
Malekith was quick but his endurance was starting to waiver as he fought the brothers.
Loki managed to cut part of Malekith’s ear. The dark elf winced just before Thor’s hammer struck his knee shattering the cap and disfiguring his leg completely. He fell to the ground where Loki pounced on his chest. He wanted to watch all life leave his eyes as he slit his throat.
“I will not be the last.” Snickered Malekith. “There will be more, just like me.”
“You choose the wrong God to start a war with.” Loki didn’t hesitate in bringing his daggers down into Malekith’s chest. He didn’t remove them until he was sure he was dead.
The two brothers looked down at his body for a moment. Many of the elven warriors who had followed him had been defeated, those that remained slowly started to surrender to the Valkyrie and Dark Elf reinforcements.
“We should probably make sure he stays dead this time.” Suggested Loki.
Thor raised his hammer and a bolt of lightening came down. It struck the body with such force it disintegrated into ash.
A ship appeared from the air and I knew it had to be Loki. He and Thor were in the Hall of Heroes with Odin when we walked in. He was happy to see me but I could still tell he was flustered.
“Malekith is dead. There is no doubt this time.”
“Did you kill him?” Asked my dad.
“It’s was a family effort.” Loki looked at Thor. I held on tightly to Loki's arm and took Thor’s hand in my other. I had once asked at a feast in the hall of heroes if it ever got easier to take the life of another. Thor said “No”, that if anything it gets harder, because the faces of your slain enemies never let you forget. In this case, I hoped the face of Malekith brought them both peace.
“Klaern has requested your audience once more in hopes you will still recognize peace with his people.” Says Thor.
“There are no worries. Klaern has proved himself an ally of Asgard by aiding us in our victory over Malekith. Afterall, we cannot blame the actions of a few on the entirety of their people.”
My family stayed for the evening before heading back to Earth. The second impression for Loki wasn’t much different from the first. My father still cracked a few jokes that went over his head and was modest enough to let my father think that should he ever break my heart he would have some chance of kicking his ass.
It was a couple of days later, when Loki tried to make a move on me in the shower. He came in already partially aroused and I finished rinsing off and left. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him what had happened. What Malekith had done. I had been fighting him off for almost a month when he had finally had enough, I should have known at some point he would break. Every time I tried to push through it I became emotional and stopped. He kissed on my neck and rubbed his erection against me while lying in bed.
“Loki…” I pushed him away slightly and he immediately rolled onto me.
“I’ve been extremely patient with you, how much longer do you expect to torment me?”
I couldn’t give him an answer and once more he tried to seduce me, pinning my arms above my head and kissing down my neck.
“Loki, stop!” I yelled.
“What is wrong with you?” He demanded before rising up from the bed and getting dressed.
“Where are you going?”
“Somewhere to get some relief.” He huffed.
“Loki…” I called once more before he left the room. I got up to follow him scared he was going to find some palace maiden to seduce, plenty of them had an eye for him. “Loki, wait…”
I watched him storm out of the house from the top of the staircase and with him went my heart. I tried to follow overwhelmed by emotion and heartbreak from his outburst I grabbed my chest and my breath became short. I was halfway down the steps when everything went black.
I woke up in the medical ward of the palace scared and panicked, unaware I had passed out from an anxiety attack.
“It’s okay dear.” Loki grabbed my hand and I laid back down.
“What happened?”
“I found you at the base of the stairs unconscious when I returned home.”
I slowly pulled my hand away from him. “Did you…”
“Did I what? You don’t think I had an affair? Darling, did you really think I was going to find some random woman to have sex with?”
“You said you needed relief. What did you think I would think?”
“Honey, I went down to the river to get some air and cool down. I was frustrated not desperate.”
The doctor came in a few minutes later with the results of some tests he had ran to make sure my black out wasn’t more than an anxiety attack. I wasn’t prepared for what else he had discovered.
“You’re having a baby.”
“What?” I felt the color draining from my face, I couldn’t hide my fear. “No, no, no…”
“You’re about a month along.”
“No, get it out! Get rid of it! Get it out! I want it out!”
“Lyla, calm down!” Loki looked on as I became hysterical. Two nurses came in and the doctor ordered Loki out while they sedated me, for fear I might attempt to hurt myself or the baby. I awoke restrained to the bed with Loki by my side seated in a chair.
“I thought your reaction would be different upon hearing that news.”
“Loki…I have something to confess…”
His eyes grew dark and his jaw was tense.
“Malekith…” I could barely look at him as I tried to spit it out. “Malekith raped me on Svartalfheim.”
Loki’s eyes moved to the floor as he took in a deep breath.
“The baby might be his…”
He didn’t look at me when he left. He just got up casually and walked out of the room.
Thor came to visit shortly after I broke the news to Loki, and I confessed to him what I had told Loki.
“I will speak to him and make sure he is okay. Lyla, you did nothing wrong, you know that?” He wiped the tears from my face that my restraints wouldn’t allow me to reach.
I just nodded and couldn’t help feeling like I did.
Later that night Odin came to sit with me. I was asleep when he came in.
“My dear, I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“All I can do is sleep and stare at the ceiling. I can’t even feed myself.” I pulled on the restraints.
“I spoke to my son, about what happened. Why did you not tell him sooner?”
“Because I was scared.”
“Of what?”
“Of what he might do. I didn’t want him to look at me like I was tainted and be done by me.”
“Do you think he would do such a thing? My son is completely in love with you.”
“Your son couldn’t even look at me after I told him and hasn’t returned since. The one person he despised more than any, bedded his wife.”
“It was against your will was it not?”
“Of course, it was!”
“Then there is no reason for you to be bare the blame! You’ve asked the doctors to terminate the child and I ask of you to wait. I understand your concerns, but let them see where the child bares its lineage before taking its life.”
I reluctantly agreed.
I didn’t expect to see Loki the following morning. He had walked in just after breakfast and took a seat in the chair beside the bed. Even though my eyes were swollen from tears I could see him staring me down.
“I’d rather you not sit there and look down on me from your high horse.”
“My horse is dead. I look not down on you, but towards you for forgiveness. I didn’t leave yesterday because of what Malekith did to you, I left because I failed you as a husband. I should have known something was off, that there was dark magic at play when we arrived at your parent’s house. If it wasn’t for me, he never would have hurt you.”
“Your focus was reuniting me with my family, something I wanted deeply. And you came for me…once again, Loki, you came to my rescue.” I tried to reach out to him, my husband, who was just as sullen as me, but the restraints gave me little reach. “He told me he did it to break you and I didn’t want that to happen. I didn’t want you to be hurt, and I didn’t want you to leave.”
“They’re Frost Giants.”
“What?”
“What’s growing inside you isn’t a Dark Elf, they’re Frost Giants. The doctor told me when I was walking down the hall.”
“They?”
“You’re pregnant with two of my offspring.”
“I’m having…twins?” I couldn’t believe it, six years, it took six years and finally something was growing. Loki got up and kissed my forehead before placing his hand on my stomach.