Infatuated with a God

Chapter Seventy-Four

It was late morning when I awoke on the sofa of my apartment, the sun fluttering through the crack in my curtains warming my face. I stretched out, happy to feel the strength of my seiðr come back after it had drained so thoroughly yesterday. I allowed some of it to flow into my body, removing the aches I felt in my back and neck from the sleeping position I'd taken up on the sofa. Expensive doesn't equal comfort, I would do my best to remember that. Still, it was necessary. I could feel her seiðr from my bedroom and knew that she was safe. Asleep but peacefully, and thankfully not dreaming. To be sure, I teleported to the bedside and placed my finger to her temple. With no mental shield blocking me it was easy to get into her mind and I found nothing in response. I watched as she moved ever so slightly, pressing her forehead slightly into my finger as she felt my seiðr. I couldn't help but smile as I gently moved my finger across her forehead, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. I laughed slightly at the realisation that I could ever be reduced to this for any being, yet alone a mortal. But there isn't a world I wouldn't burn if it meant seeing her smile. Unfortunately the one being I wouldn't hurt was the one holding her back. She'd become her own worst enemy. Fighting back against her own happiness because it scares her. Her wellbeing already deteriorated following D.C. and whilst I had hoped that her reaching out to me for help was the start of her realising that. Instead, I believe now she would just get worse.

With the return of my seiðr allowing me to do so, I reached out and cast a shield around my room taking time to carve in runes that would not only keep her safe but alert me if she left. With that done, I dressed in some of the Midgardian clothes Kaya brought me and made my way down to the lab where I imagined Stark would be. Even just before lunch on a Thursday he was down listening to some mortal music I recognised as a piece Kaya would play occasionally. It quietened down instantly as the doors closed automatically behind me.

"I thought I banned you from getting in here without my knowledge, Reindeer Games." I rolled my eyes at his words and walked over to a spare seat near where Stark was working on the Mind Crown.

"I came back for the cuff, my Seiðr is back now so I thought I would come get it to save the trouble." I watched as he tried not to look at me, but his eyes fluttered to the side, looking at me in his peripheral vision. In one swift movement, he kicked his legs out, moving his chair back to a table behind him. He reached into a draw before throwing me the cuff. I examined it again, a small smile lifted my lips as I saw the green, black and gold design that I knew Kaya had something to do with. Hesitantly, I clasped it onto my wrist feeling the immediate effects as it blocked my ability to call to my seiðr as effectively.

"Even I have to admit this is impressive for Midgardian technology. Same for the glass in the cells and the training room. You accomplished this in the three years since I was last here?" I watched as he stiffened slightly, uncomfortable by either me or the conversation. Likely both.

"The only thing stopping me from turning on everyone that day was a device. Let's say I had some incentive that day to make sure you couldn't after that device was removed." I cast my eyes down to the floor, hesitant about what I needed to say next. It made me surprisingly uncomfortable, even if it was the right thing to do. No one ever told you that admitting the truth would feel right, especially when admitting you were in the wrong.

"I know you don't trust me, Stark. And I understand why, regardless of my ability to make decisions, you would be cautious around me. I know it probably won't mean much, but I do apologise for my actions." My words were enough for him to completely stop tinkering on the machine. He kept the silver tool in his hand, hitting it softly against his palm several times.

"That is not something I ever thought you would say." I laughed softly.

"It is not something I thought I would say, either. My time here has come to help me realise that mortals are not quite as insignificant as I once thought them to be." He turned to face me, the silver tool now steady in his hands as he looked over me. He was assessing me, trying to figure out what game I was playing. "You don't believe my time here would have helped. I didn't either. We were both wrong." He glared at me, thinking carefully over his next few words.