Among the Asgardians: The Goddess of Love

Frey: The Final Chapter

I stayed by Loki’s side until Hela and Nari arrived. Nari conjured a set of magical chains out of thin air and used them to bind his father. The look of stone on his face was one I had never seen before. From a boy who never seemed to show any emotion, I could tell there was anger and fear in his heart. “Nari,” Loki whispered. “Nari, I’m so sorr-.”

But Nari clapped a muzzle over his mouth before he could finish the sentence. “No,” he replied. “No, you’re not. You wanted to kill Sleipnir and Hela. I care not for my own life, but I would gladly die a thousand deaths for my sister and my brother. This is a fact you have seemed to disregard. I have sworn to protect my siblings at all costs; therefore I must protect them if any threat arises. It seems only logical that I should protect them from you now, though it pains me to do so. We grew up without a mother or a father. You were always too busy plotting and trying to take over the government and bedding other women. This is the only probable outcome of what you have done with your life, father. Take your punishment like a man does, and do not ever attempt to apologize to me again. I will not accept it.”

Next, the dark-haired boy’s golden eyes met mine. “Take Hela and get to the rooftop. Perhaps there is still hope for Jacob.”

Loki make an agonized straining movement against the chains, but it was no use. He was captured. Hela walked over to me with tears pouring down her face as she looked at her father. “I agree with every word Nari said,” she hissed, hurling a glob of spit directly onto the ground right in front of Loki’s face. Her grasp on my turned blazing hot and suddenly we were flying. At the top of Stark Tower, I immediately ran to Jacob’s body. Hela came with me, but I could tell by the look on her face that something wasn’t right.

“What did Loki stab him with?” she asked, looking at the gaping hole in Jacob’s stomach.

“A… a dagger,” I stammered. “It was silver with a gold handle that had a ruby set in it.”

Hela swore and got up from the body, lighting herself on fire. “Goddammit! I swear I’ll send him to the deepest, darkest pit of Hel for that one!” she growled. When she turned around, fresh tears were falling down her cheeks.

“Fix him, Hela!” I shouted. “Why aren’t you fixing him?”

“I… I can’t!” she cried a sob tore from her lungs. “My… my father courted a Valkyrie some years ago, and she taught him how our magic worked. There…there is a spell that… once cast upon an object used to kill someone… they can never be brought back to life,” she sobbed, falling to her knees on the floor. “Kathryn, I can’t fix him. He’s never coming back.”

I ran to her side and fell down next to her. We cried together in each other’s arms. Both of us were crying like we had never cried before. Suddenly, I heard a noise. It was like a huge, metallic screeching. I looked up through my tears and turned my eyes to the portal. It was the Chitauri mother ship. A huge piece of wreckage the size of a city block was about to fall through the portal, directly on top of Stark Tower! This scenario was completely different from the last time because the portal had been opened from the Chitauri end this time, and this portal made the last one look like a pinprick.

“Hela,” I whispered. “Hela, we’re gonna die.”

The goddess looked at me with a disappointed look on her face. “I’ve trained my Valkyries well. We’ll go to Valhalla.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” said a new, feminine voice.

“Tessa!” Hela and I both cried together.

“She can close the portal!” Hela shouted.

“Tessa, help us,” I begged.

“It is not a problem,” Tessa grinned. “You are Tessa’s friends. You took care of Tessa in her time of need. For that, she thanks you. Now is the time for her to repay you. She will sacrifice herself to save you.”