The God and the Siren (Loki Romance)

Chapter One

The world is different now, it has been since the invasion. New York is particularly changed, and it hasn't felt quite the same in years. I'm not sure it'll ever get back to the way it was, but that might not be a bad thing—we're moving forward. Learning every day to adapt to the new reality; we've never been alone out there.

It's been a tough pill to swallow.

Particularly since the Asgardians lost their home and settled here a few months ago. Progress toward acceptance and solidarity toward them has been pushed and shoved in all sorts of directions. Some in immensely kind and positive ones, and others that've required S.H.I.E.L.D agents to be stationed around the buildings that the Asgardians are living in.

There are plenty of people who are averse to anything and anyone new and different, causing all sorts of trouble around town. I wish I could say it was a small minority of New Yorkers, but they've become a sizable group of terrorists, and everyone's afraid to walk alone these days—or voice their true opinions about our Asgardian guests.

Thankfully, the majority of my fellow city dwellers have been kind and accepting. And personally, I think that's a better thing to focus on in the daily news.

Apart from that, the world has gone on like it always has. The immediate world around me goes on in all its particular retail glory. I count my blessings that I get paid for my work with the Academy, otherwise I'd be stuck in a book store all days of the week, instead of just outside my rehearsal days. And like any other sleep deprived, haggard-yet-youthful human being trying to find their place in the world, I'm grateful for the surplus of opportunities—regardless of my lapsing into exhaustive mini-comas each and every night.

It should be understandable, then, why I get upset with a certain boyfriend of mine for making me wait on a text update about our plans...I've had to wait for Daniel to finish off at Stark tower before, but never this long. He's a S.H.I.E.L.D agent, and a damn good one from what Pepper's told me—apparently the ever famous Iron Man thinks so secretly, but he'll brush off the question if anyone asks, and Pepper's not allowed to formally comment on his behalf to her "BFFFLSIHTPUWHT."

In other words, her "best friend for fucking life so I have to put up with her too."

"Cerys!" An abrupt voice startles me at the end of the fiction row.

"Jesus, Frankie..." I clamp my free hand over my chest, holding a pile of misplaced books in the other. "Goddamn, your voice is too high pitched to do that safely..."

"Sorry, sorry, I wanted to catch you before you head out—I kept forgetting all day," she says, pulling two small tickets swiftly from her pocket. "I just wanted to make sure you got the right seats for me and Mike?"

I glance down at them in her hand, seeing the names of my two coworkers printed in small text—next to 2D and 2F. "Yeah, looks about right?"

"Damn, I thought it was a mistake. Would've been cool to sit in the front row."

"I know. For you and me both, trust me. But the show's gotten more attention this year, and they reserved the front for special guests."

She arches a brow. "Guests of the lead aren't special?"

"Only in my heart."

Frankie snorts. "Well, I guess it's not surprising. Who'd they invite, do you know?"

"Not sure exactly who, but Pep and Tony will be there for certain." As I speak, I set the rest of the books down on the shelf and slot them back into their places. "I haven't had a look at the guest list exactly, but the rumor mill's crapping out all kinds of stories about the Asgardians being there, too."