The God and the Siren (Loki Romance)

Chapter Twenty-Six

I feel myself shift uncomfortably in the bed. Even though I know the nightmares are only just that, they still terrify me. A swinging blue flame and burning rod against my backside, and—

I scream.

In the dream, I think—until a pair of arms shake me awake. "Cerys!" I hear a familiar voice, and I open my eyes to see a black shadow hovering above me.

Loki? No—Thor. Someone flips the light switch in the corner of the room, and I squint at the subsequent flash of light, still swaying atop the soft bed. Steady hands calm me, until I'm no longer moving, simply looking around the room.

"Are you alright?" Thor asks, and his heavy breath cools my dampened cheeks.

I'd been crying—I hadn't even realized that in the dream, but I'd been crying. I look over to see Heimdall near the door, lowering his hand from the light switch.

"Heimdall," I breathe out, and his brows knit together.

"Lady Cerys," he says in a deep, compassionate voice. "Happy to see you awake.

"Cer?" I hear another, softer voice, just as I'm about to respond.

My eyes jump to the slightly opened door behind him, and Pepper stumbles into the room. My face hardens, and by the tension that flickers in her jaw, I know she notices the change. Her lips part reluctantly as she gathers her hands in front of her.

"How... how are you feeling?" she asks, and I simply stare wordlessly. Tony appears in the doorway behind her, glancing at us both. "Are... Are you feeling okay?" she tries again.

I look between them for a moment, and tears betray the coldness in my expression as they pool in my lower eyelids.

Pretty soon, I can't hold it in any longer, and my lip trembles as I address her. "You two..." I pause. "Did you know?" I ask, my voice barely a whisper.

Silence.

"Know what." Tony asks flatly. Not aggressively—rather, searchingly.

"Did you know about.... this? Did you know that there were people after me?"

Pepper hardly moves, aside from pressing her lips together and casting her eyes downward. I shake my head, "You knew, didn't you?" my voice trembles. "You were... Was this a job?"

Thor's hands slowly remove themselves from my shoulders as he pulls away, clearing the space between myself and Pepper.

Pepper shakes her head, closing her eyes as tears fall from them before looking back up at me with a nod. "I was... I am your friend."

"That doesn't answer my question," I interject, and she blinks surprisedly at me. "But it sounds like an answer anyway—you knew, didn't you? Why didn't you tell me!? You knew that people were after me, you knew what I was somehow, didn't you? And you didn't say anything!?"

"She wanted to," Tony mumbles, stepping forward. "We both did, but... They didn't want us to."

"Who, S.H.I.E.L.D?"

"Yes," he says. "I'm sorry Cerys. We—"

"You should've told me!" I snap at them. "I wouldn't have walked home alone, I would've waited if I thought... Do you have any idea what they did to me!?" I exclaim, and Pepper turns away—her face contorting a bit.

Tony glances at her before looking back at me solemnly. "We know."

I lean back a little, turning my attention to Thor. "Where's Loki?"