Mastering Illusions

8

When the doors to the hall slam shut behind us, Veers rounds on me, her face livid. "How could you say that?" she exclaims. "He-he-he –" she gesticulates for a moment, the words lost to her in her anger. Then she lunges at me, her hands connecting with my shoulders in a violent shove.

I stagger backward, caught completely off guard. But before I can hit the ground, someone behind me grabs my arm and steadies me. "Easy, kid," Valkyrie says, but she doesn't release my arm. Instead, she reaches out and grabs Veers, refusing to let go of her even when she tries to jerk away. Despite the Kree's strength, the Asgardian is strong enough to maintain her grip.

Sometimes, I forget Valkyrie once was a revered warrior.

"With me," she commanded. "Now." And without further comment, she marches us off, away from the door and the others. Hela and Ronan glance after us, their eyes narrowed, expressions guarded, but no one moves to stop us.

Valkyrie walks us down the length of the hall, her gaze focused straight ahead. Veers and I hurry along on either side of her, the former Avenger still gripping our arms hard. When we reach an empty room, she thrusts us inside and slams the door behind us, barricading it with a bench she drags over from the table in the center of the space. Then she looks at each of us in turn. "Anyone mind telling me what that was all about?"

Veers glares at me. "I can't believe you said all that!"

"I have a good reason," I say defensively. "I assure you of that."

Veers crosses her arms. "Then enlighten me, Loki." There's venom in the way she says my name.

I glance at Valkyrie, who nods. "You might as well, kid. You've got us all asking questions after that speech."

I sigh, running my hands through my hair. "All right. All right! Thanos spoke to me, before we left Asgard."

Just saying that changes the atmosphere of the room. Veers tenses up, her expression going from angry to a mixture of angry and disbelief, and Valkyrie presses her lips together tightly, like she expected this outcome but still was hoping against it.

"What did he say?" the former Avenger asks me.

"That I upset the Balance," I tell her. "By both Veers and I winning, we upset the Balance. But I suppose he blames me."

"Probably because of the illusions," Valkyrie says grimly. "Without you pulling that stunt, one of you would have had to die for sure."

"Anyway, Thanos told me that I had to repair the Balance," I continue, turning to Veers. "He told me I must convince the galaxy that I am in love with you, Veers. On top of that, I must remind the districts that we live under his rule. If I don't succeed...he kills me."

I see the anger flood out of Veers' muscles, her features. "Why didn't you tell me?"

I just look at her. Because I didn't think you would lie for me? "I didn't think to."

"That's your problem," Valkyrie points out. "You don't trust each other anymore. You did once, I know that for sure – if you hadn't, both of you never would have made it out of the Contest. But you've got to trust each other again. Whether you really love each other or not, you have got to trust. This is all you got, from here on out. You'll never get to move on from each other."

"I know," I say quietly. "Veers and I will have to be together forever."

Veers bites her lip as I look at her, wondering if she's going to speak. She's looking down, at her shoes, and then suddenly she looks up at me. "Why didn't you tell me? You need two people to make a couple, Loki. If I had known....I thought you were being a jerk out there! I...." She trails off, a guarded yet concerned expression on her face. I'm fairly certain I can predict what her next words were going to be.