Coming Home (Sequel to This Time Around)

Chapter Fifteen

"You're coming back, Jötunn," she whispered when he finally pulled back.

"I know."

With that, she took a deep breath and reluctantly stepped back. She moved over to where Odin and Heimdall stood, on the slightly raised dais where Heimdall's sword stood poised to open the Bifrost.

Loki squared his shoulders, his eyes never leaving hers as he nodded and said, "I'm ready, Heimdall."

Heimdall bobbed his head and McKenna braced herself as the sword slid into position and the dials and webbing high overhead began to move into position. Loki grew blurry as tears filled her eyes, but she refused to look away. Her lips formed more words, even though her voice faltered.

I love you.

He closed his eyes briefly. When they opened again, green swirled against the blue of his irises.

I love you, too.

Tears spilled down over her cheeks as the rainbow light swept through, grabbed Loki, and whisked him from Asgard.

She pressed her lips together, her heart hammering her ribs with such force that black dots danced before her eyes. When she squeezed them shut, tears leaked from the corners and when Odin eased his arm about her shoulders, she buried her face in her hands and broke down.

He drew her in and held her until she had no more tears left. When she lifted her head, she found him looking down at her with a fatherly concern she'd never seen before. "He will be back," he rumbled, his own voice shaky and on the verge of breaking. "You will see."

She shook her head. "No. I don't think he will, Allfather." She twisted to peer out at the vastness of the nine realms, a strange sense of hollowness swirling through her. "Can you see him yet, Heimdall?"

"Not yet, Your Highness. It will be some time before he comes into view."

"When you do, please let me know."

"Of course."

Odin caught her by the chin. "Why don't you go and lie down, McKenna? You look as if you've been awake for days."

What would he do, should she tell him she and Loki had been up all night doing their best to destroy one another before the morning came? Probably not a good idea right now. She sniffed and shook her head, swiping at her eyes with both hands. "I think I'll walk back to the palace and go check on the kids. I need some time to myself."

"Of course." Odin stepped back. "Take all of the time you need. I will alert Tyra and Kirsten."

"Thank you, Allfather. And thank you, Heimdall." She looked from the Allfather to the gatekeeper and managed to smile. These men of Norse legend were her family now, as were the other Asgardians she'd grown close to since knowing Loki. They would rally around her, remind her she wasn't alone, and do their best to make sure she felt at home there, as long as Loki was gone.

And she did feel at home there. She didn't always feel that way, but now... now she did. Asgard was as much her home as it was Loki's, as much her home as Midgard ever was, and as long as she remained in the palace, Loki was never really gone from her.

She bid them goodbye and began the long walk back toward the palace. The Bifrost connected the nine realms to the observatory, but it also connected the observatory with Asgard proper. It sparkled beneath her feet with each step, the Asgard Sea alive and roaring far below. The wind blew through her hair, which she'd pulled up in a hasty ponytail earlier, and sent spray settling against her face. Like just about everything else in Asgard, the sea was as cold or hot as necessary and today, it was as warm as the waters of the Sølvfoss-the Silver Falls-the small section of Asgard known to only her and Loki. It was their private place. He'd enchanted it as a child, and when he brought her there the first time, he'd adjusted the spell so she could see it as well. But that was it. All anyone else saw was a rocky outcropping.