A Trickster's Love

Chapter 40

Needing more than just to see him, Maryn reached up and cupped his cheek. He turned his face into her touch and pressed a kiss to her palm. Pushing up, Maryn pressed her lips to his in a gentle kiss. When she pulled away, tears blurred her vision, but before she could speak, Kari interrupted them.

"Mama, come see the flower." Hopping up out of Maryn's arms, she caught her hand and tugged her toward the small rose she and Loki had been looking at when Maryn had stepped onto the balcony. Collapsing against Fenrir's massive furry side, the little girl pointed to the rose still sitting on the ground not far away, its crimson petals and dark green stem and leaves contrasting with the golden marble it laid on, "It moves, Mama. Papa makes it move."

Maryn sat beside her daughter, the wolf at her back lifting his head to huff out a breath before he lowered it back to his paws and closed his eyes. As Loki settled beside her, Maryn watched his hands glow green and then turned to see the rose petals open, the flower blooming and its bud growing as each new petal curled back until at the centre only a tiny spiral of petals remained, the rest open and shimmering with what looked like gold dust.

Kari clapped her tiny hands in delight and climbed into Maryn's lap. "You do it too, Mama."
"My magic..." Maryn turned to Loki for help.

He smiled again, his hand cupping her cheek and his thumb brushing over her cheekbone, "Here your power is under control, sweet one, can you not feel it?"

Closing her eyes Maryn focused on her magic and realised it was true. Looking at Loki with an excited grin, she wrapped an arm around Kari's waist and leaned her chin on the top of her small head before reaching out with her other hand. Her fingers glowed silver and the flower rose up onto the end of its stem, its head dipping down and the gold dust on its petals sprinkling down and swirling in a magical breeze. The rose and gold specks lifted from the ground, the flower floating into Kari's lap as the gold dust drifted down on them, causing Fenrir to sneeze and Kari to giggle.

Maryn looked over to see Loki's eyes sparkling with mirth as their daughter climbed over to his lap and ran her short fingers through his hair, mussing the inky black locks, which were a few shades darker than Kari's own. The little girl had inherited Maryn's dark curls with red highlights where the light touched them, as well as the shape of her face. The only sign that Loki was her father came in the colour of her eyes; the vibrant green of them left no doubt as to whom her father was.

"She is truly our daughter?" Maryn couldn't help but ask.

The Dark Prince turned his gaze to her, Kari snuggling into his chest playing with the laces of his shirt. "Yes, Maryn, she is ours."

"Then this is a dream." Tears filled her eyes at the realisation.

Loki caught her hand in his, the sadness in his gaze making her want to weep. "If our lives had been different, this would have been our reality. Now, it is a gift of a short time together as the family we could have been."
Sobbing, Maryn pressed her face to his shoulder, "Forgive me, I could not stop Laufey from taking her from us, I could not save you."
Reaching around his daughter, Loki cradled Maryn's face between his hands, brushing away her tears as he looked into her eyes, "What happened was not your fault, sweet one. I chose my path and it meant that you were hurt and our child never lived."
Leaning into him, Maryn pressed her forehead to his, closing her eyes and trying to calm her tears. The feeling of a small weight settling into her arms made Maryn look down to see Kari curl into her, golden light spilling from her small hands as she laid them on Maryn's cheeks, the warmth of her delicate magic making Maryn smile.

"No more tears, Mama."

Maryn pressed a kiss to her nose and forced back her tears, "No more, I promise."