The Last Shifter (a Loki romance)

Chapter 64

The next few days passed in a blur, I barely remember the majority of the funeral ceremony. Since there was no body, Loki's life was celebrated with a feast. As his wife, I sat there at the head of the table for two hours, gritted my teeth, and nodded politely at everyone who came to offer condolences. After two hours of saying the same thing over and over again, even my already-numb mind decided that it was enough. So I sought out Odin and I found him speaking to Thor, looking out to where the Bifrost used to be.

"Excuse me." Thor quickly dismissed himself when he saw me.

"Arista."

"Allfather."

"You are welcome to remain in Asgard as long as you would like. You may not have been married to Loki for long, but you are still a princess."

"I know. But I don't want to sit idle. I want to offer my services as an agent."

"What kind of agent?"

"An agent that doesn't whatever little jobs are needed. For a start, I was thinking perhaps I could retrieve the Tesseract from Midgard. It should still be there."

"How do you know? It has been centuries."

"I came across it almost 70 years or so ago on accident. I knew where it was, it shouldn't be too difficult to find it again. You have your people rebuild the Bifrost and I'll get the Tesseract so it can be powered." He gave me a shred look.

"Deal. But I hope you have some way of getting to Midgard."

"I do."

"Good. When do you plan to leave?"

"Tonight. I'll say my goodbyes now and go."

"Very well."

"Am I going to need to lock up my belongings again?"

"No, I assure you that they will all be left alone."

"Thank you."

I hadn't really gotten to know anyone at the palace terribly well in my time here, Frigga was the only one that I really know but she was used to me up and leaving all the time so there were no tears there. The real goodbye came when I went up to the mountain to bid farewell to Kaylinth and the others. They certainly weren't hatchlings anymore. When I told Kaylinth that I would be leaving for a long time, he reacted, almost as if he had seen it coming. I also noticed that it wasn't him who asked where Loki was, it was Hathwari and as soon as she did, she was reprimanded by both of her siblings as well as her father.

"It's ok. You have every right to know. Loki is....gone. He is no longer a part of this universe." Edelstein rumbled at her sister and only then did Hathwari seemed to understand what I was trying to say and that kind of ended the conversation.

"Do you know when you will return?"

"No, so let us hope that I can accomplish my quest quickly."

Packing actually took me a few days, I had to give my room a deep clean and hide anything that I couldn't take with me that was valuable, like Kayerith's blood just in case Odin didn't keep his word. I still didn't trust him, he changed far too rapidly. I would undoubtedly be doing undercover work and have to move around a lot so I took only a small duffle bag of Midgardian clothes, my phone, and my rings. I also took a containment case for the Tesseract, something that would allow me to hold it without fear of harm and grant me control of its power. Loki had been gone for over a week by the time I was actually ready to go. I also knew where most of Loki's secret passages were so I sought out the one to Midgard. It was fairly easy to access, at the top of a large hill in the middle of a rushing river, but the trek there would take an additional two days. There were stones in the river so I could get to it without getting in but that wasn't my main concern. The portal itself was actually located right above a huge waterfall. If I missed, I would fall. Since it was summer, the spring rush of melted snow from the mountains was gone and the river was running idly up to the giant drop. The stones were dry and there was a clear path to the portal. I only hesitated for a moment before leaping through. I didn't have a specific place in mind, but I had what I was looking for. Imagining the Tesseract would be worth a try. Then, as soon as I produced an accurate image, I got the scary sensation of falling, but I couldn't see anything to confirm that theory.