Monsters and Magic

Chapter 53

Loki teleported you back to the tower without a moment of hesitation. He didn't care about leaving the car behind. It could drive itself home. He wouldn't have cared anyway. He only cared that you were sobbing in pain.

/Mother, how is that cure you spoke of coming along? The gift I gave Y/N to protect her against the sun has just shattered and I need something to keep her safe/ Loki asked his mother across the realms. He was worried about your future now that he had you home. It wasn't his first concern, but it was still important to find out.

His first concern was you. You were clutching onto him tightly, shaking in pain, and whimpering softly as tears streamed down your cheeks.

"What's going on?" Nat demanded as she and every other member of the team that was in the common room looked over at the commotion.

"Her pendant shattered from the overuse," Loki explained as he combed his fingers through your hair to try to calm you. He couldn't help until you'd calmed some.

/I'm working on it, darling. I haven't been able to find any proof yet that it will work, especially since she's Midgardian. It's not like we can find another vampire to try it on first. That would be just as cruel as your Father experimenting on your love/ Frigga replied.

/I do not know if it will help, but I have just discovered that she is half Asgardian. Her mother is Lady Brynhilde./

/Bryn? You're sure?/

/I spoke to her personally. And my lady confirmed it. She is the one who took me to her home./

/I knew she had gone to Midgard. I did not realize she was so close. That... that might change things. Give me a little more time, and convince your lady to return to Asgard/

/I will try. I'm worried of what will happen when she comes face to face with the Allfather after everything that happened./

/It has to be here, darling. You know the transition is hard for Midgardians even during the best circumstances. Breaking a curse on top of it? That will just make it harder. Your Father owes her for his treatment of her. She will not have any issues from him. Besides, she's a noble of the court.../

/Alright. I will see what I can do, mother. I will see you soon./

/I will let you know when I am certain this will work. Be well, my son/

/And you, Mother./ Loki replied and ended the connection, turning his full attention back to you. His entire conversation had taken place in a matter of moments, as was often the case with telepathic communication, even across the realms.

It took awhile and reassurances that you were safe before you finally calmed, though you whimpered in pain and refused to let go of your Loki. Or open your eyes. They still hurt so badly from being in the sun. You tried so very hard to stop whimpering since it just upset him, but you were in a lot of pain and your skin was blistering. It would have taken longer to start burning, to start literally burning, but it would have happened eventually. Loki held you while the others rushed around getting first aid supplies. "You're alright, darling. It's ok," he cooed, stroking your hair and trying to keep you calm while he waited for the others to return.

"Odinson," Bucky called, knowing better than to get too close to Loki while you were this upset, since it was making Loki more homicidal and stabby than usual. Your heartbreaking mews of pain were inciting angry snarls from the god, even as he tried to coo to you to keep you calm, to soothe your pain, to help in some way, shape, or form. Loki looked up at Bucky who tossed him a bottle of the good pain meds.

Loki caught the bottle with a nod at Bucky in thanks and poured out the proper amount to give to you. "Here, darling. Take these. It should help," he told you gently and held a glass of water to your lips as soon as you had the pills in your mouth. "Good, kitten," he praised, even as you clutched onto him again.

Nat came back with a bottle of healing salve. "Lucky for you Clint got sunburned a few missions ago," she said as she handed Loki the bottle. You smelled his magic in it. Or sensed it. It was hard to say exactly which. Loki nodded his thanks to her and decided to teleport the two of you up to your room so he could apply the salve to your poor blistered skin in peace.

You eeped at the sudden teleportation. You hadn't been expecting it and your eyes snapped open to see where you were now. You were safely in your room and Loki was holding the bottle of healing salve. You reached to take it from him, assuming that you were applying it yourself.

Loki held it out of your reach, which wasn't hard as you could barely move without whimpering in pain. "Lie down, darling. I've got it," he told you. You started to protest, as propriety would demand, but you just nodded with a small noise and laid facedown on your bed where he could see the blistered mess your back, shoulders, and arms had become from your lovely decision to wear a halter top in summer.

Loki sat next to you on the bed and began to ever so carefully and gently massage the healing salve into your skin. His hands were blue as he worked and you moaned in relief at his cold hands on your burned skin. He worked for a long time to make sure he got every inch of affected skin. "Better, darling?" he asked you gently.

You nodded. "Better," you murmured. Now that there was a healing salve and the pain meds were taking effect, you were fading fast.

Loki gripped your arms and moved you so you were kneeling on your bed. "Stay awake a little longer, dearest, then you can sleep," he told you gently when you squeaked in surprise at being moved and blinked at him stupidly.

"Loki~" you whined exhaustedly. The sun had drained you and the pain meds had taken effect. It was a chore just to keep your eyes open. Loki held you upright as he unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt. You looked even more confused until he tilted his head, offering you his neck. "Loki, no," you protested softly, except that you couldn't take your eyes off of the pulse-point in his neck. "I can't- I don't- my control-" you protested, but you were too exhausted and hurt to think straight and he cheated by drawing attention to his blood when you were weak.

"I will be able to stop you," Loki promised you gently. "You need the strength, little one. You took a lot of damage from the sun, which is my fault for my magic failing you. Let me help you get your strength back," he implored you.

You couldn't take your eyes off of the pulse in his neck. You could feel the blood in his veins, cooler than a human's, but with so much more power. You felt your fangs extend as you stared at the pulse in his neck. "Loki," you mewed softly. You should protest. You should, but you needed the strength. You needed the healing that would come from fresh blood and his blood was more powerful than the cow's blood in your fridge.

"Drink, darling," he told you firmly. His fingers wound in your hair and he pulled you to him, pulling your head toward his neck. You couldn't fight him you were too out of it already, too exhausted from the sun and the pain meds. Too injured and burned. Too... drained.

The scent of the blood in his veins overpowered your reason and before you made the decision, your fangs had sank into his throat with no resistance. He moaned softly, a delicious, wonderful sound that you would have to elicit from him in other ways. His blood spilled and you drank in the power along with his cooler than human blood.

You were too out of it to pay attention to what you were doing, but Loki did. You drank deeply and let Loki pry you off of him once you had. "That's enough, darling," he told you gently. You went through the motions of licking the wound cleaned and looked at him with dazed eyes. You were dazed from the power in his blood as well as the pain, the exhaustion, the pain meds. Loki smiled fondly and wiped a drop of blood from your mouth gently with a thumb. He helped you lie back down since you were too dazed to do anything on your own. He still seemed pleased that you looked physically better, and would be mentally better when you had gotten rest. "Better, kitten?"

"Better," you murmured, lost to the daze of fresh blood as well as everything else. You could hate yourself for drinking from Loki later.

Loki tucked the blankets around you and kissed your forehead. "Rest, darling," he bid you warmly. You nodded and settled more comfortably to do just that, letting the pain meds and sun exhaustion drag you to sleep.