Loki made a show of attempting a smile. 'Was there a party invitation I missed?'
For all the outward differences, Loki still sounded the same. A palace guard was unlikely to be familiar enough with Loki's voice to recognise it when it emanated from a frost giant's mouth. The king's advisers were a different matter. They had all been at Odin's side for centuries, if not millennia. They had practically watched Loki grow up. And they all looked distinctly uncomfortable once they heard him speak.
Agnar, perhaps because he'd had some minutes already to accustom himself to Loki's true features, recovered first. He grimaced and slowly climbed the steps up, then turned to face the dark vastness of the hall.
'I thank you all for coming despite the peculiar hour. It is a matter that cannot wait the light of day. Lord Tyr has made an accusation of treason against the prince-regent. We must determine whether there is merit in the commander's claims and whether the prince should remain regent.'
Loki ran his hand through his hair, grimacing at the way the ridges on his knuckles caught the strands.
'It seems the former king and queen kept certain basic facts from me,' he said, making sure his voice trembled a little as he spoke. 'But it is not treason to be born a frost giant, surely? What am I being accused of?'
'I believe the prince-regent has been conspiring with the frost giants to weaken Asgard and to secure the throne for himself,' Tyr replied.
Loki spun around to face Tyr. 'What?'
'Why is it that when the King of Jotunheim asserts there is treason among us, Asgardians, the prince-regent all but laughs off the words?' Tyr said. He hadn't joined the rest of the councillors up on the dais and now made a slow circuit along the broad semi-circle his Einherjar had formed across the floor of the Great Hall. 'It's because he already knows the traitor's identity. Unprecedented events have befallen Asgard recently. Who was involved in them all? Who benefited from them? Prince Loki.
'It seemed strange to me that for all his skill in the magic arts, he was unable to close a portal in time to prevent the frost giants escaping after their assault on the Vault. Stranger yet that he would mistime dropping his protective shield in Jotunheim when Odin's life was at stake. But it's not so strange when you realise this was the intent. I suspect the plan was for Odin to die in Jotunheim, but the Odinsleep saved him.'
'Do not attribute to malice what can be explained by incompetence,' Loki responded. 'Spellwork is finicky, all the more when time is not on the sorcerer's side. I daresay you too have made mistakes in the chaos of battle.'
'I've never made a mistake that directly led me to be proclaimed ruler of Asgard.'
Loki glanced up to the vacant throne. 'I have no desire to rule Asgard. What have I gained from my mistakes, Lord Tyr? My father is gravely ill, my brother is captured and Asgard is at war.'
'Odin is not your father and Thor is not your brother. And I doubt you care about Asgard at all.'
'Then why have I spent so much energy trying to keep the realm out of this war!'
'Who knows, maybe Laufey needed time to gather his forces.'
'Unsupported assumptions have no place in this conversation,' Eydis said.
Loki pursed his lips. She might be presenting herself as a moderating voice now, but she had to have known of Agnar and Tyr's plans. Everything in the Weapons Vault had been transferred into the Treasury. They would have needed her authorisation to enter the Treasury vaults and take the collar currently rubbing a blister into Loki's neck. He wondered if any of them had entertained a thought that they could ask Loki to voluntarily put on the collar before they decided on the clandestine ambush in his bedroom. It seemed unlikely, and that unnerved Loki all the more.
'The point doesn't change,' Tyr responded. 'The entire time he has been the most pro-Jotnar voice in the palace. We have always thrown the dead giants into pits and buried them, but he would have them accorded the same honours as Asgardian fallen. It verges on blasphemy.
'He demanded also the frost giant his br- King Thor captured should be given unprecedented comforts. In fact, on the very night the king sought the prince, intent on having him accompany the king's party to Jotunheim, the prince was nowhere to be found. Convenient if one wanted to avoid the ambush that met the king in Jotunheim. And where was the prince that night? Busy being bosom buddies with the frost giant in our dungeons.
'And is it not curious how quick the prince was to explain how the portal was made? It's quite clear now. He knew how the portal was made because he led the frost giants to it.'
Loki tried to keep his face neutral. Out of all the stupidity Tyr had just rattled off, the portal was Loki's sole true transgression. He was fairly sure, however, Tyr had no way of proving this. The frost giants involved with Loki's original plans were either dead or in Jotunheim. Baugi clearly didn't know of Loki's involvement or he would have said something long before now.
'You are repeating the words of the king of Jotunheim, who is our enemy,' Loki said. 'It is in his interest to sow discord among us when we are on the eve of war with Jotunheim. Now it seems he had hit upon a certain truth, but it does not make the rest of his words true. It is a common liar's trick. Mix in a bit of truth into your lie and it'll sound more convincing. Still, at the end of the day, a lie remains a lie. My loyalty is with Asgard and will be always.'
Tyr began to respond, but Eydis spoke over him. 'How did Laufey know Loki was one of his? Or has he always known? Why then not claim the child earlier?'
'Because until now he had no reason to,' Tyr replied. 'Laufey does not move a finger unless it benefits him in some way. No, that's not it. He was waiting until the child grew up and he could make use of him. The plan worked out, has it not? Look at the state of Asgard right now.'
Loki dropped his head, but found the collar cut into the edge of his jawline. He nudged his chin up. 'I think I might know what happened,' he said. It seemed a good idea to volunteer information where he could; appearing cooperative could only help him. 'During the fight down in the Vault, one of the frost giants grabbed my arm. She did something and my limb went cold, then the skin turned blue. It looked like my hands do now. I thought it was some obscure Jotunn magic and with everything else going on, I didn't dwell on it. Thinking about it now though, the frost giant looked more startled by the result than I was. She must have realised she pushed through the concealment magic. I've seen the dead and she wasn't among them, so she could've told Laufey about me. From there, he would have extrapolated the truth. There could only be so many children unaccounted for that match my description.'
'A plausible theory,' Agnar said. 'On the other hand, it relies on your word and yours alone. You did not share this story with anyone else until now, I take it?'
'No, but I'm not obligated to share with the council every detail of my life.'
'Watch your tone, boy,' one of the other councillors muttered.
Agnar waved his hand dismissively. 'For the sake of brevity. Your highness, is there any truth to the accusation that you were involved in bringing the frost giants into Asgard?'
'No,' Loki replied flatly.
'How did you know that the portal was tied to the Convergence?'
Loki's shoulders sunk. They wouldn't believe him if he claimed it was a fortunate guess.
'I have been experimenting with portals myself,' he said. 'I thought it was likely that if I noticed the effect the Convergence was having on the boundaries between the realms, others could have too.'
'Did you make any trips to Jotunheim during these experiments?'
'No.'
Agnar clasped his hands together. 'Where to then?'
'Svartalfheim and Vanaheim. Before you ask, that is where the portals I found led to. I never thought to look for possible portals in the ante-chamber to the Weapons Vault,' Loki answered.
'And what if we are to say that we found your magical signature on the other side of the portal that the frost giants came through?' Tyr asked.
'I'd say? I'd say, so what? People and goods travel through portals, so does magic. I did a spell to close it, I was around for the initial exploration of the portal. How many times has that portal been meddled with since then? I would've been very surprised if you didn't find traces of my magic on both ends of the portal by now.'
Thank the Norns you cannot date a magical signature or this'll be the end of me.
Loki's words stirred some uncertainty among the councillors. Agnar turned to the Minister for Public Works, who stood to his left and hissed something in his ear. Others soon butted in on the conversation. Usually, Loki and Frigga were the designated consultants on all matters magical. Of course on this occasion Loki was no help to them and Frigga too was unlikely to aid them. The Minister for Public Works had a familiarity with magic, but judging from his body language, properties of magic flows through portals were beyond his limited expertise.
Loki cleared his throat. 'Are there any other accusations being thrown at me, councillors?'
'Other accusations?' Tyr retorted. 'You have not disproved anything presented so far.'
'Nor have you provided any definitive proof on any statement you made, Lord Tyr. I have the outermost respect for you and I have given you the time to make your voice heard, but all of this is just conjecture and fantasy. I'm not a traitor and I've no desire to usurp Thor's place. I have made errors, yes, and my mistakes have proven to be costly. I would now like to focus on setting them right, not on this theatre.'
'There is one more thing I wish to address,' Agnar said. 'The king of Jotunheim stated there was a traitor in Asgard; you ignored him and told us not to speak of it. Why?'
'Because he had no reason to tell the truth and every reason to lie.'
'Was the possibility not worth investigating?'
Loki shook his head in feigned disbelief. 'Perhaps, yes. I've already said that I'm not infallible, perhaps this was one more error on my part. But, Lord Agnar, you are my adviser right now. If you believed I was acting imprudently, why didn't you do your job and advise me to take a better course of action?'
'I tried, your highness. You were not listening to me.'
Thinking back to the minutes after Laufey ended the negotiations, Loki found he couldn't be sure of Agnar's words one way or the other. He remembered a flurry of overlapping conversation. He remembered too trying to ignore them all as he attempted to swallow his worry over Thor's safety and his panic about the accusations Laufey had thrown at him.
'A competent adviser knows how to pick the appropriate moment to approach his sovereign with suggestions,' Loki said. 'You picked the wrong one.'
Agnar offered him a mirthless smile. 'Noted, your highness.'
'Well, are you all satisfied?' Loki asked.
'Councillors?' While Agnar seemed to make a survey of his peers, Tyr finally climbed up the steps and took up his position to the left of the chancellor. Agnar squared his shoulders. 'When it comes to claims of treason, the evidence is scant, but there is still the matter of the regency. King Thor did not leave detailed guidance on who should take up Gungnir in his absence. With the former king also indisposed, this council voted to give the regency to Prince Loki. However, the council retained the right to strip the prince of his regency should there be need. I believe the time has come for a vote. Does -'
'You have no evidence of any wrongdoing on my part.' Loki took a step back, so he could see the whole council at once. 'All you have are rambling accusations from Lord Tyr and the words of Asgard's enemy. I explain to you already why Laufey cannot be trusted. And, respectfully, what is Lord Tyr's state of mind right now? He buried his daughter today. He is grieving and angry and looking for someone to blame.'
'You've said enough, Loki,' Agnar replied. 'Councillors, your votes.'
Tyr's words rang out first of course. They were quickly followed by four more. All called for Loki's removal. Loki grit his teeth as the rest of the council gave their votes. By the time all the councillors had spoken, only two votes had gone in Loki's favour and they were useless to him. The vote didn't have to be unanimous, a simple majority would suffice.
Damn you all.
Agnar clasped his hands together. 'Then it is done. Prince Loki, you are stripped of the regency.'
'How the hell are you planning to explain this to the rest of Asgard?' Loki laughed bitterly. 'What am I guilty of? Being a frost giant?'
'We cannot prove treason at this time, but overall your conduct has been questionable and with Asgard's delicate present political situation, you are not the appropriate person to occupy the throne of Asgard.'
Loki drew in a long breath and pressed his teeth together. He wasn't surprised at this outcome, not really. This night hadn't been heading anywhere good from the moment Tyr's men had pulled him out of bed. Still, that didn't mean he wasn't furious.
'It may be soon or it may be centuries, but don't be mistaken about this. A day will come when each one of you will regret your choices today,' he said.
Tyr scoffed, then whispered into Agnar's ear. Once he received a nod from the chancellor, Tyr gestured towards his soldiers. 'There is no reason for him to be present any longer. Einherjar, take the frost giant to his quarters.'
Two men grabbed Loki from behind and eight more formed a tight perimeter around him. They manhandled him out of the Great Hall and out in the shadowed corridors of the palace. Loki preoccupied himself with making their task as difficult as possible; it took him far longer than it should have to notice that the soldiers were not leading him back up to his rooms.
'Where are we going?' Loki asked. When he received no answer, he pressed the matter. 'Where are we headed? Answer me!'
The soldier leading Loki's makeshift guard chuckled. 'Your new quarters, your highness. Somewhere a frost giant would feel more at home.'