would think if she knew the whole truth? What would she say if she saw me now? And suddenly, enveloped within Frigga's loving embrace, even knowing it was probably not something Irene Halbrook would ever give me, I longed to see my own mother.
Frigga leaned back from our hug and brushed the side of my face with her fingers, tucking a stray lock of hair around my ear. "Are you feeling better?" Her expression was filled only with concern and care.
I nodded. "Nita filled you in?" I asked, grinning as she nodded so solemnly. I squeezed her arms.
"So how did you end up in Loki's clutches?" asked Thor, the scowl on his face implying he wasn't pleased with me.
"I had Derek rig up a program which he used to track Loki's movements on the Bifrost. He called me to say they found where Loki was." I shrugged, knowing already how bad it looked for Derek. "It's possible that Derek was sending me into a trap but I need to speak to him first. Loki has hijacked me on the Bifrost before so who knows. It could be all Loki's doing."
Thor didn't look satisfied with my answer.
I smiled, assuring him I was fine. "Good thing Nita was there. It was close but I survived."
Thor just raised his eyebrows. When he opened his mouth to speak, Frigga gave him a stern look and he closed his mouth. The goddess patted my shoulder and shooed Thor off Odin's throne.
"Sit." She pointed at the seat leaving me certain it was in my best interests to listen.
I sat.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Geri and Freki, Odin's wolf companions, appeared on either side of the throne, as if conjured from thin air. But my imagination was probably wilder than the truth and they'd probably just been sitting behind the throne and only now came forward to greet me.
Thor crouched beside me, his bright blue eyes filled with concern. "How do you feel?" he asked, his eyes scanning my face and my neck. He put a finger to my chin and tilted it away, clearly searching for the wound.
I pushed his finger away. "Don't bother. I couldn't find it either."
"Are you sure you were near death? Or are you just in need of attention?" Thor smirked as he got to his feet and dusted off his armor. He was a sight for sore eyes. Fortunately his looks didn't interest me in the least, a good thing considering he was technically my brother even with a few halves added into the mix.
He wore a white silk shirt, black leather pants and boots, and an overdress of glamored armor that was invisible to the standard person's vision. A new development in recent weeks, coming from an armory that seemed focused on creating better and better armor and weapons, since those we had possessed were simply insufficient to defend ourselves against Loki.
In recent days, we'd farmed out the weapons construction to the dwarfs, putting Dvalinn in charge. I cleared my throat. "How did Prince Dvalinn and Sarah take having to return to Swartelfheim?"
"Reluctantly," said Thor with a snort.
"I can imagine." I had to laugh. Sarah was a Midgard girl who'd fallen for the son of an evil dwarf queen. And I knew Sarah too well. She was the type to want to be in the middle of the action. "I'm surprised she didn't refuse to leave."
"She almost did. I had to convince her that once she saw the job that they had in store for them, she would be happy to return home. And thankfully, she gave me the benefit of the doubt."
"What changed her mind?"
"Oh, just the two weapons engineers from Midgard who showed them the plans for their new Jotunn destructors. Or whatever they called them." Thor put his thumbs into his belt loops and grinned, clearly happy with himself that he'd battled with a little human female and won.
I returned his grin. "I have to say I'm relieved. At least that places Sarah out of immediate danger."
"Why does her well-being concern you so much?" asked Thor, his forehead creasing.
"Because she is my friend." I smiled at him, then said, "And she is going to have a baby."
"What?" Thor looked stunned. "She never said."
Shaking my head, I felt excitement flutter in my stomach. "She doesn't know. Well she didn't know when I last saw her."
"How would you know then? She does not look . . ." Thor made a curved motion out in front of his stomach.
I giggled and even Frigga's laughed