take?" I suggested, feeling my head grow too heavy to keep upright any longer. A part of me remained painfully aware of the level of the blood in the bags as it began to slowly decrease. The longer he sat there, the more of Thor's and my blood circulated in his veins. My mind struggled to find a way to stop him but bound as I was, weak as I was, there was nothing I could do. Even if I threw myself at him and tried to aim a well-placed kick at Loki's head, he had too much of an advantage over me. I'd have to catch him unawares but with his frost giants watching from behind him even that would be near impossible.
And the damned golden rope wasn't just unbreakable. It also worked in opposition to my struggles. The more I moved the more it sucked the energy out of me. I was pretty sure that any overexertion on my part would end up with me passing out.
"Fair enough," said Loki, and I had to strain against blinking in surprise at his agreement. Loki tilted his head to study my face, and then he sighed. "You really should stop wasting your time fighting for the wrong side."
I lifted my chin. "What makes you think I'm on the wrong side? My loyalty lies with Odin and the Aesir. Something you know full well."
Loki shook his head and pursed his lips sadly. "You have spent enough time in our world to have heard the predictions. Surely you know that Odin will die, and so will his precious Fenrir, whether he kills the All-Father or not." Loki's expression took on a malicious air.
Scowling, I gritted my teeth and snapped, "I don't understand you. Does family and blood mean nothing to you?" The effort to speak was beginning to make my head spin.
Loki's eyes flamed green then swirled to demonic black. "Odin is not my father. I owe him no loyalty." His words fell from his lips, emotionless.
I shook my head, suddenly sad for him. "You may not be his blood but he thinks of you as a son. Even when you do the most horrible things, he always remembers his love for you. I just can't understand why you don't see it." There was a frustrated growl to my voice but I did nothing to tamp it down. "And even so, Fenrir is your son. How can you care so little about your own child?"
"He may be my progeny but as to being a son, I have to say he isn't. Has never been. His loyalty has always been with Odin, and that is something I can neither understand, nor forgive."
I sighed softly, trying hard not to pass out. "What did Odin do to you to make you hate him so much?"
"You won't understand." Loki gave me a charming smile and I wanted to snort out loud. As if one smile from him would get me off track.
"Try me," I said, the challenge clear in my voice and expression.
Loki laughed and this time I could hear the hardness that laced his tone. "You are too much Odin's child, Brynhildr. You have been far too deeply poisoned by old One-Eye for you to see things clearly."
"You're crazy Loki. How can you be so driven by greed and ambition that you can't see how much you're hurting your family?"
"They are not my family," Loki said, his tone emotionless, as if he'd resigned himself to being a black sheep, the outcast.
I snorted. "You're so blind." I wanted to say that he was also stupid but there was no sense in antagonizing him. Not that I was afraid of being beaten. I just wanted to bide my time until I found a way out of this hellhole.
Suddenly, Loki launched himself out of his chair and I almost flinched. A glance at the bags confirmed they were empty. The first frost giant stepped toward the bags, swiftly swapping them out with fresh ones. Thor's blood now ran within Loki's veins, mixed into a potent soup with my own blood. My stomach tightened. I was not looking forward to watching Loki succeed when he tried his hand at using the spear.
My eyelids drooped and I must have slipped into unconsciousness because when I opened my eyes again the bags were empty. Loki tugged the needle from his arm and dropped it on the straw covered floor. Then he pressed the opening in his flesh a few times until