Weaving Fate - Nora Ash Page 0,117

my dear.”

Hesitantly I closed my fingers around the ring. It felt… odd. It didn’t hum with magic so much as it felt weirdly dead. Like an absence of sensation, though I could feel its physical presence easily enough.

I gave it an experimental pull and frowned when it seemed to just slip between the pads of my fingers as if coated in oil. I tried again, this time allowing a thread of my magic to weave through my arm and into my hand.

It came off as if it was nothing but a plain band.

“Huh,” I mumbled, turning it between my fingertips to look more thoroughly at it. Small runes were etched along the inside of the metal, but there were no other indicators of what it could do.

“Dwarven magic,” Loki said, rubbing his finger before he reached out his palm for the ring.

“I think I best keep hold of this for now,” I said, arching my eyebrows at him as I shoved it into my pocket.

Loki shot me an offended look. “If you remember, I saved you from becoming dragon food and healed Thor’s golden son. You have no reason not to trust me.”

I stared blankly at him. “None at all, you sweet, innocent lamb, you. Now do you need me for anything else, or can you magic yourself out of here?”

“Your hand, if you please,” he said, reaching out his own again, palm up.

I hesitated only for a moment before I placed mine in his.

Instantly the same dark magic I’d felt when we fought Nidhug entered me. I suppressed a shudder and let the golden light inside me follow his darkness. It pooled into a tight point, contracting inward like a black hole inside of me—until it expanded outward in the blink of an eye.

Bright light flashed in the dungeon, and when I blinked my vision clear again, Loki stood on my side of the bars.

“W-What was that?” I asked, blinking several more times.

“Teleportation,” he said, releasing my hand so he could dust off his clothing. “It’s a shame I can’t stick around any longer—that power source inside of you is quite extraordinary. I could have taught you all manners of delightful tricks. But alas, this is where I must take my leave.”

“Bye, then,” I said, quirking an eyebrow at him. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”

Loki, who’d been on his way toward the door, turned halfway around to me. “Of course you will. No one’s going to suspect a little human omega to have the kind of power it takes to break out of Odin’s prison. I meant what I said—you are the key to my own survival.”

“But fuck the rest of the world, eh?” I may have been a little bitter. “You’re going to run off and leave us to try and stop Ragnarök. You say I have so much power, but you—you’re a god. We couldn’t have defeated Nidhug without you.”

That irritating smirk returned to his face. “You knew I would even before you decided to help me. I don’t know why you’re complaining now. Would you scold a cat for eating a mouse? It is it's nature, after all. And this is mine.

“But…” His voice turned thoughtful and he cocked his head. “I suppose I did promise you that I would help discover who the real traitor is. The being who is determined to bring about the end of the worlds.”

“So you know who it is now?” I asked, some of my irritation drowning in a burst of adrenaline.

“I have my suspicions.” The corner of Loki’s mouth quirked up again. “But I do know how you can unmask them. Seek out Grim. Out of all my sons, he is the most powerful and the cleverest. Go now before your mates awaken, and you will learn the identity of the traitor.”

I blinked. “Grim? Grim knows? Why wouldn’t he tell us?”

“I didn’t say that he did. I said that if you go to him, you will learn the traitor’s identity. But you must make haste, or the opportunity will pass.”

Loki nodded at me. “And now I really must bid you farewell daughter. I suspect it will be some time before we meet again.”

I didn’t know where to even begin to look for Grim. He’d slipped out when I'd woken everyone up mid-orgasm last night, leaving me with little to no clue as to his whereabouts.

I forced my still-sore muscles into a jog as I passed through hallway upon hallway, trying to guess where the hell a grumpy