Weaving Fate - Nora Ash Page 0,88

tomorrow would be the day we passed by the great well of Hvergelmir—and passed through the final portal to Asgard.

If.

I glanced at Annabel, who had pulled Loki’s gag from his mouth to offer him water and food. If Níðhöggr still slept, before midnight tomorrow we might reunite with mine and Bjarni’s brothers. Annabel’s other mates.

It was an odd sensation, thinking about my omega reuniting with the alphas she had been longing for since we left. I was not jealous. Watching Bjarni with her that one night had provoked my possessive urges, sure, but all it had really done was make me more desperate to penetrate her myself. The thought of Magni and Saga fucking her? That didn’t faze me either.

And yet… it wasn’t not jealousy. I had seen her fierce, protective love for them back in Asgard when she tried to challenge the god-king himself. Felt her longing to be reunited with them. And I knew, once they were free and with us again, it would no longer just be Bjarni’s bond to her that left me on the outside. An intruder looking in.

I pushed down the violent roil in my gut at that thought and went to sit by the small fire Bjarni had started, grabbing myself a plate of the stew bubbling over it. It did not matter how she felt for her other mates. What was between her and I was a business arrangement. Fate’s insistence. Why should I care that from tomorrow she would have three other alphas to dote on her, rather than just one? Her magic would be just as powerful—perhaps even more so.

The four of us ate in silence, the sound of firewood crackling only interrupted by occasional slurping. Even in Niflheim, Bjarni managed to cook delicious meals.

Loki's voice shattered the quietude. “I am curious, Modi.”

I grimaced—having him silenced for most of the day had been a blessing, but Annabel insisted we remove the gag to let him eat his meals in peace.

“Don’t make me stuff that sock back in there before you’ve finished,” Bjarni warned. “You’re not getting fed again before breakfast.”

“If Thor has betrayed you, which side will you and your brother fall on? His? Or your newfound friends’?” Loki continued, ignoring his son.

“The Hel are you talking about?” I growled, lowering my spoon to glare at him.

“Don’t listen to him—he’s fucking with your mind again,” Bjarni warned before he sat down his bowl with a sigh. “Time for the sock, old man.”

“I am just asking a simple question.” Loki shrugged, turning his focus back to his food. “You could be right—he could have sent you to capture me rather than go himself because he has full faith in your abilities. Sure, he wouldn’t have known how that handy little connection to your new mate works, but let us say that he did, in fact, trust his son to bring me back.

“What I find ever so curious is how he ignored your plea for help. I am certain he knows nothing of this map my foolish son chose to reveal to you. How did he expect you to make it back in time to save Magni? Unless—”

“Do not!” I snarled. Fury at the mere thought of what he was hinting at pounded in my temples, making the stew thick in my throat. I thrust the bowl to the ground, glaring at the asshole trickster attempting to smear my father’s name.

“Unless he never meant for you to return with me,” Loki finished, raising his gaze once more. His dark eyes bored into mine.

“I thought you didn’t know who the traitor was?” Annabel said.

“I do not.” Loki shrugged again. “I am merely speculating. I find it odd that a man as dedicated to honor and family as Thor wouldn’t come to his son’s aid when both his sons' fates are on the line. And, seeing as I have a vested interest in your survival, little human… I can’t help but wonder where your redheaded mates’ loyalties will fall. If Thor turns out to be something other than he pretends.”

Bjarni, who had made it to Loki’s side, sock in hand, hesitated. His brows locked in a frown as he glanced back at me over his shoulder.

“You cannot seriously be listening to this horseshit,” I growled, shock and fury lancing up my spine. “My father is no traitor!”

“Well, no… maybe not,” Annabel said, her voice soft. “But…”

“But nothing.” Betrayal stabbed through as I swung around to glare at my mate. She had seen me. Back