Chapter 23

Loki shook Jane, but this time her eyes would not open. He held her to his chest, forehead resting on hers, gasping for a breath that refused to come.

"She is gone, Brother," Thor said from behind him.

Her pulse was nonexistent under his fingers, yet he continued searching for it, pressing harder against her neck.

"Brother—"

Loki jerked away from Thor's fingers on his shoulder. "She's not dead." He looked down at her and pushed back her hair. "The Aether still resides in her."

Thor stepped back, snow crunching under his boots and murmured something to Rogers.

Scooping her fully into his arms, Loki stood and looked up at the cloudy grey sky. "Heimdall." His voice came out thin and reedy. Clamping down on his fear, he forced in a full breath. "Heimdall! Open the bridge."

Loki's gaze fell on Jane. She looked at rest, peaceful. His heart ached for the wide smile she'd finally started greeting him with. Her brown eyes would sparkle like polished amber stones, and his nerves would tingle with delight.

Come back to me, my love.

A wide swath of light erupted in the sky and slammed into the ground not far from them. He walked toward it and found Thor, Rogers, and Stark following closely behind.

Without looking back, Loki stepped into the Rainbow Bridge, holding Jane as tight as he dared. If—when—she woke up, she would not appreciate any broken ribs.

Colors streamed by, but he only noticed them as they played off her face, lighting her in flashes of blue, pink, yellow, green, and all the many shades even her eyes would be unable to pick up.

When the rush of energy thickened, he took a step and landed in the Bifrost with Heimdall standing over his sword, lightning streaking out from the hilt to around the golden dome.

Loki walked toward the Bridge, nodding to Heimdall in thanks as the large man slid his weapon out of the center consul. The spinning protrusion slowed to a stop, leaving the broad exit finally open. Several horses were waiting outside for them along with their attendants.

Stark's repulsors fired, lifting him a foot off the ground. "Thanks, but I already have a ride." He looked to say something else, but he glanced at Jane's limp form and closed his mouth.

"I will take her to Eir," Thor said. "I can get there faster and it will be less jarring for her."

Part of Loki wanted to turn away and clutch her tighter to him, but Thor was right. Eir might be able to help and time was of the essence.

"We will see each other again," Loki said to Jane before kissing her on the forehead and handing her to Thor.

Rather than watching him fly off with her, Loki hopped onto the horse and sped down the Bridge, pushing the animal to its limits.

It took minutes to reach the palace, then minutes more to reach the throne room. All the while, Rogers was right behind him, a silent companion.

"You must heal Jane," Loki said to Odin and his mother as soon as he stopped at the stairs leading to the throne.

"The Aether has made her its host." Odin looked down at him in his normal court attire. "Only Malekith can draw it out."

"But he's dead."

"She was a brave girl."

"Is!" Loki corrected him. "She is brave and kind and...and...I love her." He looked at Frigga, emotion making his voice thick. "I love her, and you knew I would. You knew it and you still gave her the Aether."

She touched her heaving chest, her normal regal posture caved in.

Odin stood. "Your mother did what was best for the nine realms."

Loki's molars might crack under the pressure of how tightly he clenched his jaw. "She is not my mother. You are not my father." He tore away the magical Asgardian disguise and stood with his head held high. A slight shifting of the guards lining the walls created a rustle that swept through the massive room.

"You took me from a temple during the War. You took me because of this mark." Loki touched his forehead. "Laufey's mark." Another rustle. "Because you wanted to use me. But then I messed up. I was a failure. Or was it part of your plan that I be banished to Midgard to find a soulmate whom you could also use?"

"None of that was ever my intention."

"Do not lie to me!" Loki's muscles trembled with rage. His fingers itched to grab the Casket from under his jacket.

The doors flew open, and Thor practically ran into the room, carrying Jane. "Brother, Eir cannot cure her. Whatever can be done to help, must be done now."

A cruel hand grasped Loki's heart and squeezed unmercifully. He swung to face Odin. "Give me back my magic."

"I cannot."

"You took it from me. You can give it back."

"Magic cannot be taken. It is as part of you as your skin is."

Loki blinked, his jaw finally slackening. "Then what happened to it?"

"It has been suppressed." Odin sat, then added, "A magical potion slipped into a drink to bind the powers of an unruly magus."

Loki slipped a hand inside his coat and gripped the Casket, ready to do whatever was necessary to save her. "Where is the antidote?"

"None exists. If it did, I would give it to you for your valor, for guiding Thor, and helping win this war."

Loki's hand fell to his side. Odin just complimented him. His mind swirled from the shock of it.

"Loki," Frigga said, the word soft and tremulous. "I did see it all. I knew you'd love her. And I knew her love would soften you, make you care once again enough to fight for the lives of everyone. I knew she would use it as I hoped she would. You both were needed to win this war."

He looked at Jane in Thor's arms. "I can't lose her."

"There was one vision where she survived," Frigga said cautiously.

His gaze snapped to his mother. "How?"

She shook her head and stepped down to him. "I do not know. But you were so happy, so light. Your smile, when you were with her...it was glorious." Her eyes glistened, and she took his hand. "I had hoped—I prayed that would've been the vision to unfold." She gripped him tighter. "I am so sorry."

The doors banged open and Darcy shouted, "Where's Jane?"

Erik and Tony were right behind her, barging into the throne room. When they noticed her in Thor's arms, they ran to him.

Darcy looked from her to Loki. "You did this to her. If you hadn't taken her from Earth, none of this would've happened."

"I had to," he said, more to himself than her. Because it was his fault. "The bond would've killed us both had we separated."

She barked a laugh.

"Darcy," Erik shushed her.

"No. He needs to know."

Loki's churning barbed wire of self-loathing stilled. "Know what?"

"The bond only exists on Earth. The Midgardian magic is inherent to the planet, not the people."

"What?" His brain was like murky swamp water and her words just bobbed on the surface. But then he thought of how clear her emotions were to him on Midgard, only for them to practically vanish once they were offworld. "We have been free of the bond this entire time?"

"Yes. And if you—"

Loki took Jane from Thor. "What we feel for each other is real?" He lowered her to the floor.

"I guess, but—"

"I would give up eternity for her." He placed his hands over her chest.

"Didn't you kill her three times for that?"

Not only that, but Loki closed his eyes, shutting out the room and its inhabitants. He loved Jane, more than himself. She made him vulnerable, yet stronger than ever. He'd taken on a Jotunn when he'd thought he was mortal, he'd found the patience to teach magic to others, he'd embraced a part of himself he loathed, and he hadn't killed Laufey.

His Jotunn magic opened within him like the beginning flurries of a storm. Gentle notes played in the back of his mind. He touched her chest and a layer of frost coated Jane in soft white, preserving her body and connecting her to him. He felt her as clear as he felt his breath come and go. The Aether lie dormant inside of her, hanging onto the last thread of her life force.

There was still hope.

Loki searched himself again, similar to when he thought he was going to die, but this time love, not fear fueled him.

The results were the same, though.

He dug deeper. His magic was there. No potion could keep it from him. Not when Jane needed him now more than ever.

The Aether seemed to feed off her, hanging onto the thread as if it were trying to absorb every crumb.

Let her go, he thought to the Aether.

He poked it with his Jotunn magic, an ice pick against the dark crimson mass. It squirmed, but hung on tighter.

Release her.

Pouring more of himself into the ice pick, he tried to pry it off her.

You will not have Jane.

Every bit of his strength and energy went into dislodging the Aether. It was draining, but his love for her refilled him. The cycle repeated itself over and over until, when he thought he had nothing left, a sparkle of gold flickered in his eyes.

Recognition pricked him with excitement and relief.

He reached for his Asgardian magic, but the specks drifted away, like dust motes floating in the air.

Please, he pleaded to the Norns. Jane's thread was frayed, barely holding together.

The sparks brightened, like thick gold confetti. He scooped them up and breathed them in. Energy flooded him, invigorating him.

He reached out and seized the Aether with both halves of his magic. It writhed under his touch, then fled Jane to take refuge in the box in her pocket.

Catching the frayed thread before it disappeared forever, he soaked her in gold and light and love. He gave her every inch of himself. He gave her what he'd yearned three hundred years for. He gave her the power.

Jane jerked upright, gasping for air. Frost fell off her like snow. Her skin was surely icy cold, but she glowed with warmth and life. She cleared her eyes with a hand and noticed him beside her. She took him in with a slightly dazed look.

He sat as still as a rock, not knowing if she really wanted him. If she knew they were not bonded, would she still want to be with him?

"You're alive!" Darcy pounced on Jane, wrapping her in a giant hug that almost knocked them both over. "You're cold as hell, but alive." Darcy shivered, then pushed back to look her in the eyes. "If you ever do anything this crazy again, I will lock you in your lab so you could science to your heart's content, but you'll never be allowed to leave. You hear me?"

Jane laughed. "It's good to see you." She looked up at Erik and smiled. "You too."

He fell to his knees and hugged her around Darcy, a pile of arms and heads. "I second that notion."

"I don't think he's slept for a month," Darcy said.

Jane frowned. "You're the one who's always getting onto me about sleep. You should know better."

"I thought you were in danger." He glanced at Loki.

All of their gazes followed his, and Loki's heart thumped harder. Jane stared at him with an expression he couldn't read. Was it guarded?

"Malekith said you'd died. I thought I'd never see you again."

Was that what she wished? His insides turned to lead, but, somehow, he found the strength to stand.

She clasped his hand before he could fully straighten himself. "Wait." After getting to her feet as well, she added, "When he said that, it nearly crushed me. I don't care about the bond anymore, Loki. I know what I feel for you is real."

He blinked. She does love him.

Wrapping his arms around her, he eliminated the space between them and kissed her. He kissed her so fully, he forgot they were in a room filled with people, his family, hers. He forgot about needing to breathe, needing to tell her about the bond. She was alive and she wanted him and that was all that mattered.

Someone coughed. It took several more of the grating sounds to get them to pull apart.

Instead of looking for the source of the interruption, he held her eyes. "I love you, Jane Foster. And I'm grateful for you showing me how to do so again."

She smiled, radiant and beautiful. His heart felt full to the brim.

Darcy leaned to Jane's ear and whispered something.

Jane's eyes widened in surprise. "There's no bond?"

Loki shook his head, on the verge of chuckling as Darcy answered, "Not on any planet besides Earth, Boss Lady."

"So all this time…" she trailed off in wonder.

He laughed, thinking of their relationship's odd start, but then his stomach clenched and his mirth died. He clasped her hand. "Can you forgive me for taking your life all those times? I don't expect you to right away, of course. But it makes me sick with regret. I—"

She touched his face. "I could not love you if I had not forgiven you."

"But—"

"Do anything like that again, though," she said mischievously, "and I'll skin you alive with the Aether."

"Jane, dear," Frigga said, gathering everyone's attention. Darcy and Eric stepped back as the Queen glided down the steps to her. "Loki cleansed you of the Aether. It now resides in the box."

"What?" Jane's gaze bounced between them. Then she fumbled in getting the box out of her skirt's pocket. It fell into Frigga's hands and Jane sighed in relief. A haunted look crossed her face, and Loki swore he would do everything in his power to mend what the Aether had done to her psyche.

"You are safe now, child." Frigga touched her cheek, then looked at Loki, and smiled with a knowing look in her eyes.

"Why do I feel different?" she asked hesitantly.

"What do you mean?" Erik asked.

Jane looked down at herself, suddenly wary. "I don't know exactly. But it feels like strength, like possibility."

"Magic," Loki said.

She stared at him in question as did everyone else, except Frigga and Odin. "I got my magic back after all."

"And you used it to cure me," she said in understanding. "Am I feeling the remnants of it?"

He shook his head. "You are feeling all of it."

"What?" the mortals asked in unison. Jane just continued staring at him.

"You were so close to death," he explained, "mortal strength, even bolstered by mine, was not enough to fully save you."

"But you did all of this to get your magic back."

"Losing you would've been a worse fate."

Her lips parted and he desperately wanted to kiss them again.

Darcy lifted a finger, stalling his advance on Jane. "You're telling me that you killed her three times to get your magic back, only to give it away to save her." She shook her head as if the notion boggled her mind.

"I would've given my life if needed," he said before taking Jane in his arms. Breathing her delicious scent in, he smiled against her neck as she giggled in delight. She was alive and she loved him.

AN - it is done. Fini. The end. Lol. Thanks for reading. I enjoyed writing this and exploring a different take on lokane and soulmate AUs. I hope you enjoyed it. :)

And, of course, thank you to my betas, Mercury97 and my sister. This turned out so much better because of you two and made the process much more enjoyable.

I'm most likely going to do a fluff epilogue to balance out all the angst, lol, so stay tuned.