The Orion Trilogy

Pt. 3

The Liar's Game

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"I have walked a stair of swords,
I have worn a coat of scars.
I have vowed with hollow words,
I have lied my way to the stars."

-Songs of Sapphique

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Through a small window in a quiet room, the night sky was visible as moonlight poured inside with long streaks of silvery beams. The heavens were glittering with stars, not a cloud in the sky to veil them from Darcy Lewis's view.

She sat cross-legged on the floor, just a few steps away from her bed. It was cold and uncomfortable to sit on the hardwood floor for long periods of time, but Darcy felt an uncontrollable need for the discomfort. It reminded her of the reality of the situation. She sat here often gazing up at the stars as her mind raced with ideas and memories, thoughts long forgotten and thoughts she did not want to remember. Darcy found it fitting that she would finally reach a plan while stargazing—after it, it was what had gotten her into this mess in the first place.

A knock sounded against the door, and Darcy inhaled deeply. Closing her eyes, she exhaled and calmly rose from the floor, strode to the room, and opened the door.

A soft smile spread on Darcy's lips. "Jane."

Jane smiled brightly and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Darcy's shoulders. "I missed you," she sighed, and stepped back to look at Darcy sincerely. "Seriously, my research has never been the same without you working alongside me."

Darcy smiled, shaking her head. "Jane, you hardly needed me. And you've done pretty well since we last worked together, I might add."

"True. But it's still not the same."

Darcy closed the door and sat on a chair opposite Jane. The latter kept scanning Darcy's face, calculating and hopeful. Darcy's face revealed nothing, except a wide smile.

"How's your boyfriend? Is he still flying around doing his civic duty with that hammer of his?"

Jane's face relaxed as she rolled her eyes. "He's not my boyfriend. And yes, he's doing his job—well, more like he's doing what he feels should be done." An annoyed look crossed her face, but Jane shook her head and leaned closer. "Enough about me, it's you I'm interested about. How're things holding up here?"

Darcy blinked once, and shrugged nonchalantly. "It's been fine, actually; I've gotten some reading done and I've finally been able to catch up on some sleep." The words were like sharp daggers to her entire existence, and she knew Jane understood underneath the friendly exterior what exactly was being done to her. But neither said a word of it.

Jane nodded vigorously, her eyes fixed on Darcy's. "That's really good, Darcy. No, that's really, really good. I have to go now, but," Jane rose from the chair and started to head to the door, but not before placing her hand comfortingly on Darcy's shoulder. "I'm really glad things are working out here. It makes things a lot easier."

She hugged Darcy one last time, more tightly than before, and left.

Darcy's smile slipped. She walked quietly to the window again and sat on her knees, propping her arms against the ledge. Licking her lips, she reached inside her pocket and retrieved a small, square mirror that fit snugly in her palm. Lowering herself a below the ledge so she wouldn't be seen, Darcy lifted the mirror and stuck it just outside the window. She moved it back and forth, hoping the moonlight would catch against the reflection of the mirror. She withdrew just as quickly and peered over the ledge anxiously.

Far away, a mirror reflected back in greeting.

-O-

Darcy's hands were shaking. It was slight, but noticeable, and she tried to carefully put her fork down before it got worse.

"Alright there, kiddo?"

Tony Stark was sitting opposite her. In a bizarre world where she knew, spoke to, and dined with the superheroes of the century, Tony Stark was the most problematic for her dilemma. He was bloated with his own problems and had a propensity for being an arrogant asshole, yet he still had time to catch the smallest details in any situation. His mind was constantly calculating and watching, whereas the others were focused on more pressing matters.

Darcy looked up. "Sorry," she shrugged. "I don't feel that great today."

"Are you ill?" Thor asked beside her, his piercing blue eyes peering into hers as if looking into her soul. She wanted to look away, but knew doing so would make her seem even more out of character.

"I don't think so," Darcy admitted, pressing her fingers to her forehead. "It's been really hot these days and I just…don't feel so great, that's all."

Thor put a hand on her shoulder. "Perhaps some rest will help. Miss Alice," Thor looked around the room, and Alice, one of the maids of Galata Tower during Loki's reign, came rushing forth. "Would you take Darcy to her rooms to retire for the evening?"

"Of course," Alice looked at her worriedly as she pushed the chair out, allowing Darcy to maneuver around it. They exited the dining room with the heads lowered, and Darcy gently clasped Alice's wrist. She felt it flex under her fingers.

They did not speak until they were safely inside Darcy's room. Alice closed the door and rounded on Darcy with fear in her eyes. "You are really going to do it?"

Darcy tried to ignore the enormous amount of worry in Alice's eyes, and took a moment to smooth the wrinkles in her clothes. "Yes. Tonight, as we've planned from the beginning. Is the courier prepared?"

Alice nodded vigorously, wringing her hands together. "He is."

Darcy felt a twinge of regret. "He…he does understand, right? What will happen to him, if…."

Alice blinked, and said in an even voice, "He knows, Darcy. He may be a simple man, but he isn't foolish. You saved him and this world; he would do anything to repay your debt."

Darcy glanced down guiltily. "I didn't mean it like that. I wish he wouldn't think of this as a debt to repay." Darcy looked at Alice emphatically. "You shouldn't stay here either. Once they know you helped me escape—"

"I was kept here during Loki's reign," Alice raised her chin defiantly. "And I survived. Besides, you know my family is still in Turkey. I can't leave them either, just as you can't leave yours."

"I know. You're right." Darcy nodded quickly and began to change into a pair of jeans that she hadn't worn in what felt like years. "One o'clock tonight. Let him know when you give him his food tray."

Alice gave a tight-lipped nod, and left the room. Darcy clawed her fingers through her hair as she collapsed on the bed, thinking through what she would be doing tonight.

-O-

It was truly a testament to mankind's ability to adapt that Darcy, who two years ago refused to walk across a street in the rain for fear of ruining her new boots, was now army crawling elbow-deep through foul-smelling sewage.

The only known way to travel unseen or unheard through the castle was through its piping. She thanked her lucky stars that she had read and reread Harry Potter more times than she could remember, but its logic had given her insight—traveling through pipes big enough for someone to crawl through could get her in and out of the castle without tripping any alarm or letting anyone know what she was up to.

It had taken her weeks and weeks to figure out the entire piping system of the castle. She initially figured it would be rudimentary but it was not—there was a flap in her bathroom just above the toilet where she could crawl through, if given a leg boost, and then a network of pipes threaded throughout the castle walls. She had taken the precaution of wrapping a thick cloth over her mouth to stop the worst of the smell from getting to her, but despite this she still had to control several gags.

If her information was correct, she should be reaching a fork in the pipe soon, and then she would need to carefully slide down vertically for a few feet on the left side of the fork. She was dreading this the most—she was no ninja, no matter how much she alluded to it during her snark-offs; positioning herself in a way that let her climb down a pipe with just the clothes on her back seemed damn near impossible.

The fork came quickly. Darcy briefly lowered the cloth over her mouth to breathe deeply once, ignoring the bile threatening to rise. "Okay," she whispered quietly. "Moment of truth."

Darcy maneuvered herself through the fork so that her legs were dangling from the pipe she needed to climb down, and her torso was on the other side of the fork. She slid downward centimeter by centimeter, her feet scraping desperately against the wall for any kind of support she could stand on. She found none.

She bit her lip to prevent it from quivering, and prayed for dear life when she was hanging from the edge with just the support of her arms. "Okay," she said shakily. "Okay, okay, okay…" she glanced down at the drop. At most, fifteen feet. Not too bad.

Darcy kicked her legs so her feet were pressed against the opposite wall of the pipe, supporting her diagonally. Maybe she could pull a Kuzko and walk down the pipe like this? It didn't seem possible as she sank lower and lower down—the pipe was narrow, able to fit an average-sized person straight down. She couldn't do this diagonally.

A gush of water and sewage suddenly rushed down onto her fingers and her head, and her grip on the pipe slipped. Darcy's mouth parted in a silent scream as she shot down, and she forced her legs and arms apart so they could press against the pipe walls and stop her from crashing all the way down. Her gloved hands were burning hot and her shoes made a horrendously loud sound against the metal, but she came to a stop.

Scarf be damned, Darcy was breathing rapidly and her muscles were wobbling under the stress of holding such a spider position inside a pipe. Terror filled her as she looked down, seeing only darkness and hearing the slosh of water. Her arms began to quaver, and she slowly began to inch down while whispering desperately, "Please, please, please…."

After inching down slowly like this for several minutes, her body finally gave in. With a hoarse cry her muscles loosened completely and she tumbled down, closing her eyes at the anticipated impact.

Her boots met with metal and murky water within seconds, and Darcy opened her eyes in surprise. The drop wasn't as far as she'd expected! Darcy let out a short breath of relief and immediately began feeling around the bottom of the floor to find an opening for her to crawl through next. She bent down and saw at the very end of the pipe, the faintest trace of moonlight.

"Oh thank god," Darcy said in relief, and began to crawl with vigor. She glanced at her watch and saw she was a little late, but that was to be expected. Hopefully the courier would wait for her, or else this was all for nothing.

Finally she reached the end of the piping, and water was gushing forward all around her very fast. She wrapped her fingers around the bars that separate the pipe from the outside world, and from here she could see blades of grass and gravel. With her remaining strength, she pounded on the bars three times.

The sound of metal sliding viciously against metal rang in her ears, and Darcy winced. Within seconds the bars were removed, and Darcy slid forward quickly and fell into the grass. Taking huge gulps of fresh air, Darcy rolled over to look at the man who had helped her.

"Oh," she said breathlessly. "I could kiss you."

"Please don't, ma'am," the courier smiled sheepishly, wrinkling his nose at the obviously putrid smell of sewage. "Here is the bucket and the change of clothes. There is a tree just behind you; you may change unnoticed there."

"Thank you," said Darcy emphatically, and quickly scrambled to her feet and grabbed the bucket and pile of clothes that were held in the courier's hands. She ducked under the tree and quickly pealed out of the filthy shirt and pants. Glancing around nervously, Darcy picked up the bucket of water and threw it over herself, hoping it would stave off the worst of the smell and the sewage bits all over her. Changing quickly into the fresh clothing, Darcy sprinted back to the courier.

"I am seriously in your debt forever for this," Darcy whispered, handing him the empty bucket with her dirty clothes stuffed inside.

The man shook his head fervently. "No. This is my repayment to you. I hope your journey succeeds."

"Thank you," Darcy nodded gratefully. She glanced around. "Where is the car?"

"No car," the courier informed, and led her away to another tree with a horse tethered to it.

"A horse?" Darcy exclaimed in a harsh whisper. "How am I supposed to travel cross-country with this?"

"It can be done," the courier said firmly. "A horse is much easier to steal than a car. And it would be wiser while traveling to avoid the main roads. They will find you instantly if you do."

Darcy bit back a retort and closed her eyes, trying to quickly come up with an alternate plan. "Okay, okay. This can still work. It'll be a bit harder, but not impossible. Thank you nonetheless." She held out her hand, and the courier shook it reverently. "I'll see you again soon."

"For your sake ma'am, I truly hope not."

Darcy looked at the horse and untied it from the tree. She hauled herself up and swung a leg around the horse, sitting atop it uneasily. Her heart fluttered uncomfortably as she glanced up at Galata tower one last time, thinking of all she was leaving behind.

The courier was gone when she looked away from the tower. Darcy licked her lips and glanced around. As quietly and stealthily as she could, Darcy urged the horse forward slowly. She winced every time the horse's shoes clopped against the road, and tugged the reins to the left.

"Into the trees, now," she whispered, patting the large mane of hair comfortingly. "Come on, boy. In we go."

Darcy felt much safer the moment they left the road and began traveling on grass, disguised under large trees and thickets of branches. Reaching over to the satchel that the courier had attached to the horse, she reached inside and groped around for a few seconds before fishing out a folded paper. Smoothing the creases the best she could, Darcy squinted to read the map with instructions.

The plan, though fairly simple, was going to be difficult to execute. Darcy knew it was a reckless plan, knew that trying to find her parents was going to be very difficult. But she was getting nowhere staying locked in Galata tower, and the 'Avengers' team had done nothing to gain her trust thus far. Yes, with their combined efforts, they had ended Loki's reign over Earth, but why had they kept her prisoner? They didn't even allow her to leave her room freely, gave her meals to her room most days, and sent agent after agent to examine her. Their presumption that she had the same mind trick done unto her by Loki's scepter was idiotic. She wouldn't have spent months helping to bring Loki down and succeed, just for show.

No, they did not believe her, and they certainly did not trust her. More importantly, they lied about the disappearance of her family. Jane had lied to her. That…that was something she would never be able to forgive, no matter how good the intentions might have been.

Darcy brought the map closer to her eyes and traced the trail the courier had mapped out for her to follow. Tomorrow evening, a freight ship would be leaving the western dock towards the Americas. She had to get there in time to get inside the ship and wait until they reached port. She knew it would take time; the boat was to make several pit stops before landing on the New York harbor. But it would be worth it.

Suddenly the sound of a cannon blowing shot in the air, and Darcy jumped in fright. The horse whinnied and vaulted off the ground nervously, almost throwing Darcy to the ground.

"Whoa, whoa!" Darcy tried to calm the horse down as it continued to grow more and more frightened as loud sounds of gunshots and disaster filled the air. Dread started to pool inside Darcy's heart when she realized where the noises were coming from.

"Shit," she cursed, and urged her horse forward to get out of the vicinity. Where he was first frightened and wouldn't stop moving, now the horse refused to budge. Darcy nearly ripped her hair out in frustration. "Really, horse? Make up your mind!" she exclaimed, throwing glances over her shoulder nervously. "We need to go now! Come on, boy! Hya!"

But the horse remained still, and Darcy jumped to the ground to look at him closely. There was a mist hovering over the horse's eyes, one that was only all-too familiar. Darcy was paralyzed for a moment.

No.

No.

Her mind started working on automatic. Grab the satchel leave the horse run—

The branches nearby parted to reveal a disheveled Loki and, to Darcy's horror, Alice. Loki's arm was wrapped around her neck threateningly, forcing her to walk forward with his insistent pushing. Darcy met Alice's frightened eyes, and Darcy immediately ran forward to release her.

"Ah-ah-ah," Loki grinned, a spark of malice in his sneer. "That isn't going to keep dear young Alice's neck from snapping in two if you come closer. And we don't want any more innocent life taken, do we?"

Darcy gritted her teeth and look at Alice desperately. Her eyes were wide with fright but there was steely determination in them as well. She shook her head violently.

"Get away, Darcy," Alice said sharply, wincing when Loki squeezed her neck even tighter. "Don't forget why you're out here. Go!"

Darcy's legs wanted to move, but they didn't. She continued to stare unblinkingly at Alice as her heart thudded rapidly in her chest. She looked coldly at Loki, who stared back challengingly.

"I thought you lost your magic," said Darcy finally. The horse was still frozen in place, and Darcy knew it was under Loki's control. She remembered every time he had placed her under a similar spell whenever he was displeased with her and didn't want her to escape.

"I did," Loki spat, but in a startlingly quick change of pace, a genuinely pleasant smile spread on his lips. "But it seems your planet has its uses after all."

Darcy frowned at his cryptic words. So his magic was still technically blocked, but he found a way to use it anyway? She inspected him critically, taking in the torn clothes and shivering form, and his tight grip on Alice. He didn't escape easily by any means, and had taken a hostage. Why? If he could use magic…

Darcy's eyes widened in understanding. She glanced at the horse, and saw it was trembling violently. She gasped when suddenly it broke free and jumped away as it whinnied, and with a mighty lurch it sped away. Darcy snapped back to look at Loki. He was seething as he watched the horse ride away, his knuckles white with tension.

He was weak. Or, whatever magic he managed to get his hands on was immensely weak. He wasn't able to use his magic for more than a minute, since the horse was able to break free rather quickly.

Enough was enough. Darcy straightened and pinned Loki with a glare. "Do what you want. You've used your leverage already, right? You don't need her anymore. Let her go, and we'll part ways. I don't have time for this."

"You dare speak to me with—"

Darcy cut him off before he could continue his tirade of self-importance. "You have your freedom and so do I. Stop wasting time and get out of here before they find you too!" Darcy snapped, her eyes darting nervously at the trees behind Loki. Loki watched her curiously, his brow furrowing.

"Why are you here?" he asked reluctantly.

"Let Alice go first."

Loki sneered. "You really think I care that much?"

"I think you care even more than that. Let her go."

Loki glared at her. His grip on Alice grew dangerously tight and Darcy started forward, only to stop when Alice shook her head again. She yelped when he uncoiled his arm from around her neck and pushed her away carelessly, watching Alice stumble to the ground. Darcy was at her side immediately and helped her up, muttering a fervent apology.

"Stop, Darcy," said Alice finally, smoothing out her clothes with shaking hands. "This isn't your fault. He found a way out when I gave him his food tray. It has nothing to do with you."

"You need to get out of here," Darcy whispered, glancing again at the sounds of sirens behind the trees. Loki was watching them contemplatively, not that either of them noticed.

"I'm not going back to that tower," said Alice fiercely. "I'm free now, too. I can look for my own family."

"On your own?"

"You think I'm not capable of fending for myself?" Alice accused, and Darcy shook her head quickly. "You think you are the only one who's suffered at his hands? I'll be fine," she sniffed and stepped away from Darcy, brushing her hair from her face. "If you could lend me some water, I will be off. I know how to survive on my own too."

"I know you can," said Darcy softly. She bent down and grabbed the forgotten satchel. Pulling a water bottle from it, Darcy handed it to Alice with a smile. "Good luck. I hope you find your family safely."

"As do I," Alice nodded grimly. "You better hurry. That ship won't stay for long."

Darcy nodded. Alice gave one last glare to Loki before sprinting into the woods in the other direction. Darcy swallowed thickly and hoisted the satchel on her shoulders, turning away to where the horse had vaulted off to.

"And where are you going?" Loki hissed behind her. Darcy cringed. She'd hoped he would have lost interest in her. Bitterly, Darcy thought, that'll never happen.

"Where I was going before you showed up," said Darcy stiffly.

A hand grabbed her arm and whirled her around. "I asked you a question earlier. Answer me." Loki's gaze was unrelenting. There was no question that he would hurt her for answers, and Darcy hated him even more.

"Where do you think?" Darcy hissed, shrugging out of his grasp. "You weren't the only prisoner in that Tower, you know. I've been locked up for weeks, just because my name is tainted with yours. Now, I have to catch a boat. You got free too, so you go do whatever it is you're hell-bent on doing. Goodbye."

She walked away at a furious pace. It wasn't until she was in the thick of the forest that she glanced behind her shoulder, and she almost stopped right there in surprise. Loki was not following her. Did he really lose interest in her quest and went to fulfill his own?

Darcy shuddered at the thought. The last thing the world needed was Loki heading back to where he started a year ago when he first fell to earth. He would come back to power with a vengeance, she was sure of it.

The question that niggled incessantly in her mind was the matter of how he using magic again? He said that Jane's concoction was still at work and he couldn't weild his magic as he normally could. The bit he did use earlier wasn't nearly as strong as it used to be, nor could it hold up very long. Darcy's thoughts temporarily halted when she tripped over tree root, and scowled grumpily at the ground.

The sooner she reached the freight, the less she'd have to think about Loki at all.

-O-

Of all the stories she'd read, none of them could ever, in any conceivable way, accurately describe the absolute misery of walking for miles and miles, in shoes that still squelched occasionally with sewage water. Though she knew she wouldn't see one for miles, she was disappointed with the lack of rivers running nearby to clean herself in.

It was nearing daybreak and Darcy resolved herself to collapsing against the hollow of a tree, exhausted and miserable, having navigated entirely by night in order to create as much distance away from Galata tower as possible. Sometimes a tremor of fear would run through her at the thought of being found. She constantly imagined the cold and hard grip of Iron Man's suit hoisting her up and into the air, dragging her back to the tower. The thought would urge her to walk faster, until her muscles protested and she was forced to take a break.

She blinked wearily, feeling consciousness come slowly to her every once in a while. It was very hot, and the shade of the tree did little to shield her from it. Sounds from the creatures of the forest had been playing in her ears all night and throughout the morning, though they'd lessened somewhat since. However, the sudden stillness in the air gave Darcy pause. She forced her eyes open and lifted her head against the tree, glancing around.

There was not a single sound. Not a chirp, nor a thrum of bugs crawling around her, or a stray animal yowling. Darcy shifted worriedly against the hard tree, wincing as her stiff muscles protested at the slight movement. With a grimace she pulled herself up slowly, gripping the bark tightly.

Finally she heard a light rustle in the grass a few paces away from her. Out emerged a booted foot, then a pale, wrinkled and bloody leg, until in front of Darcy emerged a tall, growling, rogue Chitauri. Of course she would run into the only one that must have gotten away before it could be slaughtered.

She swallowed convulsively. Stepping away slowly from the tree, Darcy tried not to notice the row of sharp teeth that looked just about ready to take a chunk out of her jugular. She noted the grizzled look about it; she remembered the uniforms that the Chitauri wore when she was taken hostage on their jet. There were bare remnants of it now, hanging in tatters on its shoulders, with blood dried over its body.

"Rough night?" she cracked feebly.

It opened its jaw and let out a deafening growl, reverberating against the trees and sending a hundred birds in frightened flight above them, and that was when Darcy began to run.

She could hear the thudding footfalls behind her, but she was too panicked to turn her head and see how close it was. Adrenaline pumped through Darcy as she jumped over a hollowed log and continued to run, feet crunching the twigs under her shoes and her breath coming out in short puffs. The Chitauri seemed to have the same train of thought and it too jumped over the log—only (and most unfortunately for Darcy), it was able to jump farther and faster than Darcy's little human jump, and within moments it landed on top of her sprinting form, forcing her to fall flat on her face.

She struggled violently as it flipped her over. She spat out dirt onto its face and kneed it hard. It growled loudly at the assault, clearly unaffected. Sharp, talon-like nails came dangerously close to her throat, and Darcy gritted her teeth with the fleeting thought of, well, I tried, and that is what matters.

The pain, however, never came.

Darcy opened her eyes and saw the Chitauri hovering over her in mid-growl, fingers poised over her neck. Its eyes were unfocused and cloudy, and Darcy exhaled in relief.

"I would move before it starts fighting back," Loki's voice said far away. Darcy glanced around, unable to pinpoint where he was. Quickly Darcy shoved the creature's hand aside and wriggled away from underneath it.

She stumbled to her feet and found Loki standing idly behind the Chitauri. Darcy glanced around the forest floor and heaved up a large broken branch. Striding up towards the alien, she narrowed her eyes and swung as hard as she could at the back of its skull. It crumpled to the floor instantly and did not stir again.

"Impressive," Loki noted. Darcy took in his appearance, noting that somehow he managed to clean up his look since their last encounter. She looked at his crisp clothes enviously, and grumbled out, "I don't need your approval."

"I don't doubt it." He wrinkled his nose a moment later, and Darcy flushed, knowing why. To her relief he did not mention it, and merely continued, "Your freight is five miles north of here. You should continue quickly; nightfall is not too far away."

She gaped as he walked around and away from her. "You know I have to be on that freight?" she said incredulously. "How? Have you been spying on me?"

Loki didn't pause, so Darcy sprinted forward to catch up with him. "Well?" she prompted.

"What would you like to hear me say?" Loki asked in annoyance, like she was an irritating insect. "Yes, Darcy. I've been spying on you secretly during my time in the dungeon. I have plotted this exact moment for weeks." He gave her a dry look that Darcy resented deeply.

"Sounds like something you would do," Darcy replied with a scowl, but the tension in her shoulders eased.

"It didn't take much neural activity to piece together your escape methods, combined with the maid's parting words to you yesterday. The direction you've been traveling in is of the Western shore. What oh what do people do over there, I wonder?" Loki gave her a dark look, full of mocking. "I'm not actually stupid."

"You're walking towards the Western shore too," Darcy ignored his last remark, frowning.

"Perceptive, as well."

"Stay away from me," Darcy halted, and finally Loki stopped as well and glanced behind at her. Darcy gave him the most serious expression she could muster. "Seriously. Stay out of my business."

"I don't want to be in your business," Loki hissed as he leaned in infuriatingly close to her. "It's coincidence that our destination is the same. I need transportation to North America for my own reasons. Normally I would utilize more efficient means of getting myself there, but since I am otherwise indisposed at the moment, there is little other choice for me. If you've forgotten I am on the run as well."

"You did this to yourself," Darcy couldn't help the venom from leaking into her voice. She fisted her hands into balls. "And you did this to me. Am I supposed to feel sorry for you? That Jane took your magic and you were locked up in a dungeon?"

"They could never keep me in there forever," Loki spat.

Darcy scowled, but forced herself to breathe deeply and loosened her hands. "Do what you want. Go on the freight. Just don't get in my way."

She strode past him and continued her journey on foot. Silence passed between them, both fuming at the other as the hours waned. Loki did not look angrier than he usually did on a daily basis, but Darcy's misery was visible as the day's journey continued. Whatever relief there'd been from the short rest she'd taken hours ago was now gone. Her feet ached, and the pain radiated up to her shins. Her back was stiff and she was incredibly hungry. The bag she carried had a few biscuits and one last remaining bottle of water. Taking a careful sip, Darcy forced herself from finishing it all in one gulp, and shoved the bottle back inside the bag.

The sun was starting to sink. Darcy began chewing her lip worryingly, not knowing if she was actually close to her destination. Casting a furtive glance behind her shoulder, she saw Loki walking not far from her. His pace was leisurely and without a hint of exhaustion. This made Darcy even grumpier, and she returned her gaze straight ahead.

"Well if he's not worried," Darcy said to herself reassuringly, "neither should I be."

Another hour passed, and it was getting very close to sunset. Sounds that were not of a forest were starting to be heard, and Darcy paused when she heard a man shouting in the distance. Before she could take another step, a firm hand gripped her shoulder. She glanced up to see Loki standing beside her with a stern look.

"The freight is just ahead of this shrubbery. We must be unseen if we wish to be part of the cargo."

Darcy wanted to say something biting since she already knew this, and this was her plan before it could've been his, but she remained silent. It was true that Darcy was worried of how she'd get on the freight unnoticed, and truthfully it would be beneficial to her if she had some of Loki's Asgardian skills on her side. And so, she held her tongue.

Loki took a careful step forward, then another, and Darcy followed quietly behind him. The trees thinned out until they were forced to hide behind one that lined the edge of the remaining forest. Directly in front of them was the dock and a crew of men loading massive crates onto the ship. Darcy furrowed her brows as she tried finding a way to sneak past them and get into the loading room.

"I think I found a way in," Darcy finally whispered as she concentrated on the flow of movement in front of her.

"I'm sure you have," replied Loki. "But any normal method would pose a great risk of capture. We will use my method."

"And what's that?" Darcy arched an eyebrow.

He smiled, his eyes gleaming. "Trickery."

Without preamble, Loki grabbed her wrist with a firm grip and closed his eyes. Darcy watched him furrow his brow in deep concentration, and at first she thought it was a trick her mind was playing on her, but it was not; a slight shimmer began to fall over Loki, like water rippling in a lake. It flowed down his body and spread onto her, and Darcy instinctually started to struggle against his grip, but he did not relent. The rippling encased Loki and Darcy entirely.

"How long will this hold?" She whispered.

"Just enough to get by," Loki said with some difficulty. It was clear that maintaining an invisibility spell was no easy task, and by no means rudimentary magic. They had to get across quickly before the spell fell through completely.

"Let's go then," she said determinedly. "Now!"

They began the run down to the dock as quickly and quietly as possible, careful not to make any noise. More than once they nearly collided into a worker, to which Darcy had to tug herself away or yank Loki's arm if he almost ran into somebody.

"Darcy," he whispered hoarsely. She glanced at him and froze. Looking down his face and then to her own hands, a flutter of panic coursing through her when she realized his magic was beginning to crumble.

"Quickly," she muttered through the corner of her mouth. Gripping him tightly by the hand, she maneuvered past several workers and crates. She knew this would be a bad plan, she fucking knew it. She could feel the magic that made her and Loki invisible to the naked eye start to flutter unstably, and Darcy gritted her teeth when Loki squeezed her hand tightly in effort to maintain the illusion long enough to get inside the freight.

His hand broke away from hers abruptly when Loki, in his concentration of keeping the enchantment up, failed to notice the small crate Darcy was trying to avoid and ended up crashing against it loudly.

The rippling effect over Darcy's body ceased. Loki looked at her in horror, and without a second thought Darcy shoved Loki behind a tall neighboring crate and crouched behind it with him.

A flurry of shouting in Turkish grew closer to them. Loki glanced at her but she refused to look his way; she was beyond infuriated. When the voices finally grew faint, Darcy sent him a hard glare.

"You're going to follow my lead now. Okay?"

It was more a statement than a question, but Darcy stared at Loki resolutely. Loki narrowed his eyes at her, and nodded curtly. Darcy nearly shouted in relief, but instead she scanned her surroundings grimly. They couldn't stay hidden for more than a few seconds, for workers were walking back and forth loading the cargo onto the freight. They were mere feet away from the entrance, and Darcy watched the flow of movement with men coming in and out of the ship.

Biting her lip, Darcy checked inside her bag. Scraps of food and a bottle. Closing the bag with a frustrated gesture, she looked to Loki again.

"Can your not-magic do one last thing? One small thing?"

Loki frowned. "Like what?"

Darcy glanced around and then pointed discreetly to a crate a few feet away from them. "I need you to blow that up. Not a lot, just enough to have the wood pieces fall down and confuse people."

Loki's frown deepened, but he breathed in deeply and appeared to be concentrating very hard. A bead of sweat ran down from his forehead, when suddenly his eyes flew open. He flicked his hand towards the crate, and Darcy heard a sudden loud clanging sound.

More shouting was heard but this time they were moving farther and farther away. "Now!" Darcy hissed, and together Loki and Darcy sprinted in the setting sun, dark shadows in a darkening horizon, and they slipped quietly and unnoticed into the ship.

They found the loading room and huddled into the corner, breathless with adrenaline and fatigue. Darcy cast a quick glance at Loki and couldn't help the smile that spread in that instant. Loki grinned in return, if not tiredly, and looked away to stare up at the ceiling.

"I seem to be an expert," Loki sighed.

"At what?" asked Darcy.

"Tactical errors." Loki looked at her ruefully, and Darcy nodded in agreement.

"I'll have to agree with you on that. You're not a very good long-term planner."

"My father said that of me often," Loki admitted with a bitter chuckle, whether he meant to tell her this or not. "I was always excellent at the immediate plan of action, but lacked foresight of what the outcomes could be."

"I don't think the problem is that you don't know the outcomes," Darcy said after a moment. "I think your ego is so big that you literally can't fathom being wrong. You never consider the possibility that you could fail."

Loki gave her a hard look and turned away, and she knew then that she had hit too close to home for him. Darcy suppressed a sigh. She was too quick to forget who she was dealing with here.

"According to my map, there's a kitchen on the other side of this ship. If we don't want to starve to death, we'll have to sneak down there every night until this metal box of death gets us to the New York Harbor."

Loki grunted in acknowledgement, and Darcy rolled her eyes. Deciding that she would rather find a way to get comfortable on her own than to put up with more of Loki's fast-changing moods, Darcy lifted herself from the floor and went searching for a better place to rest. Finding a low smooth crate, she settled atop it and curled up on her side.

-O-

"Please don't," Loki had an intense look of helpless disgust on his face, though a lot of it was probably in effort to distract her from the roiling in her stomach. "For the love of god, Darcy…"

"I can't help it if sitting on a rocking ship all fucking day makes me nauseous!" Darcy growled angrily, fighting to keep the contents in her stomach from journeying up north.
"Why, oh why…" The ship lurched particularly hard just then, and Darcy covered her mouth.

"The whole damned room is going to smell of it all week if you do," Loki warned.

"I know," Darcy muttered.

Loki checked the time on her watch. "Look, in a half hour the lower deck will be cleared for the human's lunch on the surface. Wait a little while longer and then you can run to the restroom and vomit to your heart's desire."

Darcy nodded feverishly, breathing slowly through her nose and exhaling through her mouth. "Okay," she continued to nod, "okay, okay, okay…I can do this. It's just thirty minutes, right?" Loki nodded. "Right, so I can wait a little longer. It's not even that long. Thirty minutes. That's nothing. It's a blink of an eye. I should lie down."

"Excellent idea," said Loki, watching as she climbed up on her crate and curled into a ball. "Why don't you try sleeping? It'll make things easier."

"I think that's physically impossible for me right now," Darcy mumbled moodily. Loki was standing just before her, his shadow hovering over her like a dark blanket. She jolted in surprise when He gracefully knelt down on one knee then the other, his arms coming up to fold delicately onto the edge of her crate.

"I could help," said Loki lightly. His fingers ran across the wood of the crate, tracing the running lines delicately, until they reached her arm. He hands grazed over them until they reached up to tangle loosely in her hair, close to her scalp. Darcy got the hint and snorted.

"What, with your low-grade juju? I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"It is perfectly functional when necessary," Loki retorted darkly. "Do not forget how my earth-based magic saved you on many occasions."

"Except when we actually needed it back on the dock," Darcy shot back, but paused. "Wait, did you say 'earth-based magic'?"

Loki stilled at her words, and said nothing. Darcy was reeling at the discovery of Loki's slip-up, and quickly raised herself on one elbow to look at him intently. "Is that what you've been using? Jane blocked your magic so you're somehow using…using…"

"Magic from your realm," Loki finished, irritated at her persistence. "Mind you, it's so low on this planet that I almost didn't detect it. But it's here, untraceable, but present. I've been using elemental energy and molding it for my purpose." An annoyed look crossed his expression and he growled, "Clearly it isn't strong, as I can barely hold up any enchantment for more than a minute."

Darcy continued to look at him in wonder. "So you're saying there is magic on earth? Like it's here, everywhere, in everything?"

"Yes," Loki replied slowly, not understanding the awe in her expression.

"I knew it," she breathed, and settled back down onto the crate, her nausea forgotten as she stared up at the ceiling. A slow smile spread on her lips. "I just knew it."

Loki's brows furrowed. "How? You can't possibly detect it."

Darcy shook her head as she continued to stare at the ceiling. "I can't, but I knew there was more to this place than what I could see. I felt it when I would walk up to the clearing by my house; when I'd lie in the grass and watch the stars light up the sky. It always felt so unreal, so different. I can't describe it. But I knew something was there that I couldn't understand." She looked at Loki with a small smile. "Thank you for telling me."

Loki frowned and said nothing. Her response was not what he'd been expecting. Accusations, deductions, and guesses at his next nefarious plots were what he thought he'd hear from Darcy, but certainly not a sentimental retelling of her imaginations.

"Tell me more about this earth-based magic," Darcy said after a short while. She had an interested look about her and Loki narrowed his eyes mistrustfully.

"Why? Are you going to try to use it?" he said mockingly.

"No, but even if I wanted to, who are you to stop me?"

Loki shook his head with a wry expression. "See, this is the central flaw of your species. You think that with enough effort and determination, you can achieve anything. But you never take the time to understand what you're attempting to do, and so you always, inevitably, fail."

"Are you lecturing me? Or was that just a description of yourself?"

"I'm telling you a fact," Loki gave her a murderous look. "Not everybody can just wield elemental magic. It takes understanding of the universal components. Something that would require the length of your lifespan."

"God, are you listening to yourself? Just tell me what it is! I'm not asking for an entire semester's course on it."

"Fine," Loki spat. "There's internal and external energy. Your wretched friend restricted my ability of using internal energy as my power source. I've been forced to use external energy—usually referred to as elemental energy. In this case, since I am currently on this planet, it is a low-grade earth-based magic."

Darcy remained silent as he finished his tirade, her expression thoughtful. "But when Jane sprayed that stuff on you which closed your internal energy, wouldn't that stop you from using external as well?"

"No, it would not. That's the entire point of external energy." Loki made an impatient sound and moved away from the crate, rising to her feet. "As I expected. You'll never be able to understand."

"I am understanding," said Darcy hotly. "It's not a crime to ask questions."

"So you think," Loki glowered, and walked away to the corner of the room before dropping down and leaning against the wall moodily.

"I suppose if you were king it would be punishable by law," Darcy remarked. Loki caught her gaze and gave a viciously menacing sneer.

"Yes."

-O-

The week passed more or less quietly and with minimal interaction with the pissed ex-King. He had taken some sort of internal vow not to speak to her unless absolutely necessary, to which Darcy found the greatest relief and the utmost boredom. As much as she despised the man, spending 20 hours a day staring at a metal wall with nothing but the emptiness of her mind made Darcy a little stir-crazy.

Yet the journey continued, and the day arrived when the freight would finally reach the New York Harbor.

Darcy finished off the scraps of food she'd stolen from the kitchens and shifted on her crate. Loki was being unusually silent today. She didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but she also couldn't help but feel a smallest sense of nervousness at the prolonged silence.

"Hey." Darcy waited for a response, but none came. Slowly she swung her legs over the crate and hopped down. She walked quietly to where Loki had taken residence—the furthest corner of the room that put the most distance between them. He was sitting cross-legged and hunched over, his forearms leaning for support on his thighs. "Loki." No response. Darcy tentatively knelt down and peered at his hidden face. "Loki," she repeated.

He lifted his head and Darcy recoiled. "You're sick!" she exclaimed.

"Hot," he muttered in a weakened voice, though it still held its usual defiance. "Very hot."

Darcy frowned at looked at the thermostat. "I can't remember how to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit," she admitted frustratedly. "I don't know the temperature. But yeah it's a little hot, but not that much. This is barely reaching New Mexico temperatures."

"It's enough," Loki's voice was hard and brooked no argument. "This…is not my natural state. My magic is gone. I can't naturally keep my body at equilibrium. I…" His jaw tensed and for a split second, she though she saw a blue tint to his cheeks, but in a blink it was gone. "I can't keep it in any longer. I fear I've exhausted the use of elemental magic for today."

"What…?" Darcy began to ask, but she did not need to say anymore. In an instant, his skin began to turn blue, until it covered him entirely, his red eyes piercing hers.

"Oh," she said.

Loki straightened his posture and looked at her sternly. "Are you afraid, Darcy Lewis?" A snarl curled his upper lip as he stared down at her dispassionately. Darcy didn't know what to say. "As you should be."

"Don't put words in my mouth," Darcy replied. "I didn't say anything."

"Silence is answer enough."

"No, it's really not." She glanced around and then stood up. "Come on."

Loki looked at her as if she had grown an extra head. "Come on," she reached for his hand and he flinched in surprise, and Darcy rolled her eyes. Grabbing him roughly by the leather-clad arm, she pulled him up maneuvered him through the maze of crates, until they reached another end of the room.

"What?" asked Loki. Darcy pointed up. Loki raised his eyes and saw a square vent above him.

"Air conditioning comes through faintly from there. Sit below it and you'll be fine."

She turned and left, leaving Loki in stunned silence.

-O-

"Well," Darcy whispered harshly. "Now what?"

"Oh, am I suddenly the brains of the operation again? What happened to you taking control?" Loki asked mockingly.

"That was when you screwed up and I had to take control. What's your plan now?"

Loki stared deeply at Shield Headquarters. "Take my hand," he said ominously. "We're going through the front door."

She accepted Loki's hand in surprise, but groaned when she saw what he was doing. "Oh for the love of—we can't do this in one minute, Loki! The invisible shield of yours isn't going to work!"

"We only need a minute to walk through the front door," Loki shook his head knowingly.

"And how are we going to avoid the cameras? They'll be everywhere, you know."

"Leave that to me, alright?" Loki snapped. "For once, I am pleading for you to just trust me."

Darcy looked at him skeptically. "This better work. No, listen. This is about my family. I don't know what your agenda is, but I spent more than a year trying to find my parents, and I'm not going to let you screw this up for me. This isn't something we can wriggle out of like we did with those Turkish workers on the docks. This is Shield. There are no second chances here."

"I understand, Darcy. Trust me."

The rippling effect over their bodies started again, and they sprinted to the entrance of Shield.

It went remarkably easy. They were inside within seconds, and in the stairwell in four more. The spell wore off and they were safe, but more importantly, they were inside the building.

"What about the cameras?" Darcy whispered insistently as they climbed up the staircase.

"I am blocking them one at a time as we pass them," Loki replied quickly. "It requires less than a second to do, so I can perform this multiple times in a short span."

Darcy raised her eyebrows, impressed. "Wow, you actually thought this through."

"I fear to think what your plan was before I joined you," Loki remarked darkly. To his surprise, Darcy grinned.

"It's better if you didn't know."

Darcy stopped him at the second level, where a directory listing was hanging on the wall.

"Which place would be easiest to break into, in your opinion?" Darcy asked. "I need to reach the archives to see where my parents are."

"Foster's laboratory would be closest, and easiest by far," Loki observed. "She has information on them, does she not? And since she is not actively working here at the moment, the laboratory will be abandoned."

He said it genuinely, but Darcy couldn't shake the nagging distrust at his innocent suggestion. "I was thinking along the same lines anyway. It was my original plan too, so…Jane's lab it is."

Quickly and stealthily, they climbed the staircase until several floors later, they reached Jane's lab. Loki waved his hand and unlocked the pressurized door, leading Darcy inside.

Jane's computer was right in the center of the room. Darcy immediately ran to it and turned it on, easily breaking into it and searching her files. Lewis, Lewis, Lewis…Darcy bit her lip as she searched her hard drive.

"I can't find it," Darcy gritted her teeth. She spent several minutes searching until she punched the keyboard in frustration. "Damn it! It's not here!"

Darcy wheeled around to look at Loki, only to find him inspecting a cylindrical tube interestedly. "Are you even listening to me?" she growled.

"They're not in New York," Loki said in a calmly. He continued to inspect the tube, turning it this way and that.

Darcy frowned. "What? How do you know that?"

"Oh, I've known from the beginning."

Darcy stared. She stopped breathing, until her lungs protested and she took a shaky breath. "You…knew."

Loki finally looked up from the tube and gave her an amiable smile. "Yes, from the beginning. Before I saw you in the forest, all those days ago. With precious little Alice quivering under my arm as I squeezed her neck." His expression darkened as his smile grew menacing. "You'd be surprised, Darcy, at the amount of loyalty that remained at that tower. The things the guards would tell me in secret, things they overheard those Avengers of yours when they discussed their plans. Naturally the time would come when I learned of your imprisonment, and the location of your parents."

Darcy was shaking with terror and anger. "So from the beginning, this was part of your plan? You—you brought me here—why? Why not go off on your own, why involve me?"

"Did you see the pitiful state I was in?" Loki almost snorted. "There was little chance of survival on my own. My bloody magic was gone. You were a tactical move, and you did manage to save me on those docks. I suppose I owe you…but that will be repaid after."

Darcy swallowed hard. "After what?"

Loki glanced at her and smiled cheerfully. "Why, after this, of course."

He opened the cylinder and a jet of powder burst out, covering his body completely. Darcy raised a hand to her mouth involuntarily, jumping to her feet and backing away. The smoke cleared after several seconds, leaving a wide-eyed Loki in its wake. He breathed deeply and closed his eyes, holding out his hand and then twisting it sharply. A room full of clones appeared, and all their expressions mirrored Loki's gleeful satisfaction.

"There's always an antidote," said Loki with a relieved smile. Darcy knew, then, that he had found a way to regain his true magic. He had brought here to Jane's laboratory because he knew she would have made an antidote. All this, for a puff of smoke….

"You're insane," Darcy backed away.

"Mm, quite. But that's not the point right now. In thirty seconds, a crew of Shield agents will break down this door and point us with some very big guns, and unless you want to resemble cheese from Switzerland, I suggest you take my hand now and come with me."

Darcy's face contorted in fury. "You—asshole! You think this will make me come along with you? You lied to me! You knew my parents weren't here and that I wouldn't find them in these archives, you used me!"

"Everybody uses everybody, Darcy; that is how this universe works," Loki explained patiently. "You used me for my little bits of magic. I used you for passage into New York. Are we really very different?"

"Your intentions are wrong. I would never help you for this willingly."

"And was Shield's intentions any better? Valhalla's sake, Darcy, you were imprisoned in your room by your friends! They used your missing parents against you, lied to you about their whereabouts and if they were alive or not. I have never lied about my intentions," Loki looked at her sincerely. "You always knew my sole purpose was claiming my birthright of a throne. You knew I wasn't on that freight for just you. I said from the beginning I had my reasons. But unlike your friends, who still have not told you where to find your parents," Loki risked reaching down and taking hold of her hand. He peered at her with impossibly green eyes, "I will take you to them myself."

Darcy stared at him for a long while, when the door suddenly burst open. She heard several guns click, and saw red dots appear on Loki's face.

"Step away from the girl," she heard a familiar voice say. Darcy whirled around.

"Coulson?"

"Hello, Ms. Lewis," he smiled tightly. "If you could come here."

Darcy opened her mouth, before snapping it shut grimly. "Do you know what your crew has done to me in Turkey?"

Coulson stilled for a moment. "Yes," he replied evenly.

"Were you corresponding with Jane while I was there and Loki was king?"

"I was."

Darcy bit her trembling lip, and shook her head slowly. "Why? Two words, Coulson. It would have taken two words, and I would have still done my duty. I was going to help you take Loki down no matter what. Why did you think not telling me that my parents are alive would be okay? Why was it remotely okay?"

She was nearing hysterics, but she did not care. She stared at Coulson as she waited for his answer, but he did not respond immediately. Slowly he began to lower his gun, until he sighed in resignation.

"It wasn't up to me," he said quietly. "To them, you were…a liability."

Darcy froze as it felt like a ton of bricks fell into her stomach. Coulson looked apologetic. "But we kept them safe," he continued quickly. "They're alive and well. Just come with us, and you'll be alright."

Darcy looked at him, then to the rest of the agents that had their guns pointed at her and Loki. She smiled bitterly. "I've always been alright," she stated dispassionately. "It wasn't you who kept me alive this past year. I managed to do that all by myself. I don't need you. And from now on, from this moment, you're going to stay the hell out of my life. You're going to leave me and my family alone. You're going to pretend I don't exist, and I am going to pretend I never knew Shield. And that's how it's going to stay."

Coulson glanced down for a moment. "So you choose his side, then."

Darcy's expression hardened. "No," she said with a disgusted look. "I choose myself."

She reached behind and linked her hands with Loki's, and the room disappeared.

-O-

They were standing on a green lawn. The sky was a brilliant shade of blue and the sun was shining cheerfully. In front of them stood a quaint little house. She turned to Loki.

"This is your parents' new home," Loki informed her. "Shield moved them to Wisconsin. It's a remote town, mostly untouched by my rule. As were most places, honestly. There were no real detrimental effects to my kingship."

Darcy made no reply. She strode to the house and peered inside the window.

It was as if the breath had been knocked out of her. She staggered back and turned away, not believing what she saw. "They're inside," she whispered breathlessly, pressing the cool side of her palm against her forehead. "They're alright. They're alive. They're safe."

Loki nodded. Darcy looked at him skeptically. "You actually brought me to them. You weren't lying."

"No, I wasn't."

Darcy looked at him intently. "You have your powers back now. What are you planning on doing with them?"

"What I always intended to do." He glanced up at the sky with a longing expression. "My reign here has come to a close. I have greater ambitions. Why waste time with one planet when I could rule whole realms?"

The sinking feeling returned in her stomach, and she decided, what the hell. "Loki," she said with a pleading look. "I'm saying this in all seriousness. Don't do this. It's not going to end well for you."

"Do I hear correctly? Does Darcy Lewis care for me?" Loki said in a teasing voice.

"I wouldn't go that far," she warned. "But you know that you're not good with long-term planning. You need to think this through before you do something rash like, I don't know, attempting to become king over more worlds."

"I have thought," Loki said quietly. "I've not been twiddling my thumbs idly during my brief imprisonment. I have a plan." Loki smiled. "And you forget, I planned my escape and our adventure to New York. I am capable of foresight, you know."

Darcy rolled her eyes. "Sure, sure. Don't say I didn't warn you, though."

"You could warn me every day, if you liked," Loki said in a low voice. He peered into her eyes with a nameless expression. Darcy's heart skipped a beat at the somber expression. "My offer still stands. From before."

Darcy blinked several times, and looked away. "I just got my family back," she replied weakly. "I…I can't go with you." Loki's expression closed and he broke his gaze away from hers. "Plus, you're still kind of evil and crazy. You hate my entire species, remember?"

A smirk appeared on Loki's lips. "How could I forget. Yours is a race of idiots."

Darcy smiled. "Look," she started. "I still sort of despise you. You uprooted my life and everybody else's. I don't know the details of what you did to take over the earth, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't with kindness. Nonetheless…" she fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. "You helped me when no one else would. You gave my parents back to me. Even though this was all your fault anyway."

Loki raised a questioning eyebrow. Darcy sighed in exasperation and leaned forward on her tiptoes, grabbing Loki by the lapels of his leather coat and pressing her lips firmly against his.

Loki may have feigned innocence and bullshitted surprise every time he breathed, but he knew well enough to see an opportunity when it presented itself to him. Without missing a beat, Loki's hands found her waist and pulled her impossibly close, slanting his head and devouring every bit of pleasure he could wring from their joined lips. Finally when her lungs protested Darcy broke away, but only for a moment's reprieve as Loki's lips followed hers and began the process once more.

When both were flushed and out of breath, Darcy stepped away from Loki completely. Loki's gaze connected with hers, and Darcy raised a hand when he began to smirk. "Don't," she warned, fighting to catch her breath. "Don't do it. Just don't."

Loki acquiesced, raising both hands in acceptance. "I'll take my leave then."

Darcy nodded and began walking towards the house. When she reached the door she turned around one last time, only to be surprised that Loki had walked with her.

"Well," she grunted. "Bye."

"Goodbye," Loki echoed. He leaned forward and whispered, just low enough for her to hear him say, "Should you wish to change your mind, should your heart want more than green grass and radios, all you need is to say my name as you gaze at the stars."

Darcy inhaled sharply, and shook her head. "I don't do that anymore," she replied shakily.

Loki smiled. "Lying to the God of Lies will do you no good. A Stargazer never stops yearning for the skies."

He stepped away and locked his gaze with hers, before flicking his wrist and disappearing.

Darcy glanced up at the sky. Without another thought, she turned around and opened the door. A brilliant smile spread on her lips as four arms encompassed her within moments, and she knew she was home.

And it's done. Thank you for everyone who's followed this trilogy. I know a lot of you were anxious I wouldn't complete this since it's been several months since I posted The Thief's Downfall, but rest assured I promised to post this and I have. Just a heads up for the future, I have a very busy and hectic life, and I won't ever be able to post things quickly. Those of you who know me as an author realize this already, but I thought I'd tell the rest of my readers.

I hope you've enjoyed :) This is the FINAL conclusion to The Orion Trilogy. No sequel or follow-up will be written.

Thanks for reading!