Chapter Two

He shifted beside her, pulling her closer and breathing in the lavender scent of her hair as one hand traced the line of her soft body. A grin broke across her face and she giggled as he tickled her neck with his morning scruff. "If we stay right here in bed you do not have to leave." He began trailing kisses down her chin then pulled back to look into her eyes.

"Yes but then nothing would ever change." Her fingers trailed down his chest to stop at the top of his green silk boxers, hooking inside the elastic band then trailing across his hipbone. He sucked in his breath as his roaming hand slipped to her butt to press her hips against him.

"That would truly be a tragedy," his voice was husky as he pushed himself against her warmth. He pulled her across his lap as he leaned back and sat up, groaning when she wiggled and winked. His smile faded as he let his hands rest on her thighs. "Listen to everything that they tell you." He tucked her long tresses behind her ears and ran his thumbs along her chin then moved to her lips, mesmerized by the deep purple stain that never faded.

"I will. D-Do you think they'll like me?" Her eyes searched his, trying to read their depths to see what he had seen, to catch a glimpse of what she would be meeting.

He lifted her hands to his mouth and broke their gaze before she could find anything. "I cannot tell you what they will think. They would be fools not to see your worth. And I can promise you that those…women…are far from foolish." She watched as he rippled with apprehension at the memory of his own meeting with them.

Bri nodded numbly then slipped from his lap and scooted across the deep green bedding, throwing back the heavy curtains of their canopy bed, glancing back one last time before standing. Each time she had asked about the Norns she had only met with vague answers. Fear leaked into her blood, pumping quickly as panic set in. The fates. She rubbed her hands along the gooseflesh accompanying the chill, her dark blue tattoos glowing against her pail skin. What if they told her she was not good enough?! Or what if they said she could be a Valkyrie but not Loki's?! Her chest tightened at the thought. An eternity without him. Would she get leave? Would he get a different Valkyrie? Would he marry her?

Frost had begun crawling across the ground in spiky fingers as her mind spiraled into the worst case scenarios, picturing Loki married to another woman and holding her the way he held her. Suddenly he was there, crushing her to his chest and whispering that it would be okay, that no one would take her away from him. "You should get dressed," he mumbled into her ear when she had finally calmed. She bobbed her head and went to the closet to pull out the dress that Frigga had made for her.

It was a mirror of what the Queen herself had worn when she first met with the Norns with a long flowing skirt and a steel corselet. The fabric was a dark blue with cuts up the length of the skirt and down the sleeves of the arm so she could move with ease. She held it up to herself and looked in the mirror, noting the cut of muscle in her legs and arms. She could do this. She was strong. The last year had proven that to her.

She lifted it over her head then let is cascade over her, settling heavy on her shoulders. Her breath hitched even before Loki's long fingers trailed down her spine before taking the strings to begin tying the corselet. "You are freezing the laces." A huff crawled up her throat, pouring from her lips as a hiss as she tried release her nerves. The sight of her breath proved she was failing. "There is nothing to fear. You will be fine." She chuckled and shook her head at his fib.

"Sure. Maybe. Let's go with that." She leaned against him as his muscular arms wrapped around her waist to hold her close. "The sooner I leave the sooner I get back right?" She tried to recall the boldness she had found in Muspelheim but it was gone. She wasn't facing Loki's magic or some bitch with a grudge. These were the fates. They could cut her string and that was it. Done. Or they could send her back to Midgard. Tears rolled down her cheek only to freeze and shimmer like crystals in the early morning light. She would rather die than go back to the girl she had been.

"We should go." She stepped out of his arms, stepping back and smoothing the imaginary wrinkles away. "You be good while I'm gone," she teased. Her eyes drifted closed as he reached forward to brush away the tears that has begun to melt.

"Without you here? Never." A mischievous grin pulled at one corner of his mouth. "However, if you hurry back I will not have as much time to misbehave." His eyes twinkled with delight when she lifted an eyebrow in mock challenge. "Who knows how much poor Dagmar can withstand…." She laughed in response, throwing her hands into the air and rolling her eyes.

"Well for Dagmar I will rush back."

"I thank you, Lady Bri." Dagmar stood at the door to the room, holding it open to reveal Lady Frigga and Sif waiting for the two. The servant tried to hide her own amusement at the couple. Not daring to meet her prince's eyes lest they show irritation at the interruption.

"Shall we?" He offered her his arm, his smile now plastered on her face, his shoulders held back. He was a prince of Asgard escorting his fiancé to meet the fates. She slipped her arm through his and pulled back her shoulders, tipping her chin upwards and letting her face settle into the imperious and indifferent version she had learned to hold during banquets.

"Let's go."

Author's Note: Guys! I am SO sorry that this has taken so long! I am currently writing my first novel and finding it hard to find time to write for both. I promise that I will get better and I hope to have the next one posted within a few weeks! Thanks for following and favoriting! 3