AN: Ok so I just had to write an epilogue after seeing The Dark World. This is the last chapter I promise ;p

Part 4

A primal whimper resonated from deep within the abyss that yawned open in her chest – like the fatal wound now gaping in his. Thor was shoved aside as Sigyn dropped to her knees beside the fallen prince. She lifted trembling fingertips to his grazed cheekbone, her delicate features warped in a mask of abject grief.

'Don't leave me,' she begged desperately, tears slipping down her cheeks. 'Please don't leave me ...'

'Sigyn –'

'How could you choose him over me?' she rasped in a sudden flash of anger. How could he discard her pure devotion for Thor's fraudulent fraternity?

'I didn't,' Loki responded faintly.

Overcome, Sigyn buried her head in his shoulder, shuddering with sobs as Thor and Jane watched on.

'Don't do anything stupid,' he whispered beside her ear.

She only gasped as another wave of tears flooded her eyes. She had no one again, she would never taste him again, she would never again wield his sorcery, she would never –

'Promise me.'

'And what of the creature you brought with you from Midgard?' Odin asked after his son.

The God of Thunder paused, his elated expression growing solemn as he turned back to the throne. 'I'd presumed Sigyn would return with me, but she's refused to leave Loki's chambers. She blames me for his sacrifice. Escorting her back will be difficult –'

'No,' the King dismissed abruptly. Then he mused, in a more measured tone, 'She was explicit in her contempt for her home realm. Let her decide her own fate.'

'I believe her fate eludes her now, father,' Thor noted, his shoulders sagging in sympathy for the grief-stricken vampire. 'She did all we asked of her. She saw to it that he was loved, as mother wanted. She changed him just as I'd hoped. And now she is alone.'

Odin's jaw tightened. 'She can mourn here,' he declared, 'With the rest of us.'

The guard flicked a furtive glance behind him before slipping silently into Loki's quarters. He moved through the rooms, peering shrewdly around him. He came to a halt at the foot of the bed, in which rested an unnaturally pale woman. She appeared to be asleep.

He drew closer, his gaze travelling over her. She was still haggard with the grime of battle, and her ash-dusted cheeks streaked with dried tears. He noted a blue hue upon her lips, and realised that her chest was not lifted by breath. Placing a hand across her forehead, he found it ice cold.

He hesitated in a moment of consideration, brows furrowing. With a sudden resolve he left her side and darted into the nearby ensuite. With a twist of his wrist, taps on the sunken bath in the centre of the floor began to gush steaming hot water. He seized bottles of scented oils at random and poured them into the swirling currents. Returning to the bed, he drew back the covers, vanishing her emerald robes with another wave of his hand, and scooped her up in his arms.

The guard glimmered as he stepped into the bath, armour shrinking to a green tunic and black breeches and his bland face resolving into sharp angles. Loki crouched into the fragrant water, lowering the torpid vampire into its embrace. His fingers anchored in her tangled raven hair as he cradled her limp neck, pouring water from his cupped palm over her forehead and tenderly wiping her face as it coursed down her stark white cheeks. He murmured her name over and over like an incantation as he stroked and coaxed her skin to life, calling her back to him.

The feel of Gungnir in his grip and the sight of all of Asgard kneeling before him somehow did not compare to the jewels of her eyes when they finally opened for him.

'After centuries, I'm dreaming again,' Sigyn breathed wistfully as she gazed up at him, unfocused.

'This is no dream,' Loki smiled.

Her eyes locked with his, strained with disbelief. 'How ...?'

'One of my tricks, love,' he revealed. 'And not the last. I've taken the throne in Odin's guise.'

She curled against him, smiling into his chest. 'And Malekith?'

'Defeated.'

'I don't even care how,' she admitted as he held her to him.