22| THE ACTIONS OF A BOY

The aura of Jotunheim was cold, icy and not at all welcoming, but Lusine could no have cared less for she was here for the blood shed and nothing else. The surroundings are empty and blank. It lies in ruins, destroyed from the last devastating war that hit this realm with all its ruthlessness. War was not kind to its inhabitants, its victims. It seemed the winners had it bad and the losers had it worse.

As Sif spoke, Lusine did not listen. She did not listen to Thor either. Her eyes were fixed on the decimated landscape, the ruins of stone and the land that used to be. She wondered what it was like before war cast its spell. Perhaps there were happy lives going on here with potential for greatness, but she would never know the true extent of Jotunheim's nature.

Now all she could see was a calamitous landscape.

One voice snaps her out of her distant daydream of petulance. It's icy and trenchant; it runs down Lusine's spine and rings in her ears. That was a commanding voice, one which could not be ignored. "You've come a long way to die, Asgardians." It booms out, echoing around the emptiness.

"I am Thor Odinson of Asgard!" Thor announces causing Lusine's eyes to roll heavily. He was obnoxious and arrogant, simple minded and ignorant, but some how Lusine admired his bravery. If she wasn't so wrapped up with Loki, Lusine would try her luck with him.

"We know who you are," The booming voice calls out once more. Her lips pull into a smile, she steps to her side slightly and her arm brushes against Loki's. He's cold, colder than usual, but Lusine smiles at him all the same. If he didn't know the truth of her eyes, her smile would warm him.

Thor steps forward boldly, hammer in hand, and asks," How did your people get into Asgard?" His fingers curl tightly around the handle of his hammer. He was ready for a fight too.

"Asgard is full of traitors," He confirms what Thor hoped was not true. Lusine runs a finger along the tip of her spear nonchalantly, but beside her Loki swallows his nerves. Her response to fear wasn't natural. She blocked it out as if it were nothing but a gust of wind in the grass.

She looks up when she feels the eyes of the Frost Giant on her. Meeting his gaze, she grabs a hold of her spear with the intent to defend. "You've made a mistake, Thor Odinson," He begins, "Bringing a Volkov with you, especially one so... unstable. Perhaps she is the traitor you're looking for amongst your ranks."

Lusine's heart lurches with baleful anger at his lies. She steps forward, her intent very clear to those around her, but Loki grabs her wrist and pulls her back to his side. "Not now, not yet," He whispers, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Trust me, you'll get your chance to spill the blood of these worthless beings."

"I trust you, Loki. When have I ever not trusted you? You know me like the back of your hand," She breathes, letting her eyes flutter closed at the calming contact. "Love is trust."

"Love is trust," Loki replies, but his attention is else where.

Laufey looks back to Thor as his provocative nature with Lusine did not result in the outburst he'd been searching for. Thor was too proud not to retaliate. "You're nothing but a boy trying to prove himself a man."

The anger on Thor's face made a breathless laugh escape Lusine's jocular lips. Loki glances down at the woman who loved him so dearly and then to his brother who was too bold for his own good. He makes his choice. Releasing Lusine from his grip, he steps toward Thor. "Stop and think. Look around, we're outnumbered."

"Know your place," Thor replies through gritted teeth and a clenched jaw.

"Go now while I still allow it!" Laufey orders as if his generosity was outstanding and beyond this realm and the next.

Loki spins around on his heels to face the Frost Giant and speaks before his obnoxious brother can. "We will accept your most gracious offer," He says, smiling all the while. Thor does not smile. He looks at Loki as if he'd just committed the worst kind of betrayal known to Asgard. He'd shown weakness and that was not taken lightly by Thor. His eyes burned into his brother; Lusine could feel the rage coming off him in waves. It hit her like the smell of  summer's roses, strong and powerfully.

Lusine ran her tongue across her bottom lip. This anger was more than just powerful, it was chaotic. The waves of it soaked into her skin, her bones, her blood and ran through her veins to her deranged black heart. Her nose was red with the cold, but her heart was running at a thousand degrees.

The chaos was her fuel but, she was chaos' engine of destruction.

None of the Asgardians speak as they turn around and begin to stride away, but it was never going to be that easy. The Frost Giant speaks up once more and Lusine swore she could feel his icy breath from where she stood. "Run back home, little princess," He mocks and, for a moment, Lusine thinks he's talking to her.

"Damn," Loki breathes. They had been so incredibly close to leaving, but it couldn't be simple. It was never simple.

Thor swings around in one strong, forceful movement and brings his great hammer across Laufey, knocking him flying. That was the almighty spark that set the fighting into motion and Lusine couldn't have been happier.

She looks to Loki, her spear lowered and her eyes glimmering black. He's looking straight at her; their eyes meet and she sends him a nod. She could handle herself. Lusine may be a princess but she was a Volkov and Volkov's always knew how to fight their way out of any situation.

Loki nods back and mouths "keep safe" to her. Lusine lets out a loud laugh, her perfect teeth showing, and blows him a kiss. How was it that they got on better on a battle field, she would never know, but she was grateful.

As she whirled around to face the oncoming Frost Giant the wind is knocked out of her. There Cloris stands in between her and the raging Frost Giant. Her eyes are empty, void like Lusine's own, and positively terrifying. Her skin is snow white, the blue of her veins showing through and her heart shone through, but it was not red. It was black, as black as Lusine's. She suppresses a scream, her teeth biting into her bottom lip.

The Frost Giant is coming and coming fast, but before it can send its icy stake through Lusine, it's knocked to the side. Blood runs down Lusine's chin. She wipes it away with the back of her hand and gives Loki a shaky smile. "I could have handled it," She tells him.

"You looked like you were frozen solid," Loki says, his hand lifting to caress her cheek and his eyes analyse her bloody lip.

"It was nothing," She assures him as she turns away, stabbing her spear into a rushing Frost Giant. They were careless and frantic but they were also easy to kill.

Lusine did not look behind her, but she knew Loki was gone. His aura was distant. When she looked up she saw him at the cliff's edge and, briefly, her heart dropped when she saw a Frost Giant running toward him. At the last second his illusion is broken and the Frost Giant is sent over the cliff. Loki stands to the side, smirking.

"Nice one!" She calls out, bringing her spear down into a Frost Giant's head. The tip of the spear comes out of its neck, much to her satisfaction. She rips her weapon from its flesh as another approaches. Being swift on her feet allows her to back up toward Loki whilst keeping her eyes on the enemy.

The Frost Giant mistakes this for fear. Her eyes blur back to the void as she runs her spear clean through the Frost Giant's skull. The crack was audible to all and should have made her vomit where she stood, instead she laughed with joy.

"Not so bad yourself," Loki says as she yanks her spear from the skull, one foot on its shoulder for extra force. Lusine readies her spear as another one rushes at her.

When she hears Loki's breath hitch she whips around. A Frost Giant grips his wrist, but it does not harm him. Loki's skin turns a vibrant blue, a cold blue. Lusine doesn't even think before she pushes her spear into the Frost Giant. It lets go.

Lusine puts a hand on Loki's shoulder but he shrugs her off as he turns his blue hand over, staring at it with wide eyes. "What just happened to you?" She asks quietly.

But Loki doesn't know how to respond.

He doesn't have to. They're forced to leave due to the fact that they're so outnumbered and one of the warriors is injured badly. Lusine gives him a smile and takes a hold of his cold hand. "It doesn't matter, Loki, not to me."

Loki shakes his head at her slightly. She was dark, but she still held some good captive within her. Love. Love ran through her deeply and that was one quality he was sceptical of with her. She was loyal, but if you betrayed her she would cut you limb from limb. If she adored you, she'd make it even more painful. Which was why when he looked into her eyes he didn't want to see admiration because he knew that forever never lasts.

They take off running. Sif and the warriors run beside them as they leap over gaps. When Lusine looks back she swallows her nerves. A large monster with a drooling mouth was bounding after them on all fours after Thor had awoken it with the sheer force of his hammer.

Lusine and Loki run hand in hand as if they were running through a field of flowers. The landscape was far from beautiful but Loki could have admired Lusine's smile for the rest of his life.

The beast behind them falls down one of the gaps with a great noise. Lusine knows its not over but her eyes glisten their brilliant blue like usual. She was in her element; adventure was her calling and fighting alongside Loki made that calling more than better.

As they're about to open the Bifrost the beast re-emerges. It roars loudly but Lusine steps forward. She throws her spear at the monster and it wedges itself in its eye. The screech produced by the beast from its pain was loud and ferocious, but Lusine grinned like the sound was music to her ears. The sweetest symphony in the gloomy air.

Lusine's eyes flutter closed. When she opens them, the beast is gone and Thor stands in its place. "Well, damn," She breathes, stepping back to Loki's side. He wraps an arm around her waist, his fingers do not feel the cold of her metal armour.

Looking around, they're surrounded by Frost Giants. There would be no escape if it were not for Odin appearing. The horse he rides rears up majestically, framing him for the god he truly was.

Thor's eyes light up like stars. "Father!" He calls, "We'll finish them together!"

"Silence," Odin booms, cutting his son's joy short. "Laufey, end this now. These are the actions of a boy!"

"He'll get what he came for," Laufey responds, his voice snarling. "war and death." His intentions are clear. The attempt on Odin's life was puny and frail.

They're beamed away before the kill can be made. Lusine looks back to Laufey and narrows her eyes at him. He knows something and she intended to find out.

-

2018 words

so, a lot happened in this chapter. i only have one more chapter planned as of writing this so there will be a lack of black lies updated for a while until i have time to watch the film and plan more. sorry! but on the plus side that means more updates for bookworm! so if you like that story this is good for you. if you haven't read bookworm, i suggest reading it because i value all of your support greatly.

thank you so so so much

love from, lau <3