Cool air fills my chambers as I step inside, closing and locking the door behind me. I pace across the floor to the window, staring out into space as thoughts race through my mind. That I will be lying for the rest of my life...it presents a gloomy prospect, I must say, despite my inclination to conceal the truth.

Veers and I, together forever...it's a bit frightening.

But do I have any other choice? No, I don't. If I want to live, I must love Veers. And love will lead to marriage as I stand beside Thor as his second in command, always ready to be of assistance to him as he takes the throne of Asgard.

There's no other option.

I sigh and run my fingers through my black hair. Well, there's nothing else for it, is there? Veers and I will remain a couple until...until we die, I suppose. The future is bleak, but at least we both have a future. A misstep and that future will vanish.

It's not long before there's a knock on my door and Jane is telling me that we're entering Vanaheim's atmosphere. After checking my appearance briefly in the mirror, still wearing the casual clothes Selvig put me in, I exit my room and find myself swept into the prep room they've assigned Selvig, where he removes the jacket, leaving me in my white shirt and dark slacks. The only other adjustment made is fastening the Yggdrasil pin to the left side of my shirt, where it's clearly visible.

"After your speech, you'll be able to change into a more formal suit," Selvig tells me as MJ fixes my hair, Flash shines my shoes, and Ned polishes my scepter. I start when I see it in his hands; I am quite certain I left that back in Asgard.

"It's customary for all champions to have their symbol of victory with them on the tour," Selvig explains as he catches my quizzical look.

When Selvig and his prep team are finished with me, I join Jane by the ramp. Hela, Ronan, and Thor are already there, waiting. The other two Kree and Veers haven't arrived yet; my prep team follows me into the chamber to stand with us.

"This is Hogun's home," Thor says quietly, his expression grave. I look at him and suddenly remember that he lost two of his best friends in the most recent Contest. "I've only been here once."

Hogun had been my ally in the arena – he had saved my life when he hadn't needed to. Sif had killed him, killed him before I could save him.

That happened a lot, in the Contest.

Peter, Cassie, Pietro, Hogun....

I shake my head violently just as Veers and Darcy enter the chamber. Veers is dressed in the same clothes as earlier, minus the baseball cap. Korath and Minn-Erva follow them.

"All right," Jane said, catching everyone's attention. "We're about to land in Vanaheim. Loki and Veers will give their speech to the people and then we'll have time to prepare for the evening feast. Loki, Veers, are you prepared for your speech?"

Gritting my teeth, I nod just as Veers shakes her head. Jane looks from me to her and sighs, closing her eyes momentarily. "Perhaps Loki should do all the talking, then."

That's fine with me.

The ship halts and Jane forces a smile onto her lips. "Here we are! Good luck, you two."

The ramp lowers and lands in the gently waving grass. Offering Veers my arm, I wait until she takes it before walking down the ramp, toward the two Children of Thanos waiting at the bottom.

Vanaheim is a mostly agricultural world and isn't as developed as Asgard, the Vanir preferring to dwell in villages instead of in a city. We have landed outside the main village, the Children of Thanos there to take us to the center of the city so we can give our speech before entering their main hall for the feast.

Hela, Thor, Valkyrie, Ronan, Korath, and Minn-Erva descend the ramp after us, Jane following behind them with Darcy, Selvig, and the prep teams behind her. The sky is cloudless, a perfect shade of blue. A light breeze blows, causing the grass to ripple. Veers gazes at the fields around us as we walk. "So this is Vanaheim," is all she says.

"Yes," I answer, and we continue walking in silence.

Crowds of people have assembled in the village square and they watch us silently as Veers and I walk down the main road toward the makeshift stage at the top of the square. The mentors, stylists, and Jane don't follow us through the square, instead taking a roundabout way so they'll end up behind us. It's our moment of glory, and so the entourage is directed away from us, to avoid stealing the spotlight.

We ascend the couple steps leading to the wooden stage and turn to face the silent Vanir. I glance over all their faces, all so similar to Hogun in complexion, their hair shiny black. At the far corners of the square, two raised platforms hold Hogun's family on one end and the family of the female contender on the other. I start when I realize I still don't know her name.

The ruler of Vanaheim, an individual I do not recognize, introduces us to the gathered crowd, although I'm fairly certain they all know who we are. Then the stage is handed over to us, to give our speeches.

Veers' fingers curl around mine nervously and I give her a reassuring squeeze. Although in the past she's charmed audiences with her easy conversation with Luis, the interviewer of the Contest of Champions, this is an entirely different audience. This is the districts, not Titan. Besides, we are appearing before the families who lost loved ones in order for us to stand here today. It was a trade-off they were unwilling to make. No amount of charisma or smiles could change that. And Veers has a good heart, making it hard for her to attempt to justify the deaths.

Luckily for the both of us, my qualms on that topic are much less.

"Asgard and Vanaheim have always been close," I begin, looking out over all the people. "I knew Hogun the Grim since I was young; he was close with my brother, Thor. Hogun and I never spoke much but we got along. He was my favorite of all of Thor's friends.

"I stand before you today, alive, because your contenders aren't." I pause, gauging the crowd. I see their stony expressions shift, their eyes widen. They weren't expecting me to say that. Good. They're paying attention now. "I can't say that causes me sorrow. Because they're dead, I still breathe. Veers still breathes." I look over at her, squeezing her hand again, but her fingers feel cold and dead in mine. She doesn't meet my gaze; instead, she's staring at the little girl standing on the female contender's platform. She's frozen.

Well, that's not good.

"But yet, it is not that simple," I continue. "Hogun was my ally, for a time. He aided me when he didn't need to, when he could have watched me possibly die. It would have been easy for him – we were never friends, him and I. But yet he didn't. He stepped in, he interfered, and he probably saved my life."

I pause again, and my eyes rove across the faces of the crowd. They're confused, and angry as well. They don't understand why I'm talking like this. But I have their attention – whether that is a good thing or a bad one, I will soon find out.

"Because of Hogun," Veers breaks in, startling me and the audience together. "Because of Hogun, Loki did not die, facing Raze. Because of Hogun, I'm alive, because without Loki, I would have died in the arena. So I have Hogun to thank for my life, for Loki's life. I barely knew him, but I owe him a debt. I owe you all a debt."

Silence falls at the end of Veers' speech and I look over at her. Her words were well-intentioned, but I'm not sure how wise they were. We shall see, I suppose. This is a game of roulette – any wrong word could give us the bullet instead of the empty chamber.

"Unfortunately, not all who are brave can escape the Contest of Champions," I continue. "But I am thankful for Hogun's sacrifice, for without him, I might not be standing here. And Thanos, our overlord, knows this."

I feel the shift in the air, in the crowd, in Veers' loosening her grip on my fingers. They all most certainly heard that.

"Thanos knows that some have to die in order for the good to survive. I know this, for without Hogun's death, I perhaps wouldn't be here. Sacrifice is an essential aspect of life. Without it...." I spread my arms out, dropping Veers' hand as I step forward. "Where would we be? Simply a race of savages, of selfish individuals living for no great cause."

Veers is looking at me in barely concealed consternation, which I can see out of the corner of my eye. I remind myself she knows nothing of Thanos' ultimatum. She doesn't know my life is on the line here unless I remind them of Thanos' power.

"I have subconscious implantations to keep me from lying in important situations."

Would Veers really lie to save me, even if she did know?

She lied about being in love with me.

I'm about to continue when a man in the front of the crowd drops onto one knee, slapping his fist against his chest as he bows his head. I frown and look down at him, brow furrowed in momentary dismay. That was most certainly not supposed to happen. They're supposed to be reminded of allegiance to Thanos! Not pay respect to me!

But I like the respect. On the other hand, however, I like my life, too. Damn Thanos for making me choose between the two.

Barely a second elapses before the rest of the crowd drop to one knee, mimicking the sign of respect the Asgardians paid to me back when I volunteered for Heimdall. In a sudden motion, I seize Veers' hand again, needing some sense of anchorage in this moment even if her fingers are stiff and unyielding in mine. This is not going as I had planned. This is not going well at all.

Veers glances over at me, her expression strained, but she doesn't pull away. I attempt to gather together the shreds of my speech, to try and forge ahead, but then the Children of Thanos who escorted us up to the stage roughly enter the crowd and drag the instigator of the genuflection to his feet, their weapons at the ready.

The words fly out of my mouth before I can stop them. It's like my survival instinct has temporarily overridden my judgement, saying what it needs to in order to keep Thanos happy. Although I doubt there's anything I can do or say that would make Thanos happy after this display of respect.

Or, as he most likely sees it, rebellion.

"Look to your elder, people," I find myself saying. "Let him be an example."

The crowd is murmuring angrily, either at me, the Children of Thanos, or both, as Veers rips her hand out of mine, her gaze horrified and disgusted at what I just said. The two Children of Thanos thrust their weapons through the chest of the man, watching as his form stiffens and then relaxes before dumping the body on the ground, his blood staining the dirt. The Vanir go silent and one of the Children begins scouring the crowd, as if for more victims.

"No!" Veers cries, when his eyes alight on the little girl standing on the female contender's platform, and she starts forward as if to interfere. My eyes widen and I jump forward, snatching the Kree around the waist and dragging her backward. "Loki! Let me go! No!"

Pulling Veers toward me, I tighten my grip as she struggles, lashing back at me. She strikes back at me with her arms, trying to get me to let go. But I don't; I tighten my grip instead. I can't let go of her; I know that.

"Damn you!" Veers screams, still fighting my grip. She grabs at my arms, trying to rip them off of her, and her palms glow golden, becoming almost translucent from the sheer energy racing into them. Hot pain sizzles on my skin, burning me as she attempts to force me to release her.

It's instinct. I let go, drawing away from the source of the intense pain. Veers launches herself off our stage, throwing herself into the crowd and toward the peacekeeper who now makes his way toward the female contender's platform, eyes on the little girl standing there petrified.

No.

Again, instinct. I dive off the platform after her, a strange determination driving me. My boots hit the dirt and I bound forward, hand reaching out to grab Veers and restrain her again. Wrapping my arms around her wrist and then her waist, I drag her to the ground just before one of the Children of Thanos can turn to confront her.

"You dare?" the peacekeeper asks in a low voice. "You dare interfere in our sacred duties?"

"Excuse them, if you will," I hear Hela saying, and suddenly she's standing behind us, giving the son of Thanos a slight, cold smile. "She's Kree, you know. The implants, remember? She's driven to protect."

"You'll have to excuse her," I hear Ronan add, and a glance behind me reveals him walking up to join us, his stride and stature intimidating. He doesn't need his war hammer to strike fear into people. "We haven't been able to program that tendency out yet. It's ingrained in us Kree."

I admire the way my sister lies so easily, and how Ronan falls into step with her scheme so quickly. As Ronan reaches down and helps Veers and I up, I do not miss the way he keeps a firm grip on his champion. I dust myself off and wrap my fingers through Veers', hoping to provide a show of comfort and support, hoping inwardly to restrain her.

The son of Thanos looks from one to the other. "Fine," he says eventually, glancing at his sister peacekeeper. "Escort them inside."

Before anyone can lay hands on me, I pivot, forcing Veers to mimic my movement. Then I walk toward the stage, toward the hall behind it, and refuse to look back.

Even when I hear the screams.

/**/

I'm sorry this update took so long! I've been rather busy with school, but I'm hoping to be a tad bit more consistent with updates going forward. We'll see. The semester's always just so busy.

Anyway. What did you think? Of Loki's speech, the commotion in the crowd? Enjoying the sequel so far? I know it's stuck close to the Catching Fire plotline so far, but it should be diverging from it soon. We'll just have to wait and see....

Skylar Wittenborn