Cursed

It was months before Loki returned to Zara’s castle in Svartalfheim. Though he was kept busy ruling in Asgard and Jotunheim, his thoughts often wandered to her and the idea of being in her presence once more. But he refused to act on the impulses until he had true reason.

“Zara,” he spoke softly, making her jump slightly from surprise. Hunched over her desk writing, she had been immersed in the keeping of her realm, though the prospect of visiting Loki had been frequently coming to the front of her mind. “I have news.” His urgent tone caused her to stand and breathe in sharply.

“What is it?”

“I have heard word that Thor is close to finding a way to travel between realms again. Once he is no longer trapped in Midgard…” Loki trailed off, his expression hard with concern.

“We lose our advantage,” Zara finished for him.

“What should I do? The moment he returns to Asgard, they will all bend and follow him. They will forget their fear of you and I!”

“So we don’t let him get to Asgard,” Zara replied in a calmer tone, attempting to put him at ease. “We bring the fight to him. Just you and I, because we can only truly trust each other. We will crush him.” With the thought of victory over his brother and the thrill of an epic fight, Loki’s eyes lit up and he smirked his agreement.



Thor was dressed in Midgard attire as he hovered over Jane’s shoulder, observing her crafting a complicated device in her garage workshop. She looked up to ask him for some space, but instead saw the two figures looming across the road. Once Thor was alerted, his hammer rushed into his hand and Jane scurried indoors. They had both recognised Loki and knew that his presence could only mean one thing. As Loki summoned a ball of sparking green magic in his palm, he stole a glance at Zara and immediately noticed her confidence. Inspired, the spell in his hand grew stronger and he flung it at Thor with a yell.

Thor deflected the first attack with a flick of his hammer, though his charge at the couple was slowed because of it. Loki began summoning another sphere of energy, but Thor’s speed suddenly increased, taking him by surprise. The hammer slammed into his chest and he was smashed through the brick wall of the house behind them. But Thor wasn’t quick enough to deflect the next attack. With glowing white hands, Zara pushed heat energy at the Asgardian, scrunching her eyes with concentration to keep her line of fire steady. After enduring the blast for a few seconds, Thor escaped by flying upwards with his hammer.

“Over here, brother!” Loki shouted from the rubble, and Thor immediately diverted his attention from Zara and flung himself at Loki, only to fly right through him and crash into the remains of the crumbling building. Zara chuckled at the illusion, unaware of where Loki actually was, and started flinging short bursts of magic at Thor. When Thor began to stand, Zara increased the amount of power she was attacking with, though it appeared to have little effect. She started to panic as she watched Thor lift his hammer and brilliant white lightening crackled down from the sky and into the hammer.

“This stunned you once before, did it not?” Thor shouted at her as she stopped her attacks. In a desperate attempt to prevent him from sending the lightening to her, Zara faced her palms at Thor and directed a spell at him. The lime green waves shimmered around Thor, but either she wasn’t powerful enough to cease his movement or the electricity was interfering with her magic. Her stomach dropped with fear and she instinctively began to conjure a protection spell as the hammer lowered.

“No!” Loki yelled and Zara looked to her right, spotting Loki revealing himself from behind a car. “That attack is meant for me, not her!”

“Don’t be foolish!” Zara hissed at his attempt to protect her as Thor chuckled.

“Why would I waste all of this good energy on one of your tricks? I know you better than that,” he countered but Loki held his hands up in defeat.

“This is not a trick. Fire at me,” he said sincerely. Thor hesitated, considering his brother’s words, and his uncertainty was sufficient to provide the two with an opening. With their combined magic, they were able to release the hammer from Thor’s grasp. Stunned, Thor didn’t see the next blow coming. A blast of gold from Loki was immediately followed by a rush of lilac from Zara, the combined energy almost blinding them. When the light cleared, Thor was lying motionless in rubble stained with blood, hammer just out of reach.

“Did you defeat him?” Zara scarcely asked, cautious as she felt as though overcoming their largest hurdle was too good to be true.

“We did.” Loki closed the distance between them, embracing Zara and proving that he indeed wasn’t an illusion.

“You should have let him send the lightening to me. Your survival is more important than mine,” she said as she welcomed his affection, also relieved that he was unharmed.

“You know just as well as I that without you, I couldn’t have accomplished any of this,” Loki replied as he released Zara, noticing her smile. He raised his left hand and watched as he willed the Dark Elvish sigils of ownership to appear. “I wish that there was a way for you to be mine without this. I would be more comfortable if my queen was truly free.” Zara silenced him by gripping his hand and entwining her fingers with his, hiding what she considered to be awful markings.

“We have done plenty with that bond. We will do much more too,” she reassured him as well as herself. Loki fell silent, but eventually gave a short nod and tightened his grip, now convinced that together they could defeat any challenge.