"Why do you bother me, my son?" Odin asked, his voice booming through the large room.

"We have an issue, Father. Lady Lilith has been, er, chosen," Thor said, obviously watching his choice of words.

"Chosen?" I asked. "By what? Or who?"

"Silence, young Valkyrie. You shall be informed soon enough," Odin said. I hated this. These people are all the same, keeping secrets until times that they deemed appropriate. If Odin wasn't so intimidating and powerful, I probably would have said something about it.

"Sorry." I held my hands behind my back nervously as I looked down at the floor.

"When did this happen?" Odin asked Thor, not me. Not the one that it happened to. No, because that would be silly.

"Two nights ago, Father." Did he say two nights?

"Two nights ago? Are you serious?" I blurted. Maybe it was a good thing he didn't ask me.

"Why am I hearing of it now?" Odin asked as he was obviously ignoring me.

"Well, she didn't wake until today. We were monitoring her and did not get a chance to inform you."

Two nights. I've been unconscious for two nights.

"It would seem like it. Did you sleep well?"

You know damn well that I didn't. Now go away.

"Oh, alright."

"Well, Valkyrie?" Odin glared at me. Crap. I hadn't heard a thing he said.

"I'm sorry, what?" I saw a bit of fury in his eye. "I... Sorry."

"I said, what do you know of the symbol on your arm?"

"Oh. I don't know anything about it at all. I've never seen it before in my life."

"Never?" I shook my head. "That symbol is the mark of Loki, my younger and adopted son. He is the god of mischief and lies." Loki. I knew that name.

"What does that have to do with me?"

"My son has claimed you as his own Valkyrie, something that hasn't been done in ages."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that instead of serving my father, you are bound to the service of my brother," Thor said.

"Can we get rid of it?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, no," Odin claimed. "But we must keep you as far away from him as possible."

"Where is he?" After a long pause, Thor finally stepped closer.

"In his prison cell, where you were just the other night."

"That was him? No, no, no, no. That can't be right." I knew things would only get worse. He was in my mind and that meant I couldn't stay away from him.

"We need to know what he said to you."

"He wouldn't tell me much. He got annoyed that I kept asking questions, and I got annoyed that he wouldn't answer. He said this was the beginning."

"Anything else?"

"Well, he's been in my dreams. It was more like I was there, though. I told him I deserved answers, and he grabbed me by my throat and told me I deserved nothing. But, he also warned me. When I hurt my wings in the training course, he had told me I wasn't ready, that I'd get hurt. He was right."

"This is farther along then we expected, Father."

"Yes, it is. How did he speak to you about the course?" I forgot to watch my wording, didn't I?

"Oh, um." I knew it was pointless to stall. "He talked to me through my mind."

"You need to leave now. Thor, take her back to Valhalla."

"Yes, Father." We were about to leave the room when I heard Odin yell.

"Guards, bring me Loki."

******

"I am truly sorry, Lilith. If I could stop my brother I would."

"It's not your fault, Thor. But I was out for two days?" I looked up at him.

"Yes. But even though you were, I think it's best that you get home and rest. We can figure this out tomorrow. For now, goodnight." He pulled my hand up to kiss it. I didn't understand why this is a thing, but I didn't really care at the moment.

"Goodnight Thor." He left and flew off back to the palace.

I got in the elevator and went back to Earth. When I walked into my dorm, I saw Elisa freaking out.

"Hey," I said.

"Where were you? I have been worried sick. What the hell?" She hugged me a bit too tight and the scene felt all too familiar.

"I'm sorry. Things didn't go as planned. Shit happened, and I've apparently been unconscious for the last two days, and I'm so, so sorry."

"Woah, back up. Unconscious? You have some explaining to do."

"I know," I sighed. "Get comfy because it is a long story."

******

"So, you're supposed to serve Loki?" I nodded. "Isn't that the guy that tried to destroy New York?" That's what it was. That's why he looked so familiar. That's why I recognized his name. He attacked New York.

"Yeah, that's him. That was... Shit, that was him. I can't... God, I can't breathe in here." I suddenly found myself running down the hall. My chest felt tight, and the walls felt close. I couldn't breathe. I needed to be out of the building.

"Lilith, wait!" I heard her footsteps behind me, but I kept going. I just needed space. I went through the doors and ran through the dark courtyard. It was chilly, but I didn't care. I didn't stop until my legs gave out in the grass. I fell to the ground and landed on my knees. I had no doubt that there were now grass stains on my pants.

The tears rolled down my face like waterfalls. I looked up to the sky at the stars. It wasn't long before Elisa showed up at my side.

"Please... don't ever do that without telling me. I was not ready for a run." She caught her breath as she sat beside me. "I'm sorry if I said or did something wrong. But you can talk to me. Help me understand so I don't do it again."

"You didn't do anything. It's just... I don't really want to talk about it. Not yet. But I promise, when I'm ready, you'll be the first to know." I wiped the tears from my face, but more came to replace them.

"Okay. Come here." She tapped her hand on her leg, so I laid my head down on her lap.

"I'm sorry. Everything has just been crazy lately."

"It's fine. Besides, not everyone gets to have a Valkyrie for a best friend." She carefully got up and pulled me up with her. "It's getting cold and you need rest for tomorrow. We'll get you caught up on the classes you missed."

******

"Why did you pick me?" I asked before I even opened my eyes. I knew where I was at this point.

"It's not that simple."

"Really? Care to explain, or will the answer reveal itself at the right time?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Loki asked.

"No, I want to punch you in the face. You know why? Because you deserve it."

"You throw that word around far too often."

"No, I don't think I do. You do deserve to be punched in the face. You're not as innocent as you act. I mean, obviously you were put in here for a reason."

"Yes, I suppose. Although it's more complicated than that."

"Right. It's more complicated than deciding to attack New York, my home, and kill innocent people." He opened his mouth to speak, but I kept going. "I lost my everything because of you. I suffered because of you. I had a family. I had parents and a little brother that I loved more than you can imagine. He was so young. He had his whole life ahead of him. He was as innocent as they come. But you came in and took him away from me. You took them all. You did the same to so many others. And how was I repaid? A scholarship. I got a fucking scholarship. Wow. That's great, isn't it? You, sir, are a murderer. So stop fucking with me. You are far from innocent, so stop acting like it."

He sat down, looking like he felt guilty. I wouldn't fall for his little trick. I wouldn't let myself.

"Well? Got any snarky responses for me today?" I asked.

"I have nothing to say that wouldn't result in you trying to kill me."

"Oh, you're funny. You think I don't want you dead? You're lucky it's against my current morals."

"I truly am sorry, whether or not you chose to believe me. It wasn't exactly my decision."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"On both occasions, whether it be choosing you as my Valkyrie or attacking your home, I wasn't completely in control. You might not believe me but I only speak the truth."

"Says the god of lies." I looked into his eyes and saw something I hadn't noticed before. I saw immense pain.

"Yes. I do occasionally like to mix things up a bit," he said as a small smile appeared on his face. "But I do not wish to start off our relationship like that. You may not like it, but in a way, we are bound."

I walked over to sit next to him. He looked up at me with surprise, followed by a smile.

"You are about to awaken," he said. "Goodbye, Lilith."