Dead Embers(60)

I shivered.

"We have heard enough of your ravings, Loki," said Thor. He nodded to the Warriors holding on to Loki. "Take him to Asgard. The All-Father shall decide his fate."

Loki went quietly, his head held high, a gleeful smile still emblazoned across his handsome face. I'd always seen glimpses of a happy, cheerful soul in those multihued eyes, but now the darkness within him had taken over. And what it left in its wake wasn't pretty.

A weary body weighs much less than a weary soul, but both are great burdens to bear. I hunched over, leaned against Aidan, offering what little comfort I was able to give him. How would he feel now that he knew he was actually related to the god Loki? The same god who'd tricked us, manipulated us and put a poisoned dagger into his own grandchild. I couldn't bear to think about that.

Movement across the room drew my attention, and I looked up as two Warriors began to lead the doctor away. But the enigmatic doctor stalled, bringing the Warriors to an abrupt halt. "Wait. I have something to say to my son."

Aidan glared at him, and so did I. Who did he think he was, claiming Aidan as his son? He'd practically killed Aidan with a phone call to his goons. And now he had the gall to call him on his blood relationship?

Aidan waited, silent and stiff with fury.

Dr. Lee's eyes shimmered green and purple, and I couldn't help thinking how alike he was to his trickster father. "Whatever happens to me, Aidan, I hope you know that your mother and sister are safe." His words were reassuring enough, yet his ominous tone sent a shiver up my spine. I couldn't help thinking I'd heard a hard edge in those almost comforting words.

"Is that a threat?" Aidan asked softly. I puffed a breath of relief. Good thing Aidan had heard the implied threat too.

"Take it as you like. Just be aware that their safety depends on me." All color ebbed from the doctor's eyes, and his expression turned cold and emotionless as he stared at his son.

"Not for long. If it's the last thing I do, I swear I'll get them away from you." Aidan stepped forward, a foot closer to his odious father. I swayed, struggling to hold myself stiff and strong, surprised I had the strength and control of a few muscles. I gripped the edge of the gurney, forcing myself to remain upright, trying my hardest to ignore the living fire that seemed to seep into every muscle and bone vacated by the drugs.

I peered over Aidan's shoulder as Dr. Lee stared arrogantly at his son. He had no response for the passion of the boy he'd raised. Just looked down his nose at him, his smile saying he didn't understand Aidan's emotional outburst and didn't care, either.

The guards hustled the silent doctor away. Aidan turned back to me, his face haggard and shadowed.

"I'm so sorry." I wasn't sure what else I could have said. Sorry seemed so lame now that I'd said the word, but it was all I could come up with.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." Aidan shook his head, his eyes empty, devoid of emotion, which was almost scarier than his father's psycho smile. "I'm sorry that you got mixed up in his pathetic games."

"I guess he must have had his reasons." Follow one lame comment with another. Way to go, Bryn.

"Are you defending him?" Aidan's voice rasped, harsh and angry, the muscles in his arms tense.

"No, Aidan." I gripped his arm, glad for the ability to move my hands at last. "I'm just saying you had your reasons for following his instructions. Maybe it was something similar for him, too. Loki was his father." I wondered if the arrogant man was proud of what he'd done, or just scared. Did he appreciate that he'd lost a son who was so much more than just progeny?

Aidan sighed, and the anger in his dark eyes faded. "Yeah. I had my reasons. My father is holding my mother and sister hostage, holding their lives and their safety over my head. They were the only reasons I followed his every instruction."

My body iced over and my breath caught in my throat. I just stared at Aidan, more unsure than ever of what I should say. Nothing I said now would make a damn bit of difference to him.

I grasped his hand, entwined our fingers, glad the feeling was returning to more of my muscles, making me feel more human. Okay, maybe I should rethink the human part. "We'll get them back," I said. "I'll help you. As soon as we get out of here, we can go and find them."

Aidan touched my face with his fingers, tenderly grazing my cheek. He tucked a matted lock of hair behind my ear. "There's one good thing that came out of all this mess," he said. I frowned, thinking hard, but I came up blank. Then he bent close to my ear and said, "You."

I smiled, and my cheeks heated as his warm breath caressed the whorls of my ear.

A stern voice interrupted our moment. "I think we have held up the Valkyrie long enough. She needs to rest, and I suggest we continue this conversation when she is well."

I searched the room for the person who had such awful timing—Fenrir. My heart tripped as I held his gaze, searching for hatred and anger and blame. I found none. Just a deep sadness, a shadow of sorrow that curved beneath his eyes and lined his face. He looked ruthless. And yet I knew he was in great pain.

Aidan grasped me around the waist and slid me forward toward the edge of the gurney, as if ready to swing me into his arms.

"No, I'm fine." I batted his hands away.

"But you can barely walk."

Yeah, sure, I can barely walk, but no way do I want to be lifted in your arms like a child, wearing this short, open-backed hospital gown, my bare ass hanging out for the whole world to see. No frickin' way.

I met Aimee's eye as she walked into the room, and when Joshua entered behind her I almost burst into tears. I tried to beckon them over. My attempt more likely ended up looking like a glare or a grimace, but they seemed to understand. Aimee whispered something to Joshua before they both approached me.

"What happened to you guys?" I didn't wait for either one of them to reach me. I just needed to know why my team had abandoned me. But when my two friends drew alongside me, I bit off any admonition that sat at the tip of my tongue. Joshua's swollen, blackened eye, and his wince of pain as he stepped gingerly on one foot, was enough. "Are you okay?"

Joshua grinned, though it didn't mask the anger in his eyes. "Yes, yes I'm fine. Our friend Karl turned out to be on the wrong side after all. After you and Pia left us, he tried to clobber me. Only problem was, he hadn't been trained by Fenrir. No idea how the creep was even a Warrior to begin with. I managed to fight him off and punched his lights out, but he had backup."

"More guards?"

A grimace creased his face. "Yeah, we were right. The whole thing was just a huge setup. Just to lure you inside. You were the target the entire time."

My veins ran with ice. Anger washed over me. Just knowing I'd been a pawn on Loki's board stirred my fury.

Aimee chose that moment to speak, tearing my rage to pieces. "Aidan, I think Joshua might need some help with the computer and the files. I can get Bryn sorted." She smiled, but her words brooked no argument.

"But—"

"I'm fine, Aidan. You go and do whatever techie stuff it is that you do. I'll try to manage without you." I winked at him and smiled. Thankfully, my facial muscles had regained the ability to follow my mental requests, otherwise who knows what the wink would have looked like.

We both watched him leave. "You're so lucky, you know that? He cares so much for you." Aimee held onto me.

I stared after Aidan's departing back, then smiled at Aimee. "Yeah. Nothing's been easy, though. We've spent the better part of our relationship just trying to find each other." I sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if it's all worth the effort."

"Well, what is it they say? Love conquers all, right? You guys will be fine. All this will blow over soon enough." Aimee's encouraging grin almost made me believe her words.

Almost.

But her smile didn't reach her eyes. Something was wrong. Something she wasn't telling me. I held her gaze, but she broke eye contact and glanced behind me as the sound of clinking metal drew closer.

A voice behind me said, "Bryn, I always knew you would be fun to have around. Nothing is ever boring when you are involved." Sigrun rounded the table, arms laden with my clothing and weapons.

I raised my eyebrows. "Are you trying to imply I'm a troublemaker?" I sent her an accusatory glare, but my spirits soared, happy and relieved to see Sigrun.

"I was not implying anything," Sigrun replied.

Aimee giggled and so did I. My flesh tingled as new blood began to make its way into starved muscles. When a Warrior entered the room, a leather pouch in his hand, Sigrun grabbed it, and thanked him.

She handed the pouch to me.

"Here, drink every drop. You need all your strength, and the sooner you recover, the better it will be for you and for all of us, I think." She shared a glance with Aimee that for the briefest of moments was clearly filled with worry. I blinked, and they were smiling again, and I thought I'd imagined it all.

Mead. I didn't need to be forced. Who didn't love the taste of Mead? I drank deeply, reminding myself not to swallow the delicious liquid too fast. Around me, the room emptied and quieted until just Sigrun, Aimee and I remained.

My head lolled forward, energy slowly draining from my body. "Right, time to get you somewhere to rest." Sigrun grabbed me around the waist and lifted me into her arms.