Page 7 of Loki's Heart

“Not impossible,” Truthsayer echoed with Cian’s voice, wearing a smug grin before he revealed the last thing Loki wanted shared.

Chapter Five

“Lokiknewhis dagger would not Forge if he no longer existed,” Truthsayer shared with a wicked little grin. “That’s why he remained so close to Revna. If anyone had the ability to foresee his potential demise so he could avoid such, it was her.”

Rather than show how much that wounded her, Revna did her best to focus on the world around her. Vanaheim was everything she knew it would be with its dark, sparkling mist and moody skies. Where Midgardians would find it eerie, perhaps even frightening, she found it enchanting. The air smelled electric. Unpredictable. Like an incoming summer storm. Rolling black clouds sparked with bits of broken, jagged lightning. Chopped-up mist shattered into fragments before drifting back together.

“Remaining close to Revna for the sake of the Forge was wise,” Loki replied to Truthsayer, taking the seer’s too-forward statement with his usual godly ease. His appreciative gaze raked over her. “Not to mention pleasurable.”

He could say it any which way he liked, but it didn’t take the sting out of how it affected her, and she suspected he sensed that. She should have known better than to think it was all attraction on his part. Gods like Loki didn’t work that way. They always had an ulterior motive.

“And how many gods like me do you know?”Loki wondered, following her thoughts clearly now, thanks to the connectionbetween her and his heart when in this world. “Because I’m fairly certain there aren’t any.”

While he sounded flirtatious and arrogant enough, she got the distinct impression he was more jealous than anything. Was that because of the heart too? Most likely.

“So it seems Revna was destined to save the day either way,” Svend said, in reference to her having possibly prevented Loki’s untimely death during the Forge. He was far chipper than she had expected him to be. “Not surprising.”

“No,” Cian agreed, falling in behind her when Svend led them down a narrow trail cutting through a monstrous rock. “Not surprising at all.”

The way got darker as the rock closed overhead. Sparkling mist twirled around them, giving the ever-tightening tunnel a more spacious feel when it ignited the mirror-like stone and hundreds of their reflections shimmered in its surface. She knew by Loki’s moody expression that he wasn’t happy Cian had cut him off from being directly behind her. That was where Loki felt he belonged, whether with her or any female for that matter.

He had done it with several of the twenty-first-century women who Forged, determined, it seemed, to sample them before their dragon mates.

“Only because you wouldn’t let me sample you,” Loki grumbled.

“I don’t quite recall it that way.” She cursed saying it, but truth be told, shehadlet him sample her against her better judgment when they shared a kiss. When she and Raven’s minds were connected, she had slipped into her friend’s body for a moment and given into her baser desires.

Loki hadn’t let her down, either.

His kiss was like none other. Electrifying in a way she knew would be tenfold if she kissed him in person. With her own lips instead of Raven’s. In fact, it had taken almost more power thanshe possessed not to remain in his arms. To feel everything he had to offer.

“Ah, yes.” He sounded as if he savored the taste of the memory. “How could I forget?”

She was sure he hadn't. The only problem? It was impossible to know if the roaring chemistry she felt between them was because she held his heart or if it were natural. A true connection to be trusted. They seemed to have it before she took his heart but then it was hard to imagine a woman who didn’t feel that draw to Loki. He had a way with females. They flocked to him. Did his bidding without thinking.

Which made her wonder.

Had she subconsciously been doing his bidding when she kept his heart safe?

He didn’t need to know it was happening for his godly powers to protect him. So perhaps she had been lured by magic much older than hers? By divinity itself?

“Or,”Loki theorized, far too comfortable in her mind now,“you did it because you truly care for me.”

“I haven’t known you long enough to feel that way.”She bent over when the ceiling lowered more and more.“So that’s not it.”

Yet she and Cian both knew it might be. If Loki’s heart wasn’t affecting her, that is.

“You’ve known me for weeks now,”Loki countered.“That’s far more time than most female mortals need.”His internal tone turned matter of fact. “And while you don’t think you’ve known me long, you have. I’ve been watching you since you were born. Before you were born. And your inner seer, most especially your demon, knows that. They, you, have felt our connection from the beginning.”

She knew he was right, and it frustrated her.

“Why?”There was no missing the frown in his internal voice.“Are you not honored a god watched over you so closely? Do you not wish to care for a god? Especially me?”

Oh, the arrogance. But—as her twenty-first-century friends would say—he wore it so well.

“I’m frustrated because I was given no choice in the matter.”

“So.”