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Dainn was almost tempted to tell Loki that Danny had asked if his “mother” loved him, but he bit back the impulse. He would have to reveal just enough of the truth to convince Loki that he had neither the will nor desire to lie.

“Danny remembers Mist,” he said.

Loki dropped his hand from the window, and tiny flakes of ice broke from the glass and tumbled to the carpet. “How?” he asked. “Did you tell him?”

“Not with words,” Dainn said. He put a safer distance between himself and Loki, turning his back to hide his expression. “You asked me if I’d informed Mist of the danger her mother presents to her. I left a brief note for her when you permitted me to return to her one last time. I told her not to trust her mother. But my warning was not specific enough.”

“And why is that, my Dainn? Why were you so slow to tell her the truth? Were you afraid how she would react when she learned that your betrayal went so far beyond what she’d ever guessed?”

“It doesn’t matter now,” Dainn said, looking away to conceal his shame. “We were speaking of Danny. I believe that he senses my concern for her.”

“Senses?” Loki’s footsteps whispered on the carpet behind him. “You mean that he reads your mind?”

“We already know that he takes the source of his manifestations from our thoughts. But on this occasion, Danny did more than acquire images from my mind. He absorbed my feelings as well. He read my
heart
.”

“How poetic,” Loki said, the words dripping venom. “You are suggesting that he has developed empathic abilities as well as the telepathic skills he already possesses. And evidently a much closer bond with you than you previously admitted.”

“This has never happened before.”

“So you say.” Loki locked his hands behind his back and paced back and forth in front of the window. “Did he
speak
of Mist?”

“He did. His words were vague, but it was clear that he recognized that she is being threatened.” Dainn hesitated, hoping his lies were credible. “He does not seem to remember Freya, nor did he refer to the beast. But whatever he may recall of his experiences with Mist, it is clear that he regards her in a favorable light.”

“Because you do?” Loki came to a sudden stop. “Is this sudden change in his abilities connected in some way to his display of this new magic?”

“As I said, he showed no inclination to repeat what he had done. I saw no change in the room that might indicate what he was attempting to achieve, if he acted consciously at all.”

Loki was quiet for a moment, though his steps quickened and his mouth was set in a hard, narrow line.

“What else has he gleaned from your emotions, I wonder?” he asked. “Perhaps your desire to see me fail?”

“If he had acted, even unconsciously, on such a desire,” Dainn said, “then neither he nor I would still be here.”

“And so you have run out of excuses. If Danny responds according to what he senses from you, you will be directly responsible for his failure to act on my commands.” His lips turned down. “Why do you tell me what is so obviously of no benefit to you? Do you truly believe I would harm our son?”

“I know that not all your threats are empty.” He went on before Loki could protest. “What if I could convince Danny to work directly against Freya?”

Loki’s brows arched. “You take my breath away with these unexpected reversals. Why would you suddenly wish to turn him against my enemies?”

Dainn dodged the question. “If I can help Danny remember her, he may also remember what she tried to do to him. As I said, he is still incapable of making complex moral judgments—”

“Unless you make them for him.”

“But he is mature enough to recognize a personal enemy, and the need to defend himself.”

Orange flame danced along the perimeter of Loki’s irises. “Against Freya, not Mist.”

“It is Mist I wish to save.”

Loki dropped onto the couch, assuming an air of boredom. “And I wish to destroy both of them.”

“The mortals have a saying: ‘If wishes were horses…’”

“Are you calling me a beggar?” Loki asked with deceptive amusement. “I have most of this city in the palm of my hand. Mist and Freya have…” He made an eloquent, dismissive gesture with his fingers.

“You are not yet a king,” Dainn said. “You have power, and your allies outnumber Freya’s and Mist’s by a considerable margin. Yet when Freya came to Midgard in her borrowed body, their coalition of mortal and elven allies defeated your Jotunar and took Sleipnir.”

“Conditions have changed considerably since then.”

“Perhaps.” Dainn moved closer to the couch, still wary of Loki’s uncertain temper. “But Mist and the Lady worked closely together, using their powers in tandem. If Mist had known of Freya’s intentions and confronted her mother with an accusation of filicide, it would have shattered the coalition, and their alliance.”

With a deep sigh, Loki leaned his head against the back of the couch and closed his eyes. “From what my observers have reported, that alliance hangs by a thread even now.”

“Mist will not abandon it without good reason.”

“And that would mean convincing her that Freya truly means to destroy her. Are you now admitting that you doubt Mist’s ability to resist her mother?”

“I deceived myself, yes.”

Stretching his arms above his head, Loki chuckled. “At last, you admit to a lie.”

“
You
seem uncertain of the truth. Have you considered how much Freya’s abilities will increase once she has absorbed Mist’s soul?”

There was a razor-edged blade hidden within Loki’s toothy smile. “Mist has shown some ability, but I see no reason to worry about any contribution she might make to Freya’s magic.”

“You are lacking a few particular facts that may change your perspective,” Dainn said. “When I was sent to Midgard, I was to prepare Mist for Freya’s coming by opening her mind and destroying any defenses she might unconsciously turn against her mother. But I failed to perform my task. Instead, I determined to give Mist some means to resist.” Dainn clasped his hands behind his back to keep them from trembling. “But as I did so, I encountered … certain talents even Freya was not aware her daughter possessed. I could not properly advise Mist on their use, but now Freya believes that she has more to gain from seizing Mist’s soul than a strong, healthy Asgardian body capable of containing her power.”

Loki sat up, narrow-eyed and alert. “Speak plainly,” he said.

“Mist has done a few remarkable things, but there has been no consistency in her capacity to control her magic. She has the Galdr and Freya’s glamour, but she has been unwilling or unable to call mortal allies as I urged her to do. In many ways, she is weak.”

Loki rose, sauntered toward Dainn, and cupped his hand around Dainn’s neck, pressing his thumb into the hollow of Dainn’s throat. “You talk her down a little too eagerly,” he said.

“I … merely meant that she is afraid … to strive for her full potential, of becoming like Freya or accepting her divine heritage. She will not use the authority her lineage has bestowed upon her.”

“That, my dear Dainn, is precisely why I have no reason to fear her.”

“But it is … very possible that the Lady can awaken these untapped abilities within Mist, as I could not, and join them with her own. She will not be … constrained by her daughter’s fears, and what comes of that joining may well become far more than the sum of its parts.”

“I presume you are trying to make a point,” Loki said, tightening his fingers behind Dainn’s neck.

“The point is … that Freya is already winning more influence in the city, with politicians and prominent citizens who oppose the policies you have set through the mayor and his cohorts. I have seen her more and more often on the news, flaunting her glamour and winning the hearts of people who could easily become your enemies. Once Freya gets what she wants, she won’t hesitate to use that same glamour to summon thousands of mortals to her side. They will be cannon-fodder for her, as your mortal followers are to you. She’ll use up as many of them as she must to defeat you.”

“Which Mist would never do.”

“And if Freya gains more power from Mist, she … will pose a direct threat you cannot dismiss.”

“Can’t I?” Loki’s grip turned into a caress. “Your concern for me is deeply moving.”

“There would be no need for concern of any kind if you rob Freya of her chance to steal Mist’s soul.”

“If all this is your way of asking for an opportunity to warn her again…”

Dainn closed his eyes, repulsed by Loki’s touch. “I believe … I hope that Freya can only succeed if she takes Mist by surprise, or tricks her into dropping her guard. Mist will never let that occur once she learns the full truth. And Freya is facing a significant problem that would provide you with an additional advantage if you were to act quickly.”

“Do enlighten me, by all means,” Loki said, running his thumb up and down the side of Dainn’s neck.

“Freya did not tell me what would become of Mist’s body when she seized it, but this I do know: the shape the Lady wears now cannot contain her magic indefinitely.” He swallowed. “It is only an interim solution, and I suspect that by now she is growing weak, no matter how well she conceals it. If she fails to take Mist’s body soon, she will weaken still more.”

“You
suspect
.”

“She has shown no ability to create her own physical form, as she once claimed she could do. If she cannot take Mist or find another compatible body…”

“Warning Mist may lead to her mother’s death.”

“Or at least severe debilitation.”

“But all this hangs on Mist’s ability to resist her mother’s impending assault.” Loki pushed his face closer to Dainn’s, his breath warming Dainn’s skin. “You have taken great trouble to emphasize that Mist is afraid of rising to her full potential. Why should she have the courage to stand against Freya?”

“That is a different kind of courage, which Mist has never lacked. And even if she fails, her resistance could still weaken Freya to the point where your victory would be assured.”

Loki twisted his hand. “You plot almost as well as I do, with that blandly innocent face of yours.”

Dainn struggled to breathe. “The fact remains … that if you help Mist defeat Freya, it is unlikely that she could … stand against you, even if Freya’s allies fight beside her.”

“So I can easily conquer Mist.”

Always couch lies in truth,
Dainn thought desperately. “I don’t know if it … will be easy. Only that you will suffer high losses if you face Freya, with Mist’s … untapped talent at her command.”

“And when I defeat our brave Valkyrie?”

“There is always … a chance that you’ll allow her to keep her life.”

Grasping Dainn’s hair, Loki pulled his head back at a painful angle. “You won’t beg me to spare her?”

“Even I know that … there are limits to your generosity.”

“And yet you would risk this entire world for the sake of one female?”

“Yes.”

Releasing Dainn with a sudden shove, Loki began to pace again. “The truth is that you hope Mist will rise to the occasion and defeat me, in spite of the odds against her. She’ll forgive you and fall into your loving arms.”

“I do not expect forgiveness.”

“Is she aware that you are Danny’s father?”

Dainn swallowed to ease the ache in his throat. “How could she? I have not seen her since you told me.”

“How do you suppose she will react when she finds out?”

The mockery in Loki’s voice was laced with anger. He clearly believed that Dainn would be ashamed.

And he
would
have been, before he knew Danny.

“If it will give you satisfaction, tell her,” Dainn said. “Unlike the Lady, she would never harm him.”

Loki did not misunderstand. A thin film of ice formed on nearly every surface of the room. “Freya will never have another opportunity to touch him,” he snarled.

“Danny escaped you before, when he took me to Asbrew and opened the portal to the steppes. Whatever influence I may have on him, I cannot stop him if he chooses to leave again.”

The frost thickened, glazing Dainn’s hair. “So alerting Mist will protect him?” Loki asked. He stared at a Nicholas I Russian vase Dainn knew to be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Cracks formed in the delicate surface, widening into veins of ice that might have been beautiful had they not been so destructive. “Mist is unlikely to heed any further warnings from me … or from you, for that matter.”

“Surely there is some gesture of good faith—”

“From Loki Scar-lip?” The vase burst apart, the pieces flying in every direction. One of them struck Dainn on the arm and might have injured him if not for the protection of his sleeve. He didn’t move.

Loki expelled his breath and permitted the ice to dissipate into the air, leaving the furnishings and walls undamaged and Dainn’s hair dry. Only the scattered shards of the vase remained as tokens of his anger.

“You asked about the protest,” he said. “Perhaps what I tell you will alter your opinions.”

There was a strange note in Loki’s voice, as if he were about to reveal some unpleasant secret. Dainn’s heart began to race.

“What happened?” he asked slowly.

“The peasants attempted a minor revolt, armed with rubble and illegible signs.”

Dainn calmed himself with a deep, slow breath. “Why?” he asked. “Have they a quarrel with the current administration?”

Loki shot him an irritable glance and fell onto the couch again. “Something or someone provoked them into an act of rebellious stupidity.”

“Freya?”

“She and Mist were at the protest, making a show of attempting to stop it.”

“Attempting. Do you have evidence that Freya started it?”

“She would have much to gain if she suggested to her more influential mortal allies that the mayor was responsible for such a disturbance.”

“What was Mist’s part in this?”

“Didn’t I mention that she arrived first? She tried to control the mob alone, and failed. Freya arrived shortly thereafter, and summoned the glamour.”

Adrenaline rushed through Dainn’s body. “Did she succeed?”

“According to my observers, Freya extended her hand to Mist, perhaps with an offer that they work together. Mist evidently refused, at which point Freya took her place. And that is where it becomes interesting.” Loki’s eyes brightened with malice. “As her spells began to have their effect, she fell, and Mist took
her
place.”