38 Chapter 38 Sewn Shut

Seconds later we land outside the glass palace, not having to worry about the moat as it's solid ice but I'm not focused on that. I'm focused on the horrific sight before me. The palace is in ruins. The tower I was in has been destroyed along with the multiple walls and floors of the palace. It's barely a shell of what it was. And its sheer luck the place is still standing considering the amount of damage. It makes my heart sink just looking at it, the chance of Loki being alive growing slimmer but I won't lose hope. Not yet.

I follow Thor and the warriors of three with Sif beside me as we go over to the side entrance where we were before getting cover. The debris which had blocked our view has been removed, clearing a passage inside and the memory of Loki saying goodbye hits me again. It hurts but I won't let the pain consume me as we go inside, being careful of the debris around us.

"Spread out and search for any survivors." Thor orders the warriors, "Clear any passageways and entrances but be careful. There might be traps or men lurking around."

They all nod, saying yes sir or yes prince Thor before they begin spreading out and continuing their search. Removing debris from passages and clearing it off the floor, looking for their fallen friends and hoping for any survivors. I move deeper in, Sif close behind me as I go over to where I saw Loki last. I see blood on the floor but no sign of a body or Damian's actually. But I was sure that he fell down here unless… he managed to move to safety?

I focus on my magic, my hands glowing gold as do my wings as I focus on Loki's magic. There must be a trace of it and then I feel it. Some magic, it's faint but I can feel it and I turn towards the direction that it's coming from. There is a small trail of blood going in that direction and over to a door which is slightly open. Without hesitating, I go over to it and I use my magic to break the debris blocking the door before pushing it open.

A body falls to the ground, making me jump as well as Sif who had come over to me when she realised I had moved. For a second I am frightened it's Loki's body but I am more than relieved and overjoyed to see it's Damian's and he is long since dead. He is drenched in blood, covered in cuts and bruises and it looks like he was stabbed in the chest. Loki's work?

"Is that Damian?" Sif asks me as I kneel beside him.

I nod, checking his wound, "It is and he has been dead a while," I look at the wound before looking at Sif, "He was stabbed with a dagger. It must have been Loki."

She nods, "It looks like it but how did he get behind here? This is nowhere near the battle."

I get to my feet, "I don't know but I felt a trace of Loki's magic in this direction so I'm curious, where does this go?"

Sif drags his body to one side and I focus on my wings, making them go into my back before I open the door fully. I go inside and see steps going down into what I am guessing is some sort of underground system under the palace. The stairs are covered in blood so I am careful going down them with Sif behind me and I spot a familiar dagger at the bottom.

I run down to it and I pick it up, it's Loki's. It's Loki's dagger so he must have made it down here after the ceiling came crumbling down and continued fighting Damian. Which means he could still be alive and I feel the hope rising in my chest along with the doubt. If he survived and stopped Damian, then why didn't he force his way out and back home? I must be missing something but it's a clue and we are a step closer.

"He was here." I whisper, giving her the dagger, "He somehow got down here."

Sif nods, inspecting the dagger in her hands, "But where is he?"

This makes me frown, "He must be down here."

We look around but it's pitch black so I use my magic, producing orbs of light and launching them all around the ceiling. It seems we have found a labyrinth of tunnels, going under the palace and off in many directions. It must go on for miles and yet it's dirtier compared to upstairs. Not made of solid ice but stone and dirt. And then I spot a trail of blood which gets larger as it reaches us and it must have been where Damian came from, after he was stabbed.

"This way."

Then I begin following the blood, Sif close behind me with the orbs of light lighting the way for us as we go deeper into the tunnels. I find myself going faster, the anticipation rising as I pick up traces of Loki's magic and we must be close. Come on, just a little further. Please Loki, please be alive and before I know it I am running. Faster and faster. I can actually feel his magic and it might be faint but I can feel it. It feels alive and I feel hope rising more and more. He must be alive, he must be. I can feel his magic and he must be. Please be alive and ok. I love you and I'm coming for you.

Turning a corner, I grind to a halt as I have reached the end of the tunnel and have outrun my orbs of light. I can't see the room and I hear Sif reach me, cursing my name for running off but I am more focused on the far wall as the orbs of light come in. They light up the room and we gasp in shock at the sight before us.

Oh god, Loki. My poor Loki.

He is slouched back against a wall, his wrists cuffed to the wall above his head and he has been tortured. His outfit torn from where he has been cut into over and over, drenching him in his own blood and he is barely alive. But it's his face that horrifies me the most. He has two black eyes, both swollen with his lips sewn shut, making them bleed. And there is blood down the side of his head from where he was hit by the debris. It's horrific and he looks barely alive, his eyes closed but I can see his chest moving. He is still alive and I can save him.

In seconds I run over to him, dropping to my knees beside him as Sif moves to stand behind me and he is in such a bad state. And yet I can see his magic is slowly healing his wounds but he is weak and unconscious. Oh Loki, thank god you are alive and you might be hurt but I'm here. I'm here my love and I will help you. I will save you.

"What has that monster done to him?!!" Sif exclaims, "He is barely alive."

I look at him, still horrified, "Damian must have tortured him but Loki fought back and injured him severely. He then must have chained him up down here and left him to die. But he is alive, he's alive." I turn to Sif, "I will free him and attend to his injuries. Go and get Thor, tell him we found him and we need him down here."

She nods, "Ok but will you be alright on your own?"

"I'm not alone." I say with a smile, "Now go, I will be fine."

Then she runs for it with some orbs going with her as I turn back to Loki and I slowly begin attending to him. I use my magic to break the cuff off his wrists before lowering his arms down, doing one at time and being careful not to hurt him. His body relaxes without the strain on his arms and he stirs but doesn't wake.

I move closer and look at his lips. Bloody and chaffing against the string that binds them. It has dug in deep but I can remove it and heal him. But I'm going to need my wings out to have enough magical power to heal him. So I focus on my wings and they come out of my back, resting behind me and I feel my magic double in strength. Time to get to work.

Carefully I put my fingers across the strings and focus on my magic but specifically an element. The element of fire that Loki taught me to control so long ago and my fingers glow red before I begin burning the string. It disintegrates, turning to dust and in seconds his lips are free. He breathes easier and I use my magic to heal his lips. My fingers now glowing gold as I heal his lips which return to how they were. Rosy pink and smooth to the touch.

I then put my hands on his chest as I focus on healing him and I know my wings are glowing along with my hands. In moment, his black eyes are gone, his skin back pink and the swelling has vanished. My magic makes his body glow as it goes down his body and I see it heal his many injuries. It's amazing and in seconds he is healed but I sense he is still weak. He needs time to recover.

I smile as I look at him, "Loki? Loki can you hear me?"

He stirs, shaking his head slightly and I don't think he thinks I am here. He must think he is dreaming or something. But I'm here, I'm here and I need him to wake up. I need to see his green eyes, to see him alive and ok.

"Loki I'm really here, I'm here and I need you to open your eyes." I beg, trying to wake him but he doesn't respond.

I sign in frustration, not sure what to do and then I come up with an idea. Maybe if I spoke telepathically into his mind, then he would believe me. I have to try. He needs to wake up so I can help him out of here and bring him home.

So I focus and try, 'Loki I'm here.'

This time he responds, 'Katrina? No, you're not here.'

'Yes I am and you need to wake up now so I can take you home.' I plead, touching his cheek, 'I am here Loki. You know I am so trust me and open your eyes.'

He begins to stir, fighting to open his eyes and then he does and I am met with the emerald green eyes of the man I love. So tired and not shinning as bright but he is awake and alive. It takes him a moment to focus and he stares at me in shock. Like he can't believe I am here but I am here, and so is he.

I smile as I take his hand, "Loki."

He squeezes my hand, still shocked I am here and he raises his free hand to feel his face and is surprised to feel nothing. Even checking his lips to find the string gone before seeing I have healed every wound on his body. He is surprised but relieved and looks at me with a mix of emotions written on his face. Shock, confusion and yet surprised and happy.

"Ka… Katrina." He whispers, looking at me, "What are you? What are you doing down here? It's too dangerous with the order and Damian looking for you. You should be on Asgard."

I shake my head, "The Dark Order is gone, defeated and Damian is dead. I traced your magic and found him dead by the door which led me down here and to you. Good work by the way."

He chuckles, "Thanks but that isn't what I mean. You shouldn't be here, you shouldn't have come looking for me."

I roll my eyes, "Loki did you really think that I wouldn't come looking for you? Sif, Odin and even your brother tried to stop me and failed miserably." I shake my head, "Off course I was going to come and find you."

"And you found me." He whispers, "All the way down here."

"I had to. I wasn't going to stop until I found you. I had to save you after you saved me, nearly dying …" I trail off and force a smile, "I'm just glad I found you alive."

He smiles at me, squeezing my hand tightly, "I'm here and I'm ok, thanks to you."

This makes me smile and he tries to sit up properly and move closer to me. But he is weak and he groans in pain. I stop him, making him lay back against the wall as he takes deep breaths. He is too weak to move and I hope Thor hurries up. We need to get him back to Asgard so he can heal properly and rest.

"Take it easy. I might have healed you but you're still weak." I tell him, "Just rest."

He groans as he slouches back against the wall, "I see what you mean… bloody Damian. He really did a number on me."

I chuckle, "He did the same to me. I've been in the healers the last three days recovering but he is dead and you will be ok after you have rested. Just try not to move."

He nods, "At least I killed the prick."

We smile and laugh and he is about to say something else when we hear footsteps from far away and the sound of several voices. They are finally here and I hear Thor, Sif and Volstagg calling our names, coming in our direction which makes us smile.

"They took their time." I remark before calling out, "Over here! We are over here."

I look back at Loki who smiles at me, retaking my hand as we turn to see all three of them appear, all very anxious to see us. To see him and Thor signs in relief when he sees Loki beside me. They all seem relieved while Sif is surprised at the state of him considering the last time she saw him moments ago, he was in quite a state.

Loki smiles at him, "Missed me, brother?"

Thor comes over to us, while the others linger at the entrance as he drops to his knees on the other side of Loki and hugs him tightly. Loki groans in pain but hugs him none the less, clearly missed each other.

"I've been worried sick, stop doing this to me." Thor whispers, "Stop dying."

Loki chuckles, "I'm trying not to."

Thor pulls away, checking him over, "Sif said you were hurt."

"I was but Katrina healed me. I'm just weak and can't move but I will be ok." Loki reassures him.

"At least you are ok," Thor looks at me, "Thank god you 'convinced' our father to let you come along with us or we wouldn't have found him down here."

I shrug and Loki raises his eyebrows, "Convinced?"

Volstagg speaks up, "More like told off. She had a go at him until he gave her permission to leave but we all know she would have gone anyway. Very stubborn your girl but it was amazing."

"He has it coming." I say with a smile.

They all chuckle at that and Loki groans, his body killing him and we all frown. He is still weak and a bit in pain. We need to get him back to Asgard and to the healers so he can rest and recover.

Thor frowns, moving closer to him, "Let's get you home brother."

He nods and I get to my feet, putting my wings back into my back so they won't rub against the rock on the way out. While Thor puts his arms around Loki and helps him to his feet. He is wobbly and can barely stand and would have surely collapsed if it weren't for his brother. He is leaning on Thor for support and Volstagg goes over to help him, putting his arm on the other side of him. With both of their help, they help Loki through the tunnels with us in front of them leading the way out of here. All the way to the stairs and up and out of that horrible labyrinth.

Once we are back in the palace, we go past a dead Damian which makes Loki smile despite being in pain before we make our way to the exist. The other warriors are waiting for us with Hogun and Fandral and they all cheer when they see Loki behind us. All happy to see him and I'm pleased to see they found some more survivors who are not too badly hurt. They greet him as we reach them and some even thank me before we leave the palace and go over to where we arrived.

We reach it and I look up as we gather around, "Heimdell, bring us home."