I sagged against the wall, letting my arms and shoulders support me for a moment. My back blazed with pain, a solid mass of raw and bleeding flesh. Sven chuckled darkly and I heard the whip clatter as he threw it to the floor. “We’re done for now.”
Breathing heavy, I shifted my weight from my arms to my feet again, trying to relieve the ache in my shoulders. Several hours? Or had it been longer?
“What in the Nine Worlds do you want?” I asked through gritted teeth.
A light but icy-cold finger brushed across my back and I arched away from it, biting back a cry. “I want this.” The rich, deep voice was familiar. It took me a moment to place it, but once I had, it all came rushing back to me. Kassoq Aricson. In the octagon.
“What?”
“I want you bloodied. I want you beaten, and broken. A pitiful shade of what you once were.” Again the light touch trailed across my back, lingering in the most open wounds.
I pressed against the wall, away from him. “Stop--”
A low chuckle. “How much does the king of Asgard care for you, son of Farbauti, son of Aric?”
Son of Aric.
Kassoq Aricson.
“By the Norns, don't tell me we're related,” I breathed.
“You’re my brother’s son, the half-elf hybrid who managed to land himself a spot as the blood brother of Asgard’s new king. You’ll be very useful indeed.”
“Odin would never put me before Asgard.” I said it believing the words completely. Odin cared about Asgard more than anything else. “He won’t give that up for me.” He’s already plotted to betray me.
“He’ll come. He’s a king, after all, and he can’t let someone possibly die. Not on his watch.”
I twisted around to see him, chains rattling. Kassoq stood about a foot back, smirking. “What if he does come? Then what? You want to fight an Æsir, a son of Bor? Forgotten what happened to Ymir, Kassoq?”
“He’s weak and exhausted from getting here. And I have a hostage.” Kassoq leaned in with a grin. “There’s no way for you to win this war, son of Laufey.”
“He won’t come,” I rasped, and fell back against the wall.
“He will.” With that parting jab, Kassoq left the dungeons.
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An excerpt from chapter seven of Treacherous Ice, ladies and gentlemen. -bows-Admittedly, I drew the picture before I wrote this little scene, and it isn't quite accurate, but it still captures how Loki feels at the moment.
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