Thunder rumbled as my mom addressed the crowd, going over the spell jars and how to activate them, assigning locations in groups of two or three. Lucifer stood on my left, and Loki had maneuvered through the crowd to take up my right. Despite the odd claim about my power’s effect on the spell, I found I was getting excited for the ritual. Real witch magic was something I so rarely got to explore because of the chaotic nature of my demigod half. With a large support group and a ton of luck, maybe I could manage this much.
A deafening crack filled the air, causing our group to scatter as something large landed in the center. Electricity crawled across my skin—not nerves this time, but literal tiny blue bolts of static. Fear and panic gripped my chest and I stopped breathing as I met a pair of electric blue eyes. Then my vision was blocked by two different heads.
Both Lucifer and Loki stood between me and the red-haired man I vaguely recognized but my genetics somehow knew. Power thick enough to choke on swirled around the two men, power that neither of them usually wielded so blatantly in public. Especially Loki. In fact, I’d never felt his power like this before in my life.
It was almost enough to knock me from the panic attack trying to take hold in my lungs.
Lucifer’s beautiful tan had taken on a reddish tone, muscles shifting to accommodate a change I could see he was fighting. His dragonesque form appeared in my mind’s eye, all gleaming red scales and razor sharp claws as he tore through his attackers.Ourattackers. I’d only seen him that way the one night and hadn’t asked to see it again since. Now, watching his struggle to contain it, I was glad I hadn’t.
I felt the loud thump through my feet as much as I heard it. A hammer dropped to the ground, the weapon looking out of place against the man’s grey three-piece suit. Loki and Lucifer tensed further, braced for an impending attack by the imposing man who fell from the sky. But he wasn’t looking at them. He only had eyes for me.
And he was… crying?
Confusion and shock and pure electric terror pulsed through me, freezing me to my spot like a deer in headlights, as he gently pushed my dad’s shoulder aside until he gave way. Lucifer was a bit more resistant, but ultimately stepped to the side. There was no running from this. It was only a matter of time before I was discovered. The world blurred, and I didn’t even flinch when he lifted his hand and brushed his thumb across my damp cheek.
The air whooshed from my lungs as he lifted me from my feet, arms encircling my entire upper body. He smelled like ozone, like the wind just before a storm. His beard was trimmed neatly and his hair pulled back into a bun, but there was no doubt about who he was. He spun once, and I felt like a psycho for feeling a sense of comfort in his embrace.
Why the hell was I comforted while he was trying to crush me to death?
“Why didn’t you tell me I had a niece?” he asked, voice rumbling like thunder in his chest.
Somewhere behind me, my dad replied, “You know why.”
Thor set me back on my feet and I gasped, my breath rushing back. I wobbled on shaky legs and Lucifer moved close enough to steady me, his coloring back to normal but looking as confused as I felt. After another stuttering breath, I finally found my voice.
“Niece?” I ignored all the watching eyes around us and focused on the heavily muscled Norse god. “Aren’t you here to, you know, end me?”
He rubbed his hands across his face and shook his head. “I am not. The Allfather can fight his own battles. I left Asgard long ago, after…” He glanced at Loki, sorrow filling the depths of his gaze. “I fought him on his decision, after what he did to you and yours. He no longer represented a king I wished to follow, and so I abandoned him.”
I barely felt Lucifer’s lips on the top of my head as he left us, taking the covens with him. My hands itched to do something, but that age-old fear of the Æsir still had me frozen in place. Thor seemed to sense that and smiled sadly.
“I truly mean you no harm, niece. I only wish Loki had told me sooner, that I could’ve helped to protect you and watch you grow.” He grinned then, every bit as handsome as the stories described. “I admit, you’re a fair bit easier on the eyes. You take after your mother, I assume?”
Loki huffed a laugh, the sheer, heartbreaking relief palpable in the sound, before it broke into a full cackle. Two quick strides and their arms were wrapped around each other in a fierce hug. The tension drained out of me and my legs gave out with it. I slumped to the ground, waiting for the touching moment to end. I had questions, so many fucking questions.
“Why did you call me niece?” I asked.
Yeah, sure, let’s start with the important ones.
They broke away, both grinning, and Loki answered my question. My father, who so very rarely talked about his past except for the warnings about the Æsir. I was beyond ready for the truth of his story.
“Thor and I are brothers in all but blood. We’ve fought together, bled together, defended one another—”
“Though I regret not acting sooner,” Thor said, cutting him off. “I turned a blind eye to the curses he laid on your eldest children, though I made my disagreement known, and I was not there when Odin decided your punishment for Baldr’s death. Perhaps that alone encouraged him to take more extreme measures. He knew we were close, and I believe he resented you for it.”
“You had a blood-brother bond with Odin, though, didn’t you?” I asked, hating the way my dad winced. “I mean, that’s what the lore says, anyway. They always make it sound like you forced the bond on Odin, but that’s not how it really happened, is it?”
Thor chuckled, studying me as I fought the urge to fidget under his piercing gaze. “You study the old lore? Well, they say history was written by the winners. You’re right, it was the other way around. Odin bound him long ago to prevent him from becoming too powerful, as soon as he saw the things Loki could do. Magic that the people of my realm could not emulate, and Odin felt threatened.”
Loki’s smile faded a little. “Then can you blame me for hiding Lexi’s birth?”
“Not at all, brother. There was too great a risk. I don’t blame you, only Odin.” Thor reached out to both of us and squeezed our shoulders. “I haven’t spoken a word to my father since I left Asgard. Your secret is safe with me.”
I pursed my lips and glanced to where my mom and Lucifer stood with the witches of Salem and Boston. More than a few pairs of eyes kept sneaking peeks in our direction. “Yeah, I think you pretty much blew up secrecy with this very public reunion.”
Thor followed my gaze and cringed. “Perhaps I didn’t think this out very well.”
“That’s half the fun,” Loki said, a sly grin creeping across his face. “Remember the time your hammer was stolen—”
