“Faðir.”
No matter how many moments I take, nothing will ever prepare me for seeing my sons again. How they’ve grown.
Sune stands tall.
My brave boy.
He is angry with me. And he has every right to be. He sees my absence as abandonment. And I don’t blame him for thinking in such a way. Such stubbornness animates his existence, and I am proud of it.
Loki is gifted in ways I never saw coming. My boy wears an eye patch, confirming it was his eye they took. Pain slashes at me because I failed him. I failed both my boys in so many ways.
“Do not worry, Faðir. Sight comes in other ways.” Loki attempts to console me, but those who harmed him will pay dearly.
I come to a stand, admiring my sons. “My boys, I am proud of you. Here you stand, far braver than those who are nothing but cowards, holding you hostage. I do not insult you by asking if you are okay, for I can see you are more than all right.”
Loki and Sune listen intently.
“You made your point, Aethelbald. What is it you want?”
Aethelbald appears to weigh over my question. “Every man wants to protect his family, and you are fortunate enough to be blessed with two boys. Take them and be a family. I am kind and present this offer to you.
“Forget this place and go in freedom and good health.”
“My family is not complete without Emeline.”
Aethelbald brushes off invisible fluff from his robe. “Perhaps it is time to make a new family then.”
I contain my anger as I do not wish to damage my boys more than they already are. “That will not happen.”
“Then my offer is off the table,” Aethelbald counters. “You can either take your boys right now and leave this place without punishment and live a free life, or you will be thrown back into the dungeons, and your boys will remain my property.”
“They do not belong to you,” I snarl between clenched teeth.
“That is where you are wrong. I own everything…thanks to your beloved.”
I step forward, ready to rip out his spleen and feed it to him, but Loki shakes his head. “Faðir, no. This angers the gods. You must choose. This is what the gods wish.”
“How can I choose? I am faced with saving my sons, but condemning the love of my life for an eternity. I cannot.”
“But you must. This choice changes everything.”
Walking over to Loki, I drop to a crouch in front of him. “What do you see, my son?”
Loki places a tiny hand on my cheek. “I see that whatever you decide, it will change the world.”
How do I choose between my sons and Emeline?
I know she would want me to choose them and be free, but I cannot. I know that once I leave these palace walls, I’ll never be able to broach them ever again. Emeline will be lost to us forever. And that’s a sacrifice I’m not willing to make.
She will hate me for this choice, but there is another way. I refuse to believe that there is not.
“Your heart has decided,” Loki says with a smile.
“And I fear my heart is just a sentimental fool.”
“Mother will understand.”
Planting a kiss on Loki’s forehead, I inhale because he smells like home, and I refuse to destroy our future by leaving Emeline here.
