“A mate?” I asked, eyebrows raising at the idea. She was too cold to love someone, or at least I thought so. Maybe being away from Hel changed her.
The price was too big for me to forgive her, but a small part of me was glad she had the chance to meet someone.
“She found someone,” he confirmed, his face twisted in confusion, like he couldn’t fathom her loving anyone either.
“How and where do I come in?” I asked. There was no point beating around the bush.
Nothing he said so far would include me. I was barely figuring out my role and trying to close a portal.
Hel wasn’t my problem, in fact, she was the cause of my issues. He was theonlyreason I was listening.
“I need you to find her a soul.” He stared at me, letting those words process before continuing. “You have to find a way to not let her fade. She wants to be human and is willing to die forever. I’m not willing for that to happen. She’s my daughter.”
“You do know that Odin outpowers me, correct? What you’re asking me could be suicide,” I argued. The last thing I wanted was to get myself on Odin’s bad side when I was already careening toward it on my own.
“What I did for you could have been the same. Do you think gods take kindly to turning humans?” he demanded.
The desperation was dripping from him, and it was unsettling seeing him so unhinged.
“Yet, I don’t think Odin blinked an eye at them when he visited. I’m not here to dispute whether your cause is worthy, I’m here to state the fact that this might be a failed mission before it starts. I can’t figure out how to close the portal, Loki. What you’re asking is something Hel didn’t bother to teach me, andbelieve me, that list is enormous. How am I supposed to create a soul?”
“I’m asking you to attempt it,” he clarified. He was calm again, giving me a moment to consider his words.
I ran a hand over my face, letting out an exasperated breath. How had I become the one every god needed something from?
“Is she in danger as we speak?”
“She’s a human in that world out there right now,” he pointed out.
My laughter startled him for a moment. “Hel is getting a big dose of consequences to her own actions.”
His eyes narrowed. I was clearly testing his boundaries but I wasn’t afraid of Loki. For one, I was no longer human. And another reason was that he simply needed me. I didn’t have to filter my words to appease him.
“It’s an apocalypse right now. Every god is working to do as much damage control as they can. That means they’re present on earth. The moment one of them finds her? It’s over. It may not be today, but it could be any day. You need to be ready.”
“I’ll agree to try,” I said, closing my eyes in frustration. “But I can’t do anything until I’m back in Helheim. I’m stuck here trying to close the portal she threw open. Every single day of my afterlife has been spent cleaning up her fucking mess, Loki.”
“Then you better figure it out quickly. A life for a life, Harlow. This will clear your debt, and any debt your little crew has amassed,” he said without even a drop of sympathy.
“I’ll do my best.”
My answer was dismissive. I was fucking livid. The fact he thought I should drop everything to accommodate her was insane.
My feelings on Hel didn't matter. At the end of the day, I knew I had little choice.
Hiro and Roman were reason enough to help the god.
However, I knew our debt ended the moment I attempted to revive her soul. If it didn’t work, that wasn’t on me, it was on her. And I owed her nothing when her soul was returned.
“I suggest that you do,” he said, looking at Roman and Hiro. I knew it was no coincidence that he showed up here and now when I was with them.
Like Hel, everything Loki did was purposeful.
“Loki. Is creating a soul even possible?”
He shrugged. “I’m a god of chaos, not life.”
“I’m not a goddess of life!” I argued.