The sun rose slowly over Asgard, washing the palace roofs and towers in pale gold. The kingdom woke as it always did, servants beginning their duties, guards changing posts, distant footsteps carrying through the corridors. But in two separate chambers, neither of the Odinson brothers had slept.
Loki had spent most of the night lying awake, staring at the ceiling with one arm beneath his head. Every time he closed his eyes, Eirlys appeared in his thoughts. Her expression when she had corrected him, the way she had walked toward him without hesitation, the stubborn confidence in her eyes when she had told him that he could not intimidate her, and then there had been the moment he had placed his hand over her mouth. He remembered the brief widening of her eyes, the surprise before understanding had replaced it. He had expected her to be furious afterward, perhaps to slap his hand away and demand an explanation. Instead, she had simply stared at him as though she were trying to work out which part of him she had underestimated. That unsettled him.
Loki had spent years believing he understood people. He knew what frightened them, what tempted them, what they wanted and what they would sacrifice to obtain it. He could usually predict a reaction before the words had even left his mouth. But Eirlys refused to behave predictably, she should have been easy to read. She was kind, gentle, and she trusted people. Yet beneath all of that was a will that seemed stronger every time he tried to test it. Loki turned onto his side, irritated with himself, she was going to be his wife and that thought should have been enough to satisfy him. Instead, it made him restless.
Across the palace, Thor was having no better night. He had returned to his chambers hours earlier and had not managed more than a few minutes of sleep at a time. Whenever exhaustion finally dragged him toward unconsciousness, his mind returned to the same image. Eirlys and Loki. He had seen their shadows through the doorway, how close they had stood, and how Eirlys's figure tilt toward his brother. He knew he had not actually witnessed anything outright. He knew that but it did not matter. His mind supplied everything he had not seen.
Thor sat on the edge of his bed as the first light entered through the windows. His hands rested against his knees, his expression tired and troubled. He hated himself for imagining Eirlys with Loki. More than that, he hated the thought that Loki might actually make her happy. He remembered her telling him that she would have chosen him. The memory had become almost unbearable. If he had understood his feelings sooner, perhaps none of this would have happened, Eirlys would have been beside him now and perhaps he would have woken with her somewhere in the palace, knowing she was his. But Thor had been too late and now his brother wore the ring.
The same girl had stolen sleep from both brothers, though for entirely different reasons. Loki was awake because he could not stop thinking about the woman who fascinated him. Thor was awake because he could not stop thinking about the woman he feared he had lost. Neither brother knew what the other had been thinking throughout the night. Neither understood that, beneath all the rivalry and resentment between them, they were awake for exactly the same reason. Eirlys.
Morning came quietly to Eirlys, though she had slept far less than she would have liked. Her mind had remained annoyingly busy through the night, circling around Loki's strange behaviour, Thor's expression the previous evening, and the uncomfortable realization that she was now expected to become part of a world that seemed determined to keep surprising her. She finally gave up on sleep and rose. After dressing in a simple morning robe, Eirlys made her way toward the bathing chambers. The palace was only beginning to stir, and the corridors were unusually peaceful. She pushed open the doors expecting solitude, only to find Sif already there.
Sif glanced over and smiled. Eirlys returned it, immediately feeling some of the tension leave her shoulders. There was something comforting about seeing a familiar face before the day's endless complications began. They exchanged a few quiet remarks about the previous evening, with Eirlys pointedly refusing to discuss Loki's ridiculous behaviour in too much detail. Sif, naturally, was far more interested than Eirlys wanted her to be. Eirlys tried to redirect the conversation, but Sif's amused expression told her she was not going to escape so easily. Their conversation settled into the comfortable rhythm they had always shared. Sif teased her about becoming a princess of Asgard, while Eirlys reminded her that she was already a princess and therefore needed no lessons in surviving royal nonsense.
For the first time since her arrival, Eirlys laughed without forcing it. Then the doors suddenly flew open, both women screamed. Thor stood in the doorway. He froze. Sif stared at him in disbelief, while Eirlys clutched at the edge of her robe, her heart racing from the shock. Thor looked between them, apparently realizing only then that perhaps barging into the bathing chambers without warning had been a terrible decision.
Sif's expression quickly turned murderous. "Thor!"
He immediately raised both hands in surrender, stumbling over an explanation about having been looking for Eirlys and not realizing she was here. She could not decide whether she wanted to laugh or throw something at him. "You couldn't knock?"
Thor glanced at the enormous doors behind him as though the concept had only just occurred to him. He muttered an apology. "I didn't mean to— I mean… I— sorry."
Sif shook her head, still glaring, while Eirlys finally began laughing again despite herself. Thor's embarrassment only made it worse. For a brief moment, the complicated mess surrounding them seemed to disappear. There was only Thor being the same reckless idiot he had always been, Sif threatening to murder him, and Eirlys laughing at both of them. It felt strangely familiar, almost like home.
Loki had intended to find Eirlys in her chambers. He had even taken the time to make himself look as though his visit were entirely casual, despite having thought about it far more than he cared to admit. When he found her rooms empty, irritation flickered across his face. He turned back toward the corridor, only to hear her voice from somewhere ahead. The bathing chambers.
His footsteps slowed there, then came Thor's laughter, Loki stopped completely. Something hot and immediate twisted through his chest. He knew Eirlys's voice and Thor's laugh even better. The combination of the two, coming from behind those doors, awakened every ugly insecurity he preferred to keep buried. By the time Thor stumbled out of the bathing chambers, Loki was waiting. Thor stopped short, the two brothers stared at one another.
Loki's gaze moved from Thor to the closed doors behind him, then back again. His expression remained perfectly controlled, but his jaw had tightened. "What were you doing in there?"
Thor frowned, still embarrassed from having startled the women. He clearly had no idea why Loki looked as though he had just discovered an enemy army. "I was looking for Eirlys."
Loki's eyes narrowed. "Inside the bathing chambers?"
Thor stared at him for a while before replying, "I did not know she was there."
That answer should have relieved Loki but it did not. He folded his arms, his jealousy feeding on every uncertainty already lodged inside him. He remembered Thor's confession, the way Eirlys had looked at him, and suddenly every innocent interaction between them seemed capable of becoming something more. "How Convenient."
Thor's brows drew together. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Loki stepped closer. "You tell me."
Thor's patience, already strained from the previous night, began to disappear. He had spent the entire night thinking about Eirlys and Loki, only to find his brother now questioning him about her as though he had done something wrong. "I was looking for her because I needed to speak with her."
Loki's eyes hardened. "And you found her. Alone, when she's—"
Thor stared at him, completely confused by the hostility. Before he could answer, the bathing chamber doors opened again. Sif appeared behind Thor, her expression immediately shifting when she saw the brothers facing one another. She looked from Loki to Thor and seemed to understand the problem before either of them explained it. Loki's gaze flickered toward her. His jealousy suddenly became embarrassment. He had imagined something that had never existed. And somehow, knowing that did not make the jealousy disappear.
Eirlys emerged from behind Sif, who stood in the doorway of the bathing chambers, one hand resting against the frame. Sif had clearly been inside with her, and Eirlys followed just behind her, barely dry but fully covered in a fresh robe, her damp hair falling over her shoulders. She looked down the corridor and immediately noticed Thor and Loki standing there. Her brows drew together in confusion before her eyes settled on Loki.
"What are you doing here?" The question was innocent, and somehow, that made it worse.
Loki's expression tightened. His bride-to-be had looked directly at him and questioned his presence, while Thor had apparently been wandering into her bathing chambers without anyone seeming particularly concerned. His gaze flickered briefly toward Sif, then back to Eirlys. "Apparently, I was wondering the same thing about my brother."
Eirlys glanced at Thor. "Thor? Well, he didn't know Sif and I were inside."
"And I suppose that explains everything."
Thor frowned. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"
Sif remained in the doorway, watching Loki with growing amusement as she began to understand exactly what had happened. Loki ignored Thor. His attention stayed on Eirlys, irritation simmering beneath his composure. Why had she questioned him instead of Thor? He was the one she was promised to. The one whose ring sat upon her finger. Yet Thor still looked like he belonged here and Loki hated how much that bothered him.