Loki watched all that happened in Asgard. He might not have had Heimdall’s gift, but he knew what happened in this realm. He saw and heard many things that others did not, and he made his own plans. He could watch unobserved because he was the second son, the forgotten son. All eyes in Asgard followed Thor. Loki also heard and saw things a little differently than other Asgardians, because it was a gift of his to alter the way others perceived the world. Call it illusion, call it persuasion; either way, the result was that Loki made sure he always possessed information other Asgardians did not. This was his true power, just as Thor’s true power lay in his limitless courage and strength.

He considered everything that had happened since the discovery of the Jotun attempt to capture the Casket of Winters. Odin had been clear: Thor was not to act upon the Jotuns. But Loki knew that his brother would not accept that command. Thor was not one to wait patiently, as he made clear by raging through the banquet hall before Loki and the Warriors Three could calm him.

His brother was pacing up and down, his long strides echoing like thunder off the walls. The Warriors Three and Lady Sif had just entered the room, their faces worried, when suddenly Thor walked over to the long table that had been set for his celebration dinner. He flipped it over as though it weighed no more than a feather. Food and drink went flying and dishes clattered to the ground and glasses shattered.

The room grew silent.

“All this food,” Volstagg said, eyeing the remains of a large cake. “So innocent. Cast to the ground. It breaks the heart.”

Thor shot him a look so cold that Volstagg took a step back as if he had been hit. Glancing around the room, Volstagg’s gaze fell on Loki. He nodded at Loki as if to say, Can you please do something about your wild brother?

Loki doubted there was anything he could say or do. His powers of persuasion were known throughout Asgard, but Thor knew him well enough to know when Loki was trying to talk him into something. Even so, he felt he ought to try. He walked over, reaching out a hand to comfort Thor.

“It’s unwise to be in my company right now, brother,” Thor said.

Already Loki had seen the light in Thor’s eyes. He knew that look. It meant Thor would not be satisfied without a battle. This was not good. Not good at all. While Thor might have been willing to risk the wrath of the king, Loki wasn’t so eager to do so. He had spent too many years trying to get his father’s attention, and he didn’t want what attention he finally did get to come from a foolish idea of Thor’s. His brother’s next words confirmed his fears.

“We’re going to Jotunheim,” Thor stated.

“It’s madness!” Loki cried, catching the attention of the others, who had been standing apart from the brothers.

“What’s madness?” Volstagg asked.

“Nothing!” Loki answered, shooting his brother a look. “Thor was making a jest.”

“The safety of our realm is no jest,” Thor said, walking over to his fellow warriors and filling them in on his plan. “We’re going to Jotunheim.”

As Thor tried to convince the others, Loki moved to the side and listened. Why did he always seem to get into trouble because of his older brother? Wasn’t he supposed to be the wiser one? Odin had expressly forbidden that they enter Jotunheim. Yet it wasn’t the first time Thor had done something reckless. And it wouldn’t be the first time Loki was powerless to stop him. Anger shot through him. Did Thor not realize what could happen if they were caught? Or worse, if they did go to Jotunheim and were overwhelmed by the Frost Giants? They would be realms away. Who would save them?

Loki had already set his own plans in motion to save Asgard from the threat of the Jotuns. He could not have Thor ruining them. Perhaps he ought to make use of his other gift—the power of illusion, to make people see what was not there and blind them to what was?

Not yet, he thought. Not yet.

Sighing, he turned back into the conversation to hear Thor say, “My friends, trust me now. We must do this.” Then he turned to Loki and raised an eyebrow as if to say, You are in, are you not, little brother?

There was no choice. “I won’t let my brother march into Jotunheim alone,” he said simply.

Loki had made a decision. True, he could not dictate his brother’s actions, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t continue to make plans of his own. As the others checked and double-checked that they had everything they would need for their journey to Jotunheim, Loki slipped away.

When Loki rejoined the others, they were on their way to the Observatory. Hogun gave him a curious glance, but he ignored it. What he had done was none of their business.

“We must first find a way to get past Heimdall,” Thor said.

“That will be no easy task,” Volstagg observed, trying to get his bulky body comfortable atop his horse. “It’s said the gatekeeper can see a single dewdrop fall from a blade of grass a thousand miles away.”

Loki tried not to roll his eyes. Heimdall was not nearly as powerful as Volstagg claimed. He couldn’t be, or else how had the Jotuns managed to sneak past him? It would take a person with true power to make that happen. That was the type of person Volstagg should fear.

Fandral seemed to agree with Loki’s thoughts. “And he can hear a cricket passing gas in Niflheim,” he said, his voice teasing.

“Forgive him!” Volstagg cried, raising his eyes to the sky. “He meaneth no offense!”

The others were still laughing at the big man’s even bigger superstitions...except Thor, who took no notice. Loki’s brother was single-minded. All he could think of was teaching the Jotuns a lesson. Within moments, they were through the tall gate that surrounded the royal city. The Observatory loomed before them. Behind it, the dark cosmos spread out, a black sea of twinkling lights, which made the domed building seem to float in the sky.

When they arrived, Heimdall was waiting for them.

“Leave this to me,” Loki said, eyeing the intimidating man whose face was nearly hidden behind a gold helmet. “Good Heimdall—” Loki began to say.

The watcher over the Bifrost held up a hand, silencing him. “You think you can deceive me?” he asked, and Loki took an involuntary step backward. How much did Heimdall know? He opened his mouth to protest, but the guard went on. “I, who can sense the flapping of a butterfly’s wings across the cosmos?”

Volstagg eyed the others knowingly. Turning to Loki, he teased, “Silver tongue turn to lead?”

Loki glared at him. “Get me off this bridge before it cracks under your girth,” he retorted.

Once again, Heimdall held up a hand to silence them. “You are not dressed warmly enough,” he said, causing Loki to breathe a sigh of relief. So that was what Heimdall knew—that they were going to attack the icy realm of Jotunheim. Heimdall must have heard about the attack in the Vault and was anxious to figure out how the giants had slipped past them.

With a nod, the group followed Heimdall to the Observatory. Loki looked up and around at the large domed ceiling, its sides covered with carvings and glittering with an unnatural bronze light. As they all looked on, Heimdall walked over to what appeared to be a large control panel in the middle of the room. He lifted up his sword and plunged it deep into the device. The room suddenly filled with a pulsating, vibrating energy—the Bifrost. Turning, Loki saw a large opening on the side of the Observatory. Beyond it, the cosmos spread out.

Heimdall plunged his sword even deeper into the device, and the Bifrost energy quickened, coalescing into a vortex of spinning rainbow light. It shot out into the darkness, creating a link with Jotunheim.

“All is ready,” Heimdall said. “You may pass.”

Loki hated Bifrost travel. The way the portal sucked and pulled you apart until you feared you would not recover; the shock and cold as you were sucked between realms; and the knowledge that when the Bifrost closed behind you, it might not ever open again, trapping you far from home. Still, he had no choice. The plan was in motion, and this trip was part of it.

As Thor stepped up and disappeared into the vortex, Loki paused and looked back over his shoulder as if he could see into the palace.

Turning back, he walked up to the portal entrance and took a deep breath.

One more step and he would be sucked into the swirling rainbow.

They were on their way to Jotunheim.

And what would happen once they got there was not in the hands of fate, but in the hands of his impulsive brother and his warrior friends. Loki would not be able to manipulate events there. He had to trust that the arrangements he had made would be enough for them all to survive. NSMXmQpHIRLk3XnNDrJvqMs8p1rSQHp+aIzy9lL8BSnt4CIZVnkSiAJCkpLO/hVg