Staring into Loki’s eyes, Lilith felt her mind and body being pulled into another realm. Like an object crossing a black hole’s event horizon, her desire to see Kristof and Erik pushed her deep into the unknown. And there was no turning back.

In the darkness, a screen appeared, and on it, a still image of her husband in tears. Instinctively, she reached to touch him, triggering to play what she quickly realized was a video.

“No, she can’t be dead! You’re lying. She can’t be!” he screamed at the doctors and nurses in the familiar delivery room. “What did you fuckers do to her? What the hell did you do? My wife can’t be dead…”

How is this possible…?

They tried to console him, but Kristof shoved them aside. He collapsed next to Lilith’s former self—now a lifeless corpse—and stroked her face. “Baby, you can’t leave me. I need you. Come back to me!”

“I’m still alive,” Lilith shouted into the void, desperately trying to reach his ears. Though her head cast doubts on the veracity of what she saw, her heart believed it was real. Such a scene could be not faked.

A nurse carried baby Erik over and placed him in Kristof’s arms. The video zoomed in on Kristof’s face, magnifying the bitterness in his eyes. A terrible thought crossed Lilith’s mind.

It’s not Erik’s fault!

Heart aching, she begged Kristof not to hate their son. Her death must not drive them apart. As if hearing her voice, his pursed lips pushed itself into a smile. And then the video stopped.

Panicked, Lilith spun round and round in the darkness. “What happened next?”

Loki’s chuckle echoed around her. “Do you really wish to know?”

“Show me!”

Another video manifested in front of her, and she choked up. Dozens of friends and family watched in solemn as her coffin was lowered into the ground. Her father looked like he’d aged ten years, his eyes carrying a profound sadness that she only ever saw once before: the time when Lilith’s mother passed away.

Daddy…

Lilith hadn’t considered how her death would weigh on the people she loved. It seemed even more surreal now, her witnessing it all through a screen. Reincarnating in Asgard with her memories intact made it feel as if it was them who disappeared from her life. Soon though, she would be able to return to Earth and give them all hugs—especially her father.

The video ended, and another faded in to take its place in the black space.

Our home…

Kristof awoke to the sound of a baby’s cry. He jumped out of bed and scooped Erik up from the crib. “Hey, kiddo! Did you have a nightmare? Don’t cry. Daddy’s here now. Shhhh…”

“Check his diapers!” Lilith said, eyes glued to the screen.

He sniffed Erik’s butt and made a disgusted face. “Ugh, this is the third time tonight.”

She laughed a little, to her surprise.

Kristof took their baby to the bathroom and placed him on the change station they had set up. Fresh diapers, wipes, towels—everything was there as she remembered. The soiled diaper came off and went into the trashcan. Kristof cleaned off the mess on Erik’s behind with some water, then dried him off with a towel. Minutes later, the new diaper was on, and they were back in the bedroom.

The crying didn’t stop, and Kristof grew anxious. Even a lullaby from his soothing voice couldn’t calm their child down. “You still miss Mommy, don’t you?” His eyes welled up. “I do, too.”

Lilith wanted to jump in and help, but remembered she couldn’t. All she could do was watch. Kristof was on his own now. The video focused on Erik’s face. She leaned into the screen and whispered, “Don’t cry. Mommy will be home soon.”

And like magic, her baby stopped crying.

Good boy…I love you, Erik.

Kristof smiled and placed him back in the crib, and the video faded away. She sighed and felt exhausted, as if she went through the entire ordeal with her husband. This was the most she’d seen and the closest she’d been to the two loves of her life.

“Kristof…Erik…” Lilith blinked, and she was back in the dark chamber with Loki. Reality swept away the momentary bliss, replacing it with sadness and yearning.

“That’s enough for now,” he teased, edging closer, almost breathing down her neck. “Will you help me, Valkyrie?”

What choice did she have? Loki was desperate, but she was more so. Whether he was manipulating her senses or showing her the truth, the decision was the same. “Just tell me what to do.”

“These shackles.” He shook his hands, rattling the chains around his wrists. “Thor destroyed the key. That oaf is smarter than he looks, knowing Roskva and Thjalfi would be easily manipulated. Only two things can break these chains now. The hammer known as Mjolnir…”

“Thor’s hammer?” Lilith had seen it multiple times in action.

“He keeps it by his side like a pet. You would never been able to get close to it. Even if you could, you are not worthy to lift Mjolnir. Which leaves me no choice but to opt for the second option…” Loki paced back and forth and groaned to himself, then tore off a lump of hair. “Take these and burn them.”

Had the God of Mischief gone insane? She stared at the hairs, trying to figure out if she had heard correctly. “What for?”

“Just do it”—he placed the hair in her hands—“Outside! Fly as high as the clouds and burn them.”

“How do I know if it worked?”

“You’ll know.” Loki chuckled, his tone almost sinister. “Go.”

Lilith hurried back upstairs, where Roskva and Thjalfi waited patiently for her. Though what Loki asked her to do sounded simple enough, she quickly realized she had no way of burning the hair. It’d be ridiculous to drag Karina all the way here just for this. Instead, she turned to the kids. “Do you know where I can find some matches?”

“Are you going to summon the scary wolf?” the boy asked, lips pursed.

“What?”

“If you burn Loki’s hair, Fenrir will come,” the girl explained, biting her teeth.

Lilith took a split second to digest their words. Scary wolf or not, there was no time to waste. “Do you have matches or not?”

They kept mum while swaying back and forth. These rascals weren’t the angels she thought they were. Lilith groaned and searched her possessions for something to offer. With a pinch of guilt, she presented them the silver ring Sif gave her earlier.

Roskva snatched it from her fingers like a starved child on bread. “Thank you, Valkyrie.”

“What about me?” said Thjalfi, staring up at Lilith with fake doe eyes while waving a box of matches.

Lilith bent her knees to match his eye level. “This is important, do you understand?”

He nodded coyly.

“If you give me those matches, I will…take you for a ride on Gyllir…for one hour. Is that fair?”

“Thank you, Valkyrie,” he said and handed her the item.

Lilith hurried outside and got on Gyllir. With a little tug, the horse leapt and soared up into the sky. Bilskirnir shrank to the size of a pea as she rose, higher and higher until she was level with the tallest mountains.

There, with matches in one hand and Loki’s hair in the other, she wrestled with her mind once more. She could leave now and head for Alfheim and find the portal to Earth somehow, or help the God of Mischief, a clear villain in the eyes of the gods, and hope that he would not stab her in the back…again. Both options were equally precarious.

Lilith sighed, thought for another quick second, and lit a match. Pocketing a few strands, she held the rest up to the flame and watched the hair catch fire. As it burned, sulfurous wisps swirled forth and dissipated into the night sky. Remembering the children’s mention of Fenrir, she felt a sudden chill in her body. Wherever it was, could the wolf really detect Loki’s scent from so far away and through the walls and floors of Bilskirnir? The God of Mischief’s assuredness—reluctance, almost—dispelled all her skepticism. After all, this was Asgard, and she was riding a flying horse.

A dull thud sounded in the distant mountains, quickly increasing into a thunderous rumble. Lilith soon spotted the source: a black entity with crimson eyes. Was it a darkling? The creature zipped past the Nine Fingers and stampeded through the fields of Thrudvang with the madness of a thousand elephants. She gasped at its immense stature, which was at least a hundred times larger than any wolf she’d seen before. Loki’s plan became clear: get Fenrir to attack the fortress and free him from his shackles.

The kids…

She held onto Gyllir tight as they dove towards Bilskirnir, just in time to see the giant wolf rip apart the gate with its silver claws. It then picked up the debris from the ground and pelted it at random areas of the castle, causing the structure to shake and walls to shatter. Lilith caught sight of Roskva and Thjalfi rushing to the stables to help the two goats; the wolf saw too, and was hot on their trails.

If only I had my bow with me!

With little choice, Lilith and Gyllir flew in front of Fenrir to obstruct its path. The beast roared, revealing fangs larger than her. Its saliva dripped on the ground and seared the grass. Somehow she doubted her magic charms would be effective against such a monster. Praying that it understood her, she instead used words. “You’re here for Loki, aren’t you?”

The wolf glared at them with a permanent scowl, ready to devour her and Gyllir whole, but a slight twitch in its expression as she spoke those words made Lilith believe it understood.

She flew to the area above the dungeon and pointed downwards. “He’s down there, below ground.”

Fenrir wasted no time and charged, smashing through walls and disappearing underneath the earth. The ground shook as Lilith backed off from the site. Relieved that Roskva and Thjalfi had found safer shelter, she could only wait for the aftermath.

As expected, Thor and his family evacuated their home, the God of Thunder already clad in armor and ready to smite the beast with his almighty hammer. Just then, a stranger on a horse arrived, joining the scene with immense trepidation. Lilith could hear the two men’s conversation even from where she hovered.

“Thor!” he cried out as he landed. “Did you see Fenrir?”

“He’s below ground, looking for his father no doubt.” Thor lifted Mjolnir to the sky and sent a bolt of lightning striking down. The ground ruptured, and a painful roar followed.

“Loki’s here?”

“Yes. Someone must have alerted the wolf.” The God of Thunder turned to Lilith. “Valkyrie! Did you have anything to do with this?”

Sif waved for her to come down, but Lilith pretended not to see them. She kept her eyes fixed on the rubble below, biding her time.

Dammit, Loki, hurry up!

No sooner had she finished her thought did Fenrir blast out of the ground with Loki riding on its back and free of his shackles. His plan had worked, but what now? Would he be able to get them away from here?

“Loki!” Lilith called to him, and the two made eye contact.

But the God of Mischief simply smiled, flashing that devilish smirk she was all-too familiar with by now since their first encounter in the tavern of Vestfold. And then she knew. Lilith had put all her eggs in one basket, and they were about to crack. He wasn’t going to help her.

“Sorry, Valkyrie. Another time!” And with that, he and the wolf whisked off, laughing and roaring. “I promise!”

“Loki, come back here!” Thor summoned Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjostr with a whistle, and the two goats came dashing over, the chariot already strapped to them, ready for pursuit.

“Leave it to me,” Tyr said, then bolted after them.

Lilith made to leave with Gyllir, but that was met with a lightning bolt striking down just inches away from them. Gyllir neighed wildly, urging her to reconsider.

“Valkyrie!” the God of Thunder bellowed. “Where do you think you’re going?”

It was over.

She could not endanger her friend anymore.

She had to turn himself in.