Thunder cracked so loud overhead the rafters shook, a rain of dust falling from the ceiling. “The Covenant —”

“Makes room for sanctions against another god or goddess, if it is agreed to in Council. But Adam and Eve are not part of the Council, and the angels refused to take part in the agreement when it was made. She has no defense.”

His eyes burned, and the headache he had thought ferocious before became blinding. Or perhaps that was the lightning, hazing his vision. “She has done nothing wrong, made no threat to any of us. She does not even know we live! What reason could they possibly give for this?”

“Loki argues her very presence is a threat. And if she does learn of us, she might choose to give herself to Adam. The two of them together, and the godchild they might create will unmake the world, destroying every living thing upon it, and with a god of that power laying claim, we will be fortunate to escape with our lives. He says it is the only way to protect our people.”

Thor sneered, rising to his feet. “Loki argues, does he? And his silver tongue serves him well, I am sure, no matter how offensive the lie.”

“Thor,” Athena’s tone held caution, her nails biting into his skin. “If you lose your temper now, lash out blindly—”

“Not blindly,” he said. “No, I would not miss the sight of it for anything after all I’ve suffered. Have you any idea how long I’ve wondered why Odin tolerated that filthy cur? But I see, now. I see exactly what purposes he serves, and I have had enough. The Covenant that binds us will be honored in letter as well as spirit, whether that is my father’s will or not!”

He shook off Athena’s hand, and ignored her call for him to calm, to see reason. He’d had enough of reason, enough of wisdom, for it had only brought him to this place, leashed like a dog to his father’s throne. If Odin wished him to remain in Asgard, so be it. But Thor would not stand by and let them strip him of his honor, too. He would not let Loki, Sif, or Odin use the relationships he had built for the Aesir for ill-purpose. He had a right to extract payment for the insult and dishonor, and he would do so now.

Thor shouldered his way past his brothers, past his sons, snarling at their questions and concerns. Of course it did not stop Baldur from following, or Athena, her pale face even whiter still, but he did not care. It was better to have witnesses, besides. Baldur would defend his right to justice, and what Baldur judged fair, no Aesir would argue. Not even Odin, though he might still punish Thor for disobedience of some kind.

As long as he silenced the Trickster before he spread more lies about Eve, it would be worth it.

“Loki!” he bellowed, thunder rumbling beneath the word. He knew where they would be. No god could have failed to notice after all these years. And even Sif was not foolish enough to bring the Trickster back to the cottage, now that Thor spent his nights at home.

The god was lounging in the courtyard of his hall with a group of women, Sif and Sigyn among them. Servants darted in and out from the kitchens bringing food and drink to Loki’s guests. Unlike the Aesir, Loki did not care for the cold, and had built an external hearth in his garden. A fire burned low, now, for the sun was still warm. Until Thor covered it with storm clouds.

Loki did not rise, but smirked and raised his mug. “Thor, what a surprise. Sigyn, my love, find some mead for the Odin-son. As much as he can drink!”

Sigyn rose lazily from her position, draped against his chest. “Of course, husband.”

Thor did not watch her go. That any goddess had found the Trickster worth marrying, and could suffer his infidelities thereafter, was beyond his capacity for understanding. As it was, Sigyn seemed to do little else beside wait on her husband.

Sif smiled at him, her fingers playing in Loki’s hair. “Husband, how kind of you to join us.”

“Kindness has little to do with you, I promise.”

“Pay him no mind, Sif. Thor is blustering because we found his mistress at last. His honor demands he make threats until I am cowed.” Loki smirked, but still did not move to dislodge Sif, and nor did she stir, though her skirts were in clear disarray, the Trickster’s hand on the bare skin of her thigh.

Lightning crackled behind his eyes, but he banked his fury, letting his anger cool into the calm of anticipation. Loki would pay for his insults today, and the knowledge settled his temper nicely. “You will stop spreading your lies by treading on my honor, Loki.”

“All in good fun, Thor. You can hardly deny me this smallest of entertainments, when you run about the world fathering children and taking lovers as you please. Though I should have thought you had better taste, Athena. Or is Thor the sexless wonder you’ve been waiting for?”

Baldur shifted uneasily, behind him. “It is unwise to say such things, Loki, of any god.”

“No, brother, let him go on. Let him continue to perjure himself, so there can be no doubt by any who witness that my response is justified.” Thor hefted a hammer that had been left beside the fire. No doubt Loki had been attempting to smelt and forge, tired of having to trade with the other pantheons for metal arms, now that there were no dwarves to work for them.

“Perjure myself? Do you deny you took a wife during the exile we shared on earth?” Loki grinned. “I suppose I couldn’t blame you if you were only practicing your arts, knowing that when you returned to Sif’s bed you would have to live up to my skill.”

Thor was surprised by the weight of the hammer, the power. Sparks of lightning wrapped around the shaft, and lit the heart of its head, the weapon magnifying his own strength. This was a hammer brought from the old worlds, then. Stolen from the dwarves themselves. He should not have been surprised to find it near Loki, he supposed, for that one had always taken what he wanted for himself with no regard for the person who possessed it.

“Are you sure you want to keep insulting me, Loki?”

“No insult, Thor, merely fact. Is it not true, Sif? He’s so intimidated by you he cannot even perform his husbandly duty, though I would venture he might not be so unmanned if you took the guise of his mortal wife.”

Sif glanced over him lazily, her eyes glowing golden. “Shall we test your theory?”

Perhaps he had been mistaken, and this hammer was not for the forge, but forged itself. The Dwarven war-hammer? Mjolnir? And Loki and Sif provoking him while he held it. Unwise indeed.

Loki’s grin twisted with malice, and Sif rose, her body shifting in the same motion. Golden hair darkened, turning to a rich, chestnut brown, and the lean, hard muscle of her body slimmed and softened, even the glow of her eyes faded into the startling green of Eve’s.

Thor stiffened, his grip on Mjolnir tightening. She might look like Tora, but her expression lacked Eve’s warmth, her love. He growled.

“Change back.”

Sif smiled with Eve’s face and stretched Eve’s arms above her head, like a drowsy leopard, toying with its prey. “What is it about this form, Thor, that drives you so mad?” Her gaze shifted briefly over his shoulder. “I suppose you always favored fey-colored creatures. Is that why you prefer Athena to Aphrodite, too? For her dull, dark hair?”

“Sif,” Baldur warned. “You may not insult a guest of Asgard in my presence.”

“I do not take offense,” Athena said, her voice cool. “We in Olympus have known for some time the worth of Sif’s words.”

Sif’s lip curled, and Thor freed himself from her spell, shaking his head to clear it. Eve would never look on anyone with such open loathing and hostility. Sif brushed by him, and so help him, but even her scent was Tora’s. Sunshine and spring rains. But she was not Eve. And if she had her way, if he did not silence Loki, Eve would not live long enough to know him again.

Thor caught Sif by the arm and threw her back to the Trickster.

“An unconvincing display,” he growled. “Your game is played and lost. Change back, and do not test me further, Sif, I warn you.”

She laughed, falling gracefully to the couch beside Loki, who had not bothered to so much as stretch out an arm to steady her. “You warn me? And what will you do if I disobey? Your precious honor will keep you from striking me, doubly so while I keep this form. And Odin has granted me his protection, besides. I am free to do as I will.”

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