Chapter 24 : THE FAMILY REUNITED
Frigga met them in the palace corridors.
She moved faster than Loki had ever seen her move—royal composure abandoned, dignity forgotten. She reached Thor first, pulling him into an embrace that crushed the breath from his lungs.
"My son. My stubborn, reckless, wonderful son."
"Mother." Thor's voice came out rough. "I'm sorry. For everything."
"You should be." But she was crying, tears streaming down her face even as she scolded him. "Starting wars, getting yourself exiled, nearly dying on a mortal world—do you have any idea what you put me through?"
"I can imagine."
"You can't." She pulled back, gripping his arms, studying his face like she was memorizing every feature. "But you're home now. That's what matters."
Then she turned to Ethan.
He expected acknowledgment. Perhaps a nod, a brief touch. Something appropriate for the son who'd held the realm together while the preferred son learned humility.
Instead, Frigga pulled him into the embrace with Thor. Both of them, held together, wrapped in a mother's arms like children who'd finally come home from a storm.
"Both my sons," she whispered. "Home and alive and together."
Thor stiffened slightly at the inclusion. He wasn't used to this—Frigga treating Loki as an equal rather than a consolation prize. But he didn't pull away. Whatever he'd learned on Midgard, it included accepting unexpected kindnesses.
"Mother." Loki voice threatened to break. "We should see Father."
"Yes." She released them, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "He's been stirring since the Destroyer fell. I think... I think he'll wake soon."
They walked together through the palace—Thor on one side, Loki on the other, Frigga between them like a bridge connecting two shores that had been at war for too long. Guards straightened as they passed. Servants whispered in corners. The crown prince returned, the regent walking beside him, and no one quite knew what it meant.
Odin's chambers waited ahead.
The All-Father lay in the golden bed where he'd slept for days, his face slack with the peace of regenerative slumber. But something was different now. His breathing had changed—deeper, more purposeful. His hands twitched against the covers like a man surfacing from deep water.
Frigga knelt beside him. "Husband. Our sons are here."
Odin's eye opened.
For a moment, he looked exactly like he had before the Sleep—ancient, powerful, inscrutable. Then his gaze found Thor, and something softened.
"You've returned."
"I have, Father." Thor knelt beside the bed, head bowed. "I understand now. What you tried to teach me. Why the exile was necessary."
"Do you." Not quite a question. Odin's eye moved to Ethan, who'd remained standing. "And you. You held the throne while I slept."
"I did." Loki kept his voice level. "The realm is intact. The council is managed. The succession is unchanged."
"Tell me what transpired."
The next hour felt like an interrogation. Thor spoke first—describing Midgard, the mortals he'd befriended, the lesson he'd learned about sacrifice and worthiness. His voice carried a humility that hadn't existed before the exile.
Then Loki turn came.
He described the council sessions. The political maneuvering. The decisions he'd made and the decisions he'd deferred. He mentioned the Destroyer activation—carefully, honestly, without claiming more innocence than he could prove.
"Heimdall confirms I didn't command it. The vault records show no authorization. But I can't explain what triggered it."
Odin listened without expression. His face betrayed nothing of his thoughts—millennia of kingship had taught him to keep his reactions hidden.
When they finished, silence filled the chamber.
"Neither of you is who you were," Odin said finally.
Loki couldn't tell if it was praise or condemnation. The words hung in the air, ambiguous and heavy.
"Thor." The All-Father's gaze fixed on his golden son. "You learned humility. You learned sacrifice. You became worthy of the power I gave you. This pleases me."
Thor bowed his head. "Thank you, Father."
"Loki." Those ancient eyes turned to Ethan, and something complicated moved behind them. "You held authority without grasping for more. You defended your brother's claim when you could have undermined it. You governed competently during a crisis not of your making."
Is he going to say it pleased him too?
"This... surprises me."
Not quite the same, then.
"I am capable of surprises, Father."
"Apparently so." Odin pushed himself upright, accepting Frigga's help to sit against the headboard. "The regency is ended. Thor, you will resume your duties as crown prince. There is much to discuss about the realm's future—but not today. Today, we rest."
"What of the Destroyer?" Thor asked. "If Loki didn't activate it—"
"That mystery will be investigated." Odin's voice carried the weight of command. "But not by either of you. You have proven yourselves changed. Do not prove yourselves reckless by pursuing answers you may not like."
The dismissal was clear. Thor rose, bowed, and headed for the door. Loki moved to follow.
"Loki."
He stopped. "Father?"
"Stay a moment."
Thor glanced back, uncertainty flickering across his face. But he continued out, leaving Loki alone with Odin and Frigga.
The All-Father studied him with that single ancient eye. "Close the door."
Loki obeyed. The click of the latch sounded very loud in the quiet chamber.
"Your mother has told me of your... changes." Odin's voice dropped lower, more private. "Of the morning you woke different. Of the conversation we had about your heritage."
"She told you."
"She tells me everything. Eventually." A ghost of warmth crossed his face—quickly hidden, but present. "You know what you are. You handled that knowledge without destruction. I admit... I did not expect this."
"I've had time to process."
"Have you." Odin's gaze sharpened. "You've had days. Not centuries. The Loki I raised would have raged for decades over such a revelation. You accepted it in moments."
Because I already knew. Because I'm not the Loki you raised. Because everything about this situation is far stranger than you can imagine.
"Perhaps I've been processing longer than you realize. The jealousy. The resentment. The desperate need for approval that never came." Loki chose his words carefully. "Those feelings had been eating at me for years. Learning the truth about my heritage... it answered questions I'd been asking my entire life. The answer wasn't pleasant. But at least it was an answer."
Odin absorbed this. Something shifted in his expression—not quite softening, but perhaps... recognition.
"You have grown, then. In ways I did not foresee."
"I hope to continue growing."
"See that you do." Odin leaned back against the headboard, exhaustion evident despite the regenerative sleep. "You are still my son, Loki. Whatever blood runs in your veins, I raised you. I claimed you. That does not change because you know the truth of your origins."
Does it change because I'm not the son you raised at all? Because the real Loki is gone, replaced by a stranger from another universe?
"I know." The words came out steadier than he felt. "Thank you, Father."
"Go. Rest. We will speak more in the days ahead—about the Destroyer, about the realm, about your future. For now, enough has been said."
Loki bowed—a gesture that felt more genuine than any he'd made since arriving in this body. He walked to the door, opened it, stepped through.
Frigga's hand caught his arm before he could leave completely.
"You did well," she whispered. "I'm proud of you."
The words settled into his chest like warmth against the cold that always lived there.
"Thank you, Mother."
He walked to his chambers through palace corridors that felt different now. The crisis had passed. Thor was home. Odin was awake. The family—fractured and complicated but still standing—had survived.
Now the real work begins.
Training. Preparation. Building strength for threats that haven't arrived yet.
Protecting the people I love from the death that's written in the timeline.
His chambers waited, familiar and foreign at the same time. He closed the door, leaned against it, and finally let the exhaustion of the past week wash over him.
Tomorrow. I'll train tomorrow. I'll plan tomorrow. I'll work on saving Frigga tomorrow.
Tonight, I'll just survive.
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