“And mine!” I snapped, the instinct to assert my claim rearing up before I could think better of it.
A murmur rose from the fallen warriors behind us and Odin’s eye widened in shock, but before anyone could speak, a clap of thunder rolled through the great hall.
“Where’s my son?”
Thor had come.
He didn’t take long to arrive on the dais, hurtling into view like a bad-tempered bolt of lightning. Nostrils flared and cracks of energy practically sparking off his skin, he stared at me and the three alphas by my side for several long seconds before he turned his focus to Odin.
“Why do you have my son tied up and on his knees like a criminal?”
Odin’s mouth pinched at the corner—my father’s lack of manners had all days been a thorn in his side. “Your son dragged three of the traitor’s sons into Asgard. He has been found guilty of treason.”
“Treason?” Thor blustered. “You tried my son for treason? Because he keeps Jotunn company? Do I have to remind you about your own Jotunn associations?”
He turned to the Valkyrie who had a hold of my chains. “Unchain him immediately, or so help me, I’m going to blast your wings off so thoroughly your asshole will be on fire for the next five months!”
Odin glared at him. “Yes, your son. You know the rules—and so does he. Any association with Loki carries the penalty of death. This is not a small matter. The betrayer has doomed us all, and Magni claims to share a mate with one of these… worms. Whatever his allegiance to them, clearly it is deep.”
Thor blinked, and I steeled myself. “A mate? What’s this nonsense? My son’s never claimed an omega, and he’d certainly never share one, least of all with Loki’s bastards!”
“Actually, Father…” I breathed in deeply, wishing Trud had had the chance to explain everything to him. Clearly she hadn’t, but if Freya’s warning about a possible traitor within the walls of Asgard was right, we needed to keep our cards as close to our chests as possible. It was bad enough I’d announced in front of the entirety of Valhalla that Saga and I shared a mate.
“Her name is Annabel.” I nodded in the direction of my mate wrapped up in Modi’s arms. She’d stopped fighting him now that Thor had intervened, but he still had a hand clasped over her mouth. Knowing her lip, it was probably a wise choice.
My father stared at me again for a series of long, long seconds. Then he turned his head toward Annabel. An incredulous snort escaped him.
“A human?” Both his red eyebrows lifted when he returned his gaze to me. “You mated a human? Are you insane? Did your mother beat the sense out of you when you were a babe? A worthless human cunt ensnared Thor’s son?”
“Don’t speak about her like that!” Saga snarled.
Shame filled me that he'd spoken up for our mate when I hadn't. I’d spent most of my life trying to please my father, but Saga’s anger and the scent of his aggression bolstered me. I let out the snarl that’d stuck in my throat, baring my teeth at my father in warning.
“She is mine. You will address her with respect,” I ground out.
But whatever reaction I’d expected from standing up to my father, he seemed to not hear me. His eyes widened as he stared at Saga, realization dawning in his blue eyes.
“It’s true,” he croaked. “You share her? With him?”
“Yes,” I said. “It’s a long story, and it has nothing to do with why the winged cunts burst into Trudheim and arrested me for upholding one of our most sacred laws.”
Thor stared at me, his jaw working hard, and I could already tell he wasn’t gonna let it go despite our less-than-ideal surroundings. That was just how he was—bullheaded, single-minded, and completely incapable of accepting anything less than perfection from his sons.
Sharing a mate with one of Loki’s sons? Yeah, that was about as far from perfect as it got, in his mind.
“Dad.” My sister’s soft voice broke the tension. Trud, having apparently not managed to keep up with Thor’s pace, appeared from the stairs and crossed the dais swiftly, placing her hand on our father’s arm.
She didn’t say anything else, but she didn’t have to. She’d always had a way with our father that neither Magni nor I could replicate.
Father sighed deeply, looking from Trud back to Odin. “My son’s right. Free passage is a founding law in Asgard. You will release him at once.”
“And his guests,” Trud said, nudging his arm. His only response was a tightening of his jaw, but it didn’t matter—Odin had heard her too.
The Allfather narrowed his one eye. “This is Ragnarök! I will not allow those who wish to end us waltz freely around in my realm!”
“You won’t be executing my blood, either,” Thor growled, resting a hand on Mjölner, the hammer on his belt.
“A compromise!” Trud broke in, stepping in front of us with a swish of her robes and managing a respectful bow without losing the gentle power radiating from her.
“A compromise?” Odin repeated, his eyebrows raising. The gesture moved his eyepatch, underlining its grim presence on his somber face. “A compromise? This is the end of the world, child, and you want to strike a compromise with Loki’s spawn?”
“Treason is their father’s crime. Not theirs,” Trud said, gaze darting to Annabel for a moment before she looked back to the Allfather. “Loki is the one who betrayed us. Would Saga have claimed a human mate if he was trying to bring about Ragnarök? She wouldn’t survive it, and so neither would he.”
“That’s true,” Thor said, looking back at Annabel with a frown. “Why would he claim a human if he was planning on killing her?”
“We don’t know their plans,” Odin said, glaring at Saga. “They could have found a way to keep her safe with the Jotunns.”
“Or we’re not fucking traitors,” Saga growled. “You fucking Aesirs—always so high and mighty, always so quick to assume you’re the only ones who could possibly have anything to lose. If we’d wanted an end to the world, we wouldn’t have sought refuge in Asgard from Surtr’s army.
"We brought our mate here to keep her safe among the gods, among Magni’s supposed kin. Is it a wonder that the humans have abandoned their faith in you when you have so little interest in them that all you can think of to stop the end of the world is to kill the children of the supposed betrayer? Nothing will be gained by our death—Ragnarök is still here. Incompetence will be your only legacy.”
I’d spent so long hating the Lokissons, despising them for what they were—for the Jotunn heritage they so proudly embraced while I’d done everything I could to distance myself from that part of my lineage. But as I watched Saga now, saw how he carefully chose his words like a warrior chooses his strikes to fell his enemy, pride swelled in my gut.
We’d both claimed Annabel in a bid to save our families, but through her, we’d become kin. When he took her alongside me, when he helped her save my life, I’d felt him as keenly as I had her. His magic, his desperation, his cock… and the warmth of his spirit.
We were brothers now, kindred in our need to keep Annabel safe and protected, and right now, my kindred brother was fighting with all he had. On his knees in front of the Allfather, he fought with clever words to save all of us once again.