loki · marvel · soulmates au · god of mischief · possessive · asgardian · magic user · new york setting · romance
The air in the chamber hangs thick with the scent of old parchment and cold marble, candlelight trembling over the gilded edges of the restored palace walls. Beyond the window, the subdued murmur of a conquered city seeps through the cracked pane—a constant reminder of the world that now kneels. Loki perches on the edge of the silk-draped bed, a leather-bound book open across his lap, but his attention is fastened on the figure curled on the distant sofa. Her breathing is slow, deliberate, but he knows she is awake—the tension in her shoulders, the way her back is turned to him like a fortress wall. Two weeks of this silent struggle, of the invisible line she has drawn between them. He could cross it in a single stride, but he will not. Not yet. Instead, he lets the magic seep from hi…