Hate

Even amidst the cornucopia of pain Nevaeh had presented him with, Loki couldn't help but feel shocked after witnessing this newfound and bloodthirsty side to her personality. She was standing over him with a terrifyingly triumphant gaze as she watched him writhe on the floor. Loki wondered if this was indeed his end. He wasn't going to attack her, even if it were possible. He was reaping what he'd sown. 'Nevaeh,' he said with as much voice he could muster. 'I need you to know. I truly am sorry.'

'Good to know,' she shrugged. 'If only you had nothing to be sorry for.'

Next to her feet, a long dagger appeared in a glint of green. It had a curvy blade, and its hilt was serpentine and emerald. 'Go ahead, Loki. I dare you to use it on me.' She eyed him threateningly.

'It – it is for you, little one,' he mumbled between his moans. 'It is a very special kind of dagger. Incredibly rare.'

'Are you bribing me into saving you? I don't want some stupid collectible dagger!' she scoffed. 'You are unbelievable!'

'No, you silly girl,' Loki managed to give her a condescending look despite his agony. 'The blade is laced with a rare poison. This dagger is one of the handful things truly capable of taking my life.'

Nevaeh stared at the dagger, visibly taken aback, but took it in her hands nevertheless.

'Good girl,' Loki grunted. 'Now stab me. Not in the shoulders. Not in the neck. Plunge it straight into my heart. That will kill me. It would take time but it will do the job.'

Nevaeh knew exactly what Loki was doing, but it wasn't going to work. She bent low over him. 'Don't think even for a second that I wouldn't do it.'

'I am telling you, you must,' Loki said. 'Do you know what sparing my life would confirm about you? It would prove that you are weak. You are pathetic. You can be manipulated. You must kill me.'

Nevaeh pinned the blade to his chest, keeping one hand over his torso to stop him from shaking. 'You aren't even going to fight back? I thought you were so powerfully invincible. Now look at you.'

'I am giving up, Nevaeh,' Loki said. 'I am giving in to you. This is me surrendering. Do what you need to do.' He waited for her to take a swing but she just stared at him through tearful and angry eyes. 'Do it, you little coward!'

'Ahh!' Nevaeh screamed, flinging the dagger far away from them. She prodded his head with her wand. Loki felt the pain ease away before vanishing in a split second. She got up from over him and marched to the terrace.

'You abandoned me in the forest on purpose?' she shrilled sobbingly. 'Loki, I waited there for hours! My mind was going crazy thinking about what might have happened to you and you were sitting right there and watching me lose my mind? Who does that? Tell me why you did that! Say it! Why did you abandon me? And if you wanted to abandon me, then why did you do all that drama afterwards? Those fake creatures said that you sacrificed your life for that device! WHYYYY?'

Loki didn't get up from the floor. He sat there with bent knees and stared at Nevaeh with cold eyes. 'I was sure you would move along your way without staying back. That you would continue your journey without waiting for me.'

Nevaeh looked at him through tearful eyes. 'You said and I quote, "I promise I will be back. Just stay right here." Why would I leave if you promised me you will be back?' she screamed in frustration. 'Did you really think that I wouldn't wait for you even after you promised me you will be back and told me specifically not to move? Did you really think that I was so horrible that I would abandon you after you were kind enough to offer assistance? That I wouldn't wait even after spending two gossip filled nights with you inside a house? I trusted you, Loki!' she yelled disbelievingly. 'And who gives you the right to check one's loyalty when you lie to everyone around you! It was not only horrible, but unethical! And I feel disgusted with myself for trusting you!' she bellowed sobbingly.

Getting up, Loki cautiously went near her. 'But, you didn't! You proved yourself worthy and I came back for you!' he said urgently as she spun around to face him with an indignantly scathing expression.

'Oh! So, I was stupid enough to fall for your lies and waited for you like a moron, after which, I "rescued" you, and you were kind enough to bless me with your presence again?' she hissed shrewdly.

Loki stared at her contorted face. 'That was no blessing. I just needed to know whether you will stay or leave. Or whether you were hiding something from me.'

POW!

Nevaeh punched him on the chest then held her knuckles gingerly inside her burnt hand. It felt as if she'd hit a wall. 'Who gave you the right?' Who gave you the right to conduct a behavioral experiment on a lost girl from a different planet?' she bellowed, shoving Loki hard on the chest like a thug, making him move back half an inch. 'I was nothing but honest! And you had the audacity of testing me!' she swung her fist to hit Loki again, but he held her fist angrily with his hand.

'You silly girl!' Loki snarled. 'You ask me whether who gave me that right! I am the King of Asgard! Do you even know what the penalty is for attacking the King inside his chambers, or anywhere else for that matter?' he hissed viciously throwing her fist aside. 'I AM THE KING! You barged in here, inside my palace, relentlessly attacked me, and now you have the audacity to ask me whether who gave me the right?' he hissed dangerously.

Nevaeh didn't know how to respond to that. He obviously was drunk on power despite being almost killed moments ago. 'You are sick, Loki!' she whispered. 'I hate you! I don't think I've hated anyone this much before in my entire life! She marched towards the terrace. No sooner had she uttered those words than her hand began to glow a hint of gold. She looked at her palm; the entire line of Asgardian longitudes was healing. She didn't bother to wonder why or how. Her head was aching horribly.

'The feeling is bloody mutual!' Loki spat as he went over to his bed to lie down.

Nevaeh's palm burst into flames. Green smoke began emitting from her palm, but she didn't make a sound. She didn't felt like running to Loki to rephrase his statement in order to make the pain stop. Nevaeh sighed and leaned across the edge, the cold marble stinging her palm a little.

On any other day she would've given anything to see a shimmering, scattered constellation, as mystical as the one she was staring into tonight, but the smoke emitting from her cuts and the sudden healing prior to the smoke was the only thing she could wonder about, or at least the cause of it.

Nevaeh took a deep breath, looking at the vast sky; blue, green and red sparkle mixed in the dark, cold night as the stars blinked at her as though trying to say something. She watched the rainbow bridge ending at the bi-frost, where Heimdall must be standing, above the crashing waves of the ocean. She wondered if her hand had healed itself a bit because of her honesty about hating Loki and her insides rumbled with pain as she thought that it really might be true.

Nevaeh moaned silently at her burning palm, trying to think about how she could stop the smoke without Liar Loki's assistance.

Loki was feeling so furious that he worried smoke might come out of his ears and nostrils. He had told Nevaeh almost everything about which he had deceived her in the past, but he was no closer in healing her hand. Loki had plans to commune, conquests to win, a father to kill and yet he couldn't do any of it because – his lies had caught up to him. Loki sighed and looked at Nevaeh stand near the edge, wondering how she was managing to stay so silent. In their entire time together, she had never stayed solitary for so long.

Nevaeh was clutching her slightly bleeding palm, avoiding looking at it when Loki's voice came from behind her. 'Are you all right?'

She quickly turned around and hid her left hand behind, shrugging casually. 'How come you are not saying anything?' Loki asked suspiciously.

Nevaeh scoffed, getting annoyed. 'I am not a radio, Loki.'

Loki was still frowning at her with skepticism and caught a glimpse of green smoke floating in the air behind air as she stood there trying to look overly casual. 'What is that?' he asked quickly, getting alarmed.

'Nothing, I am smoking a cigarette. Back off!'

Loki flicked his index finger again. Nevaeh's hand immediately revealed itself. Loki and Nevaeh swore precisely at the same time, although for completely different reasons.

'I haven't even spoken to you since the last ten minutes! Wait, how long has it been doing that?' asked a suddenly horrified Loki as Nevaeh coldly stared back at him with slightly raised eyebrows.

Loki quickly did a recap in his mind, remembering the last thing he'd said to her and he froze. Nevaeh was still staring at him through cold eyes, as though her hand wasn't on mystical fire at all and Loki kept rapidly blinking at her, his heart thumping heavily inside his chest.

Her palm was stinging horribly. She distractedly gazed at it in order to scratch it when Loki turned her chin towards him by his finger. 'The feeling is not mutual. You might hate me, but I clearly don't hate you.' Loki whispered. The smoke abruptly stopped.

Nevaeh stared into Loki's grave eyes. 'I do hate you! Look, an entire line of longitudes was healed because I was being concretely honest when I said that! That is the power of truth!' She showed her palm, pointing towards the newly healed skin and the first line was indeed replaced by pink skin from Asgard's burnt co-ordinates.

Loki frowned at her palm, flicking his finger once in the air to wipe off the blood speckles that had newly appeared on her wounds. 'That can't be right,' Loki muttered; he knew for a fact that truth and honesty are not always so good. 'It's called the Curse of Imbalance, Nevaeh. What does it have to do with honesty from you? You were being honest all the time! Weren't you?'

'Contradict it all you want,' she said. 'You just can't stomach the fact that I healed myself without your help.'

Loki opened his mouth to instantly retort, when a sharp knock on the door made both of them look behind in surprise. Loki closed his eyes for a moment before sighing heavily and opening them. 'Yes, mother. Do come in,' he said.