Chapter 721

Can a kingdom really endure three thousand years without a crown prince? Evenson could practically hear the speech in his head. A kingdom this weak must be plagued by treacherous ministers! Today, we swear a blood oath and restore order in the name of heaven!

He wanted out.

Preferably immediately. Ideally before anyone noticed he was still in the room.

Evenson had just reached the door when Sif’s voice cut through the chamber.

"Where do you think you’re going?"

He froze.

That was strange. Given where Sif was sitting, she practically had her back to the entrance. Unless she’d been paying particular attention to him, there was no obvious reason she should have noticed his movements.

Then again, something about Sif had changed.

Her eyes, once dark, had turned an unmistakable emerald green. Her lips had taken on a faint blackish tint, and although her hair remained predominantly black, a single green streak ran from her hairline all the way to the ends.

Thor barely seemed to notice. He had other things on his mind. Fandral and Hogun had noticed the changes, but they apparently assumed they were lingering aftereffects of Sif’s desperate efforts to save the queen.

Evenson wasn’t so sure.

He distinctly remembered that Sif’s transformation hadn’t been nearly this pronounced at first. The changes suggested she’d either consumed more fel blood after the incident or someone had found a way to activate the fel energy already circulating through her body.

Possibly both.

Under different circumstances, he would have loved to investigate.

Unfortunately, his immediate survival took precedence over satisfying his curiosity.

Sif had called him out, and now every pair of eyes in the room had turned toward him.

So much for a clean getaway.

Evenson forced a smile.

"About this little undertaking of yours... Have you considered thinking it over a bit more? This is a pretty serious matter, and I’m not entirely convinced the odds are in your favor."

He was desperately hoping to talk Thor out of whatever lunacy was taking shape here.

Getting involved in a royal conspiracy was bad enough when you belonged to the kingdom in question. Evenson was an outsider. What possible benefit could he gain from sticking his neck into Asgardian politics?

Of course, he’d already heard far too much to simply announce that he wanted no part of it and stroll away unmolested. He wasn’t na?ve enough to believe that was an option.

His best bet was to persuade Thor to reconsider before anything irreversible happened. If Thor cooled down, perhaps everyone could pretend this conversation had never taken place.

It wasn’t an unreasonable expectation. For all his childish tendencies, Thor was fundamentally a man of strong feelings and genuine loyalties. His affection for Loki alone proved that much.

Evenson couldn’t imagine him deliberately betraying his father, abandoning his people, and scheming to force Odin from the throne.

More likely, Thor had quarreled with Odin again and was still furious. Perhaps someone hoping to become a royal favorite had taken advantage of his temper and encouraged him to do something spectacularly stupid.

A little patience, a few sensible words, and the whole affair might dissolve before anyone got hurt.

Then Thor turned toward him.

"The Dark Elves’ invasion inflicted terrible casualties on the palace guard. The royal defenses are at their weakest right now. This is the perfect opportunity!"

Evenson’s eyes widened.

You’re actually serious.

His smile collapsed into a pained grimace.

"All right, hold on. Why are you dragging an outsider into something this important?"

He still couldn’t understand why Thor would share such a sensitive plan with someone who wasn’t even an Asgardian. Surely a conspiracy of this magnitude was supposed to be discussed only with trusted confidants.

Then again, expecting Thor to approach a delicate political situation with an appropriate degree of caution might have been optimistic.

Thor stood.

"You saved my mother. I owe you a great debt of gratitude."

He bowed slightly toward Evenson, offering his thanks with a sincerity that left little room for doubt.

Unfortunately, the gesture had an unintended consequence.

Sif lowered her head.

She had risked her life during the same incident, throwing everything she had into saving Frigga. Yet Thor had never thanked her in quite the same way.

It wasn’t that she expected a reward. Still, watching him offer such heartfelt gratitude to another man couldn’t have been easy.

Thor returned to his seat.

"But that incident also taught me something. Your magic seems particularly effective at preserving life."

"That is correct."

Evenson immediately reached into his bag, produced a pair of black-rimmed glasses, and put them on. He even hitched up his trousers for good measure.

"I’m quite skilled at that sort of thing."

He paused.

"Wait. No, that’s not what I meant."

He snatched the glasses off his face and flung them to the floor.

Something had shifted.

He could feel it in the subtle currents of time, as though the future had just adjusted itself by a fraction.

Evenson quickly surveyed the room.

Thor. Fandral. Hogun. Volstagg. Sif.

An entire party of damage dealers.

Not a healer in sight.

Oh, I see.

They were assembling a raid group for a world boss, and Thor wanted him to fill the healer slot.

That actually explained a great deal.

Thor might have a functioning brain cell or two after all.

Still, recruiting a Warlock to keep everyone alive? What happened to the dignity of a Restoration Shaman?

Thor continued before Evenson could voice his objections.

"You said before that Jane is merely a mortal. The Aether is placing an enormous strain on her. I want you to sustain her life force and keep her safe until our plan is complete."

Jane Foster?

Evenson blinked.

How had Jane become involved in this?

Then the pieces fell into place.

Thor’s greatest disagreement with Odin had been Jane herself. If father and son had clashed over her again, that might explain why Thor was suddenly plotting something so drastic.

So this really was a case of a man losing his head over the woman he loved.

Fair enough. Evenson could respect that kind of devotion.

But could Thor perhaps spare a little attention for the woman who had been standing beside him for years?

Sif’s feelings weren’t exactly a state secret. She had risked her life for him more than once, and anyone with functioning eyes could see how deeply she cared.

Yet Thor continued to act as though he hadn’t noticed.

Was he genuinely oblivious, or was he deliberately keeping her hopes alive as a convenient backup option?

Evenson wasn’t sure which possibility was worse.

Either way, he was starting to feel sorry for her.

"All right." He rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Let’s say, purely hypothetically, that you go through with this plan. I can use my magic to replenish Jane’s life force and delay her death. But there’s one small problem."

He looked directly at Thor.

"Whose life force am I supposed to use?"

"Mine!"

Thor shot to his feet before Evenson had even finished speaking.

Evenson’s expression turned serious.

"Are you certain? I understand that you’re a long-lived being. Losing a year or two of your life probably doesn’t sound like much to you."

He paused to make sure Thor was listening.

"But draining life force is a harmful spell. Even if I could extract precisely one year’s worth of life from you, the collateral damage would mean you lost considerably more than that in practice. And you’re an exceptionally powerful being. I can’t control the spell with that kind of precision when dealing with someone like you."

He leaned forward slightly.

"One mistake, and I might shave several centuries off your life."

Thor nodded.

"Thank you for the warning. But I don’t care..."

"Use ours instead!"

All four of Thor’s companions rose to their feet together.

It was one thing for their prince to declare that he was willing to sacrifice his own life force. It was quite another to sit there and let him do it without offering themselves in his place.

A prince’s burden was his subjects’ burden. If Thor was prepared to make such a sacrifice, his companions could hardly remain silent.

Besides, they weren’t making an empty gesture. Years of fighting alongside Thor had forged a bond between them that went far beyond duty. They genuinely wanted to spare him the cost.

Thor looked at them with unmistakable gratitude.

Then the five men pulled one another into a great bear hug.

Off to the side, Sif watched in silence. A faint mist gathered in her eyes, so subtle that no one seemed to notice.

At last, she understood.

She loved Thor enough to give her life for him.

But Thor’s love for Jane Foster was every bit as fierce as her own feelings for him.

No sacrifice she could offer would change that.

After a while, the embrace ended.

"Thank you," Thor said. "All of you. But I can’t accept."

His expression hardened with resolve.

"Only Jane and I will undertake the final part of the plan. So I must be the one to provide the life force."

Evenson nodded faintly.

Thor clearly understood that confronting his father would be no simple matter. Bringing Jane along made sense, given that the Aether was still inside her. If they could control its power, it might give them a formidable advantage.

And if everything went wrong...

Well, they would at least be together at the end.

Evenson grimaced.

Good grief. What has Odin done to drive this boy to such extremes?

Thor moved on to the next item.

"Here’s what I need you to do."

He began assigning tasks to his companions.

The palace guard had been weakened by the invasion, leaving fewer defenders than usual. Thor’s warriors would split up, draw the guards’ attention, and keep them occupied while he carried out the rest of the plan.

Evenson listened with growing dread.

They weren’t merely entertaining a reckless idea anymore. Thor was laying out a detailed operational plan for what sounded suspiciously like a palace coup.

I knew I should have left when I had the chance.

"For the future of Asgard, I’m entrusting this to all of you."

Thor rose and struck the table with his fist.

"I will not betray your trust. This time, I will destroy Malekith!"

Evenson had been listening with the exhausted resignation of a man watching his colleagues organize an entirely avoidable disaster.

Then he heard that name.

He snapped his head around so violently that he nearly strained his neck.

"Wait. Hold on a second."

He stared at Thor.

"Did you say this whole plan is about defeating Malekith? You’re planning to pursue him without your father’s knowledge?"

"Yes."

Thor looked at him with undisguised contempt.

"You’re supposed to be a sorcerer. Everyone says sorcerers are clever. How have you managed to miss the point of everything we’ve been discussing?"

Evenson stood there for a moment.

Then he scratched his head stiffly.

"Right. Well, carry on, then."

He retreated to the side, trying very hard not to look as though he had just narrowly escaped execution.

Thank every benevolent force in the universe that he’d spent the conversation trying to get away instead of enthusiastically contributing suggestions.

If he’d thrown himself into the discussion, offered tactical advice, or helped refine their plan under the assumption that Thor intended to overthrow Odin, there was a good chance someone would already be marching him straight to the All-Father to explain his involvement.

He could practically picture the scene.

Your Majesty, we caught this sorcerer helping your son plan a rebellion!

No thank you.

Thor had just settled back into his seat when another thought occurred to him.

He looked up.

"Wait. What did you think we were planning?"

Evenson gave him an awkward shrug.

"I thought you were planning to run away with Jane."

Thor snorted.

"At a time like this, when our kingdom faces a crisis, do you honestly think I would abandon my responsibilities for personal feelings?"

"Of course not," Evenson replied, nodding repeatedly.

Thor looked as though he was about to launch into a speech on duty, honor, and the obligations of royalty. Evenson decided it was safer not to interrupt.

Sif, however, shot him a sharp glance from the side.

Apparently, she wasn’t particularly amused by his misunderstanding.

Now that he understood what Thor actually intended, Evenson felt comfortable enough to speak his mind.

"Still, Thor, don’t you think you’re gambling a little too much here?"

He wasn’t convinced by this plan.

Thor might not be talking about forcing his father off the throne, but he certainly had the air of a man preparing to wager an entire kingdom on a single throw of the dice.

Asgard was hardly on the brink of collapse. Why take such an enormous risk when they could simply defend their territory and wait for an opening?

If anyone should have been resorting to desperate measures, it was Malekith and the Dark Elves.

Trying to win through a strategy that practically amounted to trading kingdoms was an astonishingly expensive way to solve the problem.

And when Odin learned what his son had been planning, the All-Father was going to be furious.

Thor remained unmoved.

"This is the approach that will cost us the least."

He spoke with absolute conviction.

"In the end, not a single person has to die."

He repeated the last sentence more quietly.

"Not one."

That was when Evenson finally understood.

Asgard had suffered a surprise attack, but its losses, though painful, had not crippled the kingdom. The sensible approach was to fortify its defenses, deny the Dark Elves any further opportunities, and wait until Malekith exposed a weakness.

Then Asgard could launch a decisive counterattack.

With the Aether still in their possession, the Dark Elves would have little chance of overturning reality again and escaping their destruction.

It was a slower strategy, and more people might die before the war ended, but victory would be all but assured.

Odin was almost certainly following that approach.

Thor, however, wanted to gamble.

Part of it was his determination to spare Asgard’s people from further casualties. But that wasn’t the whole story.

There was someone who couldn’t afford to wait.

Jane.

The Aether’s influence was taking an increasingly severe toll on her. Her visions were becoming more frequent, and her condition was deteriorating. Whatever time she had left, it wasn’t much.

Thor couldn’t afford to wait for the perfect military opportunity while the woman he loved was running out of time.

For the sake of Asgard’s people, and for Jane herself, he had chosen to take the risk.

Evenson spread his hands.

"Fine. You want to lure Malekith to Svartalfheim, the Dark World. But how exactly are you planning to get there?"

He ticked off the problem on his fingers.

"Heimdall might agree to cover up your movements, but given his loyalty to the All-Father, that’s probably the absolute limit of what he’ll do. He’s certainly not going to open the Bifrost for you."

"I know."

Thor nodded, looking remarkably pleased with himself.

Apparently, desperation really could force a person to use his brain.

"The Bifrost isn’t the only way to reach other realms. Asgard has plenty of hidden passages leading beyond our borders."

"Very few people know about those passages," Sif pointed out, her expression troubled.

"To be precise," Thor replied, drawing a breath, "only one person knows enough to help us."

The mood in the room shifted immediately.

Everyone’s expression darkened.

Evenson glanced at Thor and caught something unexpected beneath the melancholy on his face.

A tiny spark of excitement.

He knew exactly who Thor meant.

"Loki?"

"Yes."

Thor’s mouth twitched. For a moment, he looked perilously close to smiling.

Evenson stared at him.

"All right. Let’s put everything else aside for now. How, exactly, are you going to persuade Loki to help you?"

Thor looked around the room with an encouraging smile.

"That’s why I’ve gathered you all here. Help me think of something. Quickly."

Evenson almost laughed.

What on earth was he supposed to suggest?

Perhaps Thor could try stripping naked, taking a few compromising photographs, and sending them to Loki. Who knew? Maybe his brother would be so entertained that he’d agree to help.

It was a terrible idea.

Which, admittedly, made it roughly as good as anything else Evenson could think of.

Before anyone could offer a suggestion, the chamber door swung open.

A woman in a black cloak stepped inside. She closed the door behind her and looked around the room.

"I can help you," she said. "I know how to persuade Loki."

Every person in the chamber sprang to their feet.

Thor reacted most dramatically of all. His hair might as well have stood on end.

The newcomer was none other than Frigga, Queen of Asgard.

And Thor’s mother.

Evenson looked at Thor with profound sympathy.

It was the sort of thing that happened when a group of friends gathered in secret to plan how to skip school, only for someone’s mother to catch them in the act.

He could only imagine what Thor was feeling right now.

Please, someone calculate the size of that shadow looming over his soul.