Eirlys did not wait for Heimdall to explain anything further. The moment Loki appeared through the Bifrost, bound and gagged, she dropped to her knees in front of him and immediately reached for the tape covering his mouth. Her hands were trembling as she carefully peeled it away, then moved to the bindings around his wrists. Despite it being hard, she broke it easily considering her being a Vanir. The moment they came loose, Loki drew in a sharp breath and rubbed his wrists, his face flushed with humiliation.
"Who did this to you?" Eirlys demanded, looking up at him.
Loki avoided her eyes. She rose quickly and helped him to his feet, steadying him when he stumbled slightly. His robes were disheveled, his hair a mess, and there was something deeply wounded in his expression that made her stomach twist. Eirlys turned toward Heimdall, silently asking for an explanation.
Heimdall's expression remained unusually calm. "I found him exactly where I expected to find him," he said. "Though I confess, I was surprised by the manner of his return."
"Where was he?"
"Somewhere in Midgard. But not in the ordinary sense."
Eirlys scowled as Heimdall explained that Loki had been confined inside a shifting pocket of space, a strange realm that moved constantly through the boundaries between dimensions. It had no stable connection to Asgard, and its magical currents were weak and irregular. Even if Loki had managed to free his hands, using his magic there would have been extremely difficult. Worse, the bindings around his wrists had been made of cold iron, which interfered with his spellcasting and prevented him from properly gathering the focus necessary for an escape.
"And his mouth?" Eirlys asked, glancing toward Loki.
"He could not call for me."
Her eyes widened. "So even if he knew where he was, he couldn't summon the Bifrost?"
"He could not."
Eirlys's expression hardened, she turned back to Loki. "Come with me."
He did not argue when she took his arm and guided him through the palace corridors toward their chambers. Loki remained unusually silent, his pride clearly bruised beyond what he was willing to admit. Once inside, Eirlys closed the door behind them and helped him sit on the edge of their bed. She crouched in front of him again. "Loki."
He stared at the floor with no reply.
"Who?"
Nothing came, she sighed and sat beside him instead, leaving enough space between them that he would not feel cornered. "You don't have to tell me immediately," she said gently. "But you can't expect me not to worry after finding you tied up and gagged through the Bifrost."
Loki's jaw tightened. "It was a prank."
Eirlys blinked. "A prank?"
He gave a humourless laugh. "My brother has a rather unfortunate definition of the word."
Her stomach sank. "Thor?"
Loki finally looked at her. "Thor. Sif. Your cousins."
Eirlys stared. "All of them?"
"They apparently thought it would be amusing." His voice was painfully controlled.
According to Loki, the entire thing had begun innocently enough. His cousins had challenged him to follow them somewhere outside the palace, claiming they had planned another harmless trick. Thor and Sif had joined them, apparently finding the entire idea entertaining. The next thing Loki knew, cold iron cuffs had been secured around his wrists. He had tried to use magic but nothing happened. Before he could properly understand what they had done, they had transported him into the strange shifting pocket realm. The place itself had been unstable, with no fixed landscape and no reliable magical current for him to draw upon. Every attempt at using magic had weakened almost immediately, leaving him increasingly frustrated.
Then they had gagged him, Loki had spent what felt like hours trying to determine where he was and how to escape, only to realize that even calling for Heimdall was impossible. By the time Heimdall finally located him, Loki had been reduced to waiting. Eirlys listened without interrupting.
When he finished, she stared at him for several seconds. "That wasn't a prank."
Loki gave her a tired look. "I am aware."
"That was bloody stupid."
His eyebrows rose slightly. "You're angry?"
"Yes."
"At them?"
Eirlys looked offended. "At you? No, Loki. At the people who apparently forgot that imprisoning someone in an unstable dimension and preventing them from using magic is not funny."
For the first time since returning, Loki's expression softened. Eirlys reached for his hands carefully, examining the marks left by the bindings. "I am so sorry."
Loki looked down at their joined hands. "You didn't do it."
"No. But they're my family."
"And apparently mine now."
Despite everything, Eirlys gave a tiny, exhausted laugh. Then she leaned closer. "I'll deal with them."
Loki looked at her. "I have no doubt you will."
And judging by the expression on Eirlys's face, they were about to discover that their newly married princess had a considerably less forgiving definition of a prank.nShe waited until Loki had settled beneath the blankets before she finally stood. She had tucked him in almost absurdly carefully, smoothing the covers over him and making certain he had everything he needed, much to his amusement. He had protested that he was perfectly capable of looking after himself, but after being dragged through a shifting pocket realm, she had decided that his opinion on the matter was irrelevant.
"I'll be back," she told him.
Loki looked at her suspiciously. "Where are you going?"
"To have a conversation."
"With whom?"
Eirlys gave him a look that answered the question, his expression immediately changed. "Eirlys."
"Stay in bed."
"Eirlys."
She ignored him and walked out before he could say anything else, she had reached her limit. She had spent the entire day making excuses for everyone, asking Loki to tolerate her cousins, accepting Thor's presence and trying to convince herself that their behaviour came from affection rather than malice. But what had happened tonight was different. Loki had been humiliated, restrained and trapped somewhere he could not escape from, and Thor had apparently thought it was funny. For once, Eirlys did not care about being polite.