Chapter 1

There are children you can leave unsupervised for an afternoon without courting danger.

To Odin's consternation, the two young princes of Asgard are not that kind of children. With Frigga absent and Odin distracted with the minutia of government, Thor and Loki sneak out of the palace on a bilgesnipe hunt. Their short adventure leaves Loki badly injured.

But the physical injury is not as potent a force as the secrets Odin is determined to protect or Loki's desperate need to live up to his father's expectations.