Loki Laufeyson was born the son of Laufey, King of the Jotnar, and Freyja, a goddess taken by force. Abandoned by his father as an infant, he was rescued by Odin and raised in Asgard under the protection of a king who never quite trusted him.

Though he appears Aesir, Loki's Jotun blood makes him an outsider in every court. His abilities were deliberately left undeveloped, leaving him physically and magically weaker than his peers. In place of strength, he learned to survive through observation, cunning, courtly knowledge, and an almost compulsive need to prove his usefulness.

At four years old, Loki was betrothed to the Princess of Midgard, daughter of Queen Hel and granddaughter of Hella, the conqueror who brought Midgard beneath Asgard's rule. He was raised to believe the marriage was inevitable, taught to make himself pleasing to his future bride while knowing that neither her affection nor her acceptance was guaranteed.

Now, after years spent between Asgard and Midgard, Loki stands at the intersection of two royal ambitions. He is expected to reclaim his father's throne in Jotunheim, yet risks becoming nothing more than another puppet ruler. His future marriage threatens to bind him to a life he never chose.

Clever, guarded, and far more vulnerable than he allows anyone to see, Loki has built his life around one private conviction: if he cannot make people love him, he can at least make himself indispensable. What he has never learned is whether anyone might choose him without needing him first.