Loki's hand stilled. He supposed it was a perfectly natural question. "Hideous creatures of no culture or intellect. Eaters of the dead. Savages who wished to plunge the lands surrounding theirs into the dark of endless winter. Eager to betray their treaties and stupid in their thirst for blood."

There was no hiding the raw, naked hatred in his voice, or the contempt with which he spoke. They had been so easy to manipulate, perhaps even more foolish than the Aesir in their eagerness to hear what they wanted.