Fix You (Loki Romance)

Chapter 43

Ebony's POV

"Again!" I shouted.

Hogun slid towards me, his broadsword swinging from the right with blinding speed. I brought mine up to parry, giving ground under his assault. He was stronger, larger, and faster and I had the disadvantage of a smaller sword. But I had perfected my attack after a month of relentless training.

Swinging under his arm as he lifted to swing at me, I ducked inside his reach and lifted the hilt of my sword to hit him in the chin. He grunted, falling back. His hand came down, crashing into my blade even as he backed away. My sword clanged as it fell and I yanked two dulled training knives from my belt. I tapped him once, twice, three times on both arms and then the chest. Staying inside his reach, I brought one knife to his neck and tapped his stomach with the other.

"And that's the fifth method." I panted. I stepped back. Thanos was bigger than any of the Warriors Three and powered not only by an unnatural strength but a determined anger that would carry him for hours into a battle. I didn't stand a chance one on one but if the need arose, I could hold him off for a little bit.

Kenna came to the edge of the training mat. "Ready." She chirped.

I wiped my brow and nodded. Hogun lifted my training sword.

"I will put it back. Go."

"Thanks, Hogun!" I followed Kenna to her new training room. Rowan was filling two flasks with water. He smiled at me. "Hey, Rowan." I waved.

"Hello." He held out the flasks and I clasped them to my belt.

Kenna similarly filled her own flasks and clasped them. "You have to learn to conserve your resources. With everything else, it's not much of a problem. But water's scarce."

I nodded. Ever since Loki had opened my mind, I harbored a small amount of power in me. I couldn't tap into minds like he and Kenna or create illusions. But telekinesis on a small scale wasn't too hard and manipulating the elements was a beginner's skill so it was open to me as well.

Water and Earth were my best elements. Fire required a controlled anger I found difficult to master and air was simply too fickle. But Earth was, for lack of a better word, grounded. It was calm and determined, stubborn.

It was telling the world that it would not be moved and if there was anything I had learned from living on Asgard, it was that I had to stand firm.

Water was, without a doubt, my talent. But it was one of the hardest to master simply because it had to be conserved. Being a master of magic, Loki could create fire in the palm of his hand. The creation of water out of thin air was an ability that took years to master even though the technique itself was nearly the definition of reformation. I had to carry my water with me. And my attacks were limited due to it. I still didn't have the control necessary but Kenna had taught me a few defenses and attacks to keep me going against an enemy for a little while.

At first, it had been a little strange, learning to fight from a six year old. But Loki had admitted before that young generations of reformers had a lot to offer in improving techniques. He's done a lot of that himself. So Kenna's ability to teach wasn't exactly new. Besides, her mind was older than her body. But it did require some getting used to.

Kenna stood beside me, her feet at hips' distance, and her arms loose at her sides. "Ready?" I nodded, stepping into the ready stance as well.

The door flung open. We turned to see Sif and Volstagg. Sif was tying her vambraces as she walked to my side. "The Cell is opening." She said. "We just received word."

"It's a bit early, isn't it." I said. I started to walk away when Kenna caught my arm.

"Are you still going?" She started to pull my arm. I bent and hugged her tightly.