The Second Born Curses- A Winterborn Series

Battle of The Gods

"Shit!" I cried, landing on my bloodied side. Groaning, I rolled over until I managed to get my hands out from underneath me, pushing myself up onto my feet.

In mid-air, my powers had failed as lightning had struck way too close for my liking. I fell the last few feet, trying to get a grip onto my powers to stop my descent into the ground. A minute too late and I found myself hovering for one second before landing on an awkward angle, sprawled out.

Dusting myself off, I searched round for my swords, which had fallen out on impact. One of them, I found to my dismay, had fallen into a prickle bush.

"Great! Can my day get any worse?" I grumbled under my breath, seriously pissed off with the entire world at that moment. Lifting my hand up, I imagined the bush tossing me my sword, throwing it just before my feet. I felt the swirling coil within me call out to the bush, ordering it to do as I had envisioned. Hearing a soft clank of metal, I knew then that it had worked. Opening my eyes, I couldn't stop the small grin appearing on my face.

"Now... where is- oh!" I spotted my other sword near where the two men that I had come after, were arguing.

"Oh, you should thank me. With the Bifrost gone, how much dark energy did the All-Father have to muster to conjure you here? Your precious earth." Loki answered, getting to his feet with a taunting chuckle.

Bifrost? What on Earth is he talking about? I crouched down, hiding amongst the rocks as I listened in. Being a spy for three years plus a survivalist would give you the skills to blend in with your surroundings, no matter what you're wearing. The two men didn't even realise that they were being spied on. Typical male arrogance.

The man- I'll just call him Blondie- gripped Loki by his arm, hoisting him up while holding the back of his head, supporting it.

"Don't you dare. I thought you dead." Blondie said mournfully yet filled with slight anger. My eyebrows shot up in surprise.

Loki? Dead?

"Did you mourn?"

"We all did. Our father..."

"Your father. He did tell you my true parentage, did he not?" Loki interrupted, hobbling away as he clutched his side. My own side gave a sharp throb, forcing me to hold back a cry. Damn! More blood seeped through the bandages, mixing with the dirt and grass. Dragging my mind back to the conversation, I wondered what Loki was talking about when he said about his parentage. Was he adopted? He must be since he said that.

"We were raised together. We played together, we fought together. Do you remember none of that?" Blondie asked, looking desperate as he followed Loki down the hill. Christ, this guy didn't seem to get that Loki obviously hated him- I could see the tension and contempt in his posture and rigid stance.

"I remember a shadow, living in the shade of your greatness. I remember you tossing me into an abyss. I who was and should be king!" Loki yelled the last bit. My breathing went to short shaky breaths as I felt sympathy for him.

I knew what it was like, living in someone else's shadow as they were praised highly for their skills and intelligence; I was one of those who lived under my brother's greatness. Don't get me wrong, I love Clint but there are those times when I hated him for hugging the spotlight cause of what he can do. Obviously, there was a little bit of that with these two strange men, only, it was completely the other way around. There was little love from this relationship.

What is the history between these two? I wondered, carefully shifting into a more comfortable position that wasn't grating on my injury. Dully, my jaw throbbed from Steve's punch earlier but that was easily ignored; I've had worse injuries.