I love that half-asleep state, where you hang between two worlds. It's a wonderful place, where lovely dreams are created and a peaceful aura surrounds you. No one can touch you, nothing can hurt you, nothing can interrupt your-

"...up, Victoria."

I frown. Wait, who is that? Where am I?

"Victoria." I can feel someone shoving my arm, and hear the sound of an engine's rumbling being cut off.

"What?" I mumble groggily. My body is angled slightly, resting against something hard on my left, so I sit up in whatever seat I'm in, blinking. I jerk in surprise when my eyes register complete darkness. "What the-" Then I realize there is something tied around my head, and I instantly reach up to pull it off. But it won't come off, it's tied too tightly. "Hey, somebody get this off me!"

I feel a draft of warm air as a door to my left opens, and with the blast of air comes my memory. My eyebrows lift in surprise and embarrassment as I realize what happened. I must have fallen asleep on the way here! I hold perfectly still while the man on my right unties the blindfold. It falls away, and I wince at the sunlight that suddenly almost blinds me. "Ah! That is really bright..."

Thankfully, the light is blocked a moment later by the person on my left getting out of the vehicle, giving my eyes enough time to adjust and my brain to awaken fully. Wait, that's Loki... My eyes widen in horrified astonishment. Oh my gosh! I fell asleep on Loki's shoulder! Victoria, what the heck is wrong with you?! You get kidnapped and almost killed by this man, and then you go and fall asleep on his shoulder?! I shake my head in aggravation. Seriously, I'm starting to feel like I'm living in some crazy fan fiction story or something...

I climb out of the truck and look around, raising my eyebrows in surprise. We are literally in the middle of nowhere. The only building in sight is a large, abandoned warehouse that the vehicles are parked in front of. Other than that, there is an obviously overused road leading to it, and then nothing but the surrounding countryside. It's pretty, with clusters of trees dotting the area, a carpet of bright green grass covering the ground, and the outskirts of a forest of trees in the distance. The terrain seems to rise around us, giving a secluded feel to the area, as though we are in a valley of sorts. Nature seems to be trying to reclaim the old warehouse, with climbing vines clinging to the sides and bushes and young trees attaching themselves to the edges. It looks wild and abandoned, but I don't mind that. It has a beauty of its own.

Loki's eight men disperse, going in different directions and setting up a perimeter all around the area under Clint's supervision. Loki turns and motions for me to follow him, walking out past the warehouse and into a wide open area beside it. A slight breeze stirs the trees around us, cooling the air a bit, but not enough to take away the heat of the sun. Judging by the heat intensity, I assume it's probably mid-summer, since I don't know the actual date and forgot to ask. I should feel bad for Loki, a Jotun, wearing long sleeves and pants while the sun beats down mercilessly. But after nearly killing me an hour or two ago, I can't say I'm all that concerned for him. If anything, he deserves it. Sure, I meant for him to get upset- I needed to cloud his judgement- but not that upset! He needs to work on his temper...

"Since you cannot control your powers, I assume you did not know you possessed them." Loki's sudden statement snaps me out of my thoughts. I look over— and up— at him.

"No, I had no idea until you tried to mind control me," I reply, tone rather bitter. Loki seems to notice, giving me a sideways glance, but he doesn't comment on it.

"Then you do not know the full extent of your powers."

I can't tell if that's a question or a statement, but I answer anyway. "No. All I know is that I can make myself invisible."

Loki nods. "Can you spar?"

"Not nearly as well as you can."

"But you can."

I shake my head. "I've not had formal training. I know enough to defend myself from gangsters and bullies living in the streets. Decided it was necessary after getting mugged when I moved into the city last year. But everything I learned came from Youtube. Nothing formal."

Loki's brow furrows. "Youtube?"

I smirk and roll my eyes. "Oh, right, I forgot. You don't have a clue what the internet is." I shake my head in mock sympathy. "You poor man. Ah well, I guess you'll have to get Barton to show you later, since you took my internet access. I just meant that I learned by watching other people fight, not by actually having anyone teach me."

Loki nods. "Can you use a weapon of any kind?"

"No, I've never been trained on that either. Though I'm sure if the right kind of situation arose, I'd figure out how to use a weapon of some kind to defend myself, even if it was a kitchen knife. Can't be picky in times like that."

We stop in the shade of a large chestnut oak, and I can instantly feel the difference in temperature underneath the tree. Loki does too, as evidenced by his quiet sigh of relief. We are both silent for a moment, taking in the smells and sounds of the nature that surrounds us. I can hear birds chirping at each other, and the breeze continues to stir the trees, making them dance. It's a very peaceful place, this little secluded area. In fact, it reminds me of home.

"It seems you have much to learn," Loki finally says, breaking the silence. I huff a laugh.

"You don't say," I drawl. After one more moment of taking in the wild beauty surrounding us, I turn to face my captor, arms crossed. "Alright. Where do we start?"

Loki turns to face me as well, a hint of his signature smirk on his face. "Where one should always start. At the beginning."

I roll my eyes. "I assume that means the basics."

Loki's smirk grows. "Smart one, aren't you?"

I lower my brows at him, but I can't really bring myself to smirk back. Not two hours ago he was strangling me, and now he's teasing me? If he wants me to warm up to him that fast, he's got another thing coming. "Yes I am, thank you," I respond dryly. "Now can you teach the smart one a few things so she'll be smarter?" I ask with a raised eyebrow. We only have so long, and I want to learn as much as possible.

"Such as?" Loki responds with a question of his own.

I frown slightly. He's going to let me choose? "Uh, how about helping me figure out how to control my power? I don't want to randomly disappear and freak people out."

Loki smirks. "Yes, I can envision you doing that."

I roll my eyes again. "It's not like you wouldn't do the same thing on purpose, god of mischief."

Loki chuckles. "I can't deny that." Then he sits down on the carpet of grass, motioning for me to do the same. I furrow my brows, but comply, wondering what he's doing. We both sit Indian style, facing each other, and Loki holds out his hands. "Give me your hands."

I frown, suspicious. "What are you going to do?"

Loki meets my eyes, smirking again. "I'm not going to hurt you."

I study him for a moment, knowing how unpredictable he can be. There's something else in his eyes that causes me to trust him though, even just a tiny bit, so I cautiously put my hands in his, unsure of what to expect. He grasps my hands lightly, but firmly, and then I feel something like energy flowing from his hands into me. I give a slight gasp of surprise, but relax when I realize the energy is very similar to my own. Looking down at my hands, I see that they are beginning to glow blue again, and the blue mixes with the green of Loki's magic. Then I notice something.

Wait, why is his magic so similar to my energy? That doesn't make any—

Suddenly, Loki's grip on my hands tightens. I look up at him. His eyes are closed in concentration, but there is a very concerning frown on his face. He looks angry. My heart starts to speed up, remembering the last time he looked that angry. Before I can calm myself, his eyes snap open, and I start with surprise. He glares straight into my eyes, fury swirling in his unnaturally blue ones. "You lied to me."

I immediately tense. "What do you mean?" I ask, trying to control my fear. If he's talking about me tricking him earlier...I'm done for.

But Loki's next words shock me beyond anything I could have imagined.

"You're Asgardian."

Author's Note: Well. That was unexpected. Ehehehehehe.

Anywho, what do you think? Do you like it? I certainly hope so. I have big plans for this book, and I can hardly wait to share them with you!

Signing off, AuthorsDream.