I nodded, “Right. Of course.” What?
As Mack helped me strap on my shoulder piece, Tore grabbed a sword from Bodie. It lit up like a lethal, blue beacon at his touch, but the only thing he wore on his top half was a clingy, sweaty tank top. His arms were completely bare—no magic armor.
“How come Tore can make his weapon light up without an arm piece?” I directed my question at Mack, but Tore was the one that answered.
“Because I’ve been using Asgardian weapons all my life. You’re still a baby. The power of the crystals in the weapons would tear you apart if you didn’t have the necklace and armor to channel the energy. Your body isn’t used to this yet. You’ll get there.”
My brows furrowed. “Did you just call me a baby?”
Tore grinned. He held his left arm out and drew two fingers toward his palm, motioning for me to come and get him. Bodie handed me a thin sword with a yellow-gold engraved hilt. When I grabbed it, energy shot from my necklace to my armor, before settling into the weapon. The tip glowed with a blue fire. I grinned. Wicked.
Tore held up one hand. “Disclaimer. Since you and I are demigods, if this were a dark energy weapon and it was to pierce one of our hearts, we would die. These are light energy weapons, and our systems aren’t averse to the power they wield, but they can still do some pretty major damage. So be careful.”
Shut up, I’m a demigod. Right. I forgot. I forced my trigger-happy arm to take a downer. “Got it. But what if it just cuts us?”
Tore shrugged. “You bleed a bit. Probably be completely healed within a few minutes.”
My eyes bugged. “A few minutes?”
Bodie sighed. “Demigod perk. Super jealous. It takes the rest of us an hour.”
An hour? No part of me had ever completely healed itself in an hour, much less a few minutes. “But I don’t get the speed healing, right? Because I’m . . . I don’t know, tethered to Midgard or something?”
Mack actually laughed at that, and Tore gave an all-out grin. “Pepper, since you put on that necklace, you’ve had your demigod ability to heal. Your power is doubly effective, since you’re a descendant of Eir. Don’t you remember breaking your rib last night with the elf?”
Oh my God. I did break it. I knew a bruise shouldn’t have hurt that much. But I’d been walking—well, limping—off the injury by the time the guys brought me home. What the hell? I healed my own broken rib?
“Hei.” Mack put his hands up. “Let’s not lump all elves together.”
Tore nodded in Mack’s direction. “Right. The night elf. My bad.”
Whoa. I can heal super-fast? Do I have any other new abilities? “Can I—hold on. What is that?” I looked down at my blade. I’d forgotten there was a weapon in my hand until it vibrated. “Uh, it’s moving. Or something.”
Tore shrugged. “It’s bored. Stop talking, and let’s train.”
It’s bored? It? Like it’s conscious? The blade is conscious? I couldn’t tell if Tore was kidding or not, but the energy the weapon gave off suggested it was very much alive. Or at least, it wasn’t a run of the mill inanimate object. Tore advanced on me, and I took my standard fencing position. He lightly clacked against my sword with a move I blocked with ease. But the reverberation from Tore’s blade was much more intense than a fencing sword’s. It took a few parries for me get a feel for this weapon. While I batted his blade away, Tore barked orders. “Jab! Feign left! Roll!”
I was just trying not to do anything stupid like cut my hair off. Note to self: Next time wear a bun.
Tore moved languidly around the complex, swinging his sword with seemingly no effort. He may have actually checked his watch while still keeping speed with me. Meanwhile, I flailed about, trying to get used to the heaviness of the weapon and the power of the energy surge it gave off when it struck something. When it looked like I might actually be putting Tore to sleep, I let out a frustrated sigh.
Tore raised one eyebrow. “Am I not going hard enough on you, Pepper?”
“You’re obviously bored. Don’t you think I can handle myself?” I challenged.
Tore didn’t respond. Instead, he kicked out his foot and struck me in the ankle, scooping my legs out from under me. As I went down, I dropped my sword and grabbed him by the neck. I landed flat on my back, the air rushing out of my lungs as Tore came down on top of me. He managed to retain control of his weapon, while slowing his descent with his free arm. He bore his weight on one arm, and while it meant he didn’t crush me, it also meant his hips were pinned against mine. All kinds of crazy hormones suddenly pinged around my body. At this proximity, there was zero way to not notice how good he smelled. Or how good he felt laying on top of me. Jeez, Allie. How long has it been since you went on a date? Clearly, the answer was too long because I so did not need to see Tore in that light. My once annoying protector, who also held the prize as Jerk Numero Uno in my new little social circle, was in no way the sexy, misunderstood bad boy my hormones were painting him to be. Get it together, Allie. There’s a time and a place. This moment, in the training room, this is neither.
Tore’s pupils dilated as he breathed slowly in and out. Each inhale brought increased pressure of his pelvis on mine, making my thoughts go all mushy. Again.
“Nice going, Pepper,” Tore whispered. “You almost stabbed yourself by falling on your sword, and brought your attacker down on top of you. But I can’t complain about the view.” His eyes slowly scrolled down my face to my neck. What? Did he just hit on me?
Before I could think up a witty reply, Mack hissed. “Night elves.”
Tore rolled off of me and jumped up like he’d been burned. His eyes scanned the complex as his sword flared to life with blue fire. “Where?”
Mack closed his eyes, breathing in and out deeply. “The same spot we killed their scout. Down the road.”
Tore snapped his fingers at me. “Take the armor off and keep quiet.”
Johann grabbed a large sword for himself and tossed another to Bodie. The boys were suiting up for battle, and they expected me to cower in the corner?
“No way. I want to help,” I replied. Tore blurred to my side in a movement so fast, I could barely track him.
“You’re not ready, and the armor might lead them to you. Take. It. Off.”