She peeked over her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Though if I'd been a fraction slower, I'd have a broken nose right now. Well done."
He smiled, and her heart squeezed. It was a genuine, broad, toothy smile that made her smile in return. She liked the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled. And she noticed a dimple she’d not seen before. Every moment she looked at him, he grew more and more handsome. How was that possible?
"All right. So, if someone grabs you, the first thing you can do is throw your head back. The second option is to use your elbow or the tray in your hand. Like with your head, you can throw your elbow back and catch the guy in the nose, eye, throat, ribs, it doesn't matter. Any of those hits will make him let go."
"But... won't it make him angry? Won't he strike me?"
"Not if he knows what's good for him." Thor's eyes flashed with deadly lightning.
"You need to stop being scared of what they might do to you if you fight back and worry more about what they might do to you if you don't."
Elle knew all too well what happened when she didn't fight back. She'd had the bruises, cuts, and welts to prove it at one time or another.
Val had brought her to Midgard to become a new person. The person she wanted to be. And the person she wanted to be was strong. So fighting back was something she needed to learn.
"Here." Thor turned her to face him and put his hand on her shoulder. "Push my hands off and tell me no."
She brushed his hand away. "No, thank you."
Thor shook his head. "Say it forcefully. And don't say thank you. Tell me no."
She took a deep breath and pushed his hand a bit harder. "No."
"I didn't believe you for a minute." He put both hands on her shoulders. "Push my hand off and say, 'Don't touch me'."
She pushed his hand. "Please, don't touch me."
"No!" His voice rose, making her jump. "There. That right there, that's the problem. You're scared of everything."
Elle dropped her gaze. She didn't want to look weak in front of him. But she wasn't sure what he would do if she showed him what she was fully capable of.
A moment passed, and then Thor tilted her chin up.
"Someone hurt you.”
She swallowed hard as her eyes filled with tears. Memories flooded her.
The time her father found her sneaking food from the kitchen, and had forced it all into her mouth at once, causing her to choke until she threw up. Then he'd thrown her to the ground and made her clean it up with her bare hands. The time he’d told her to dance for his men and when she hadn’t, he’d kicked her to the floor. The time one of his men had grabbed her, and her father had laughed at her, letting him grope her instead of helping her.
"Elle?"
Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr kicked and bleated again, pulling her from her thoughts.
Her gaze whipped up as the memories faded. Thor's eyes flashed silver again, and he pulled her into his arms. His soft T-shirt pressed against her cheek, and she couldn't help but wrap her arms around his back and cling to him.
She'd never talked about the abuse. Not even with Val. Everyone in the kingdom knew what she'd suffered, but no one said anything. No one did anything. Only Val had taken to teaching her to fight. Aside from that, no one in her father's kingdom had cared.
A moment passed, and she relaxed into him, the sensation strange. For the first time in her life, she felt safe. Like no matter what happened, she would be protected… but there was something more… something deeper…
"All right," said Thor. "Let's start differently. What is the worst thing that could happen if you fight back?"
"They could hurt me," she said.
"But you've been hurt before. Being hurt is horrible, but you’ve lived through it, and so you know what that feels like, and now you don’t want to feel it again, correct?"
"True." She never admitted it to anyone before.
