Something bashed Loki over the head waking him. He jolted upright, the sheets tangling around his waist. He looked around wildly, a painful knot throbbing on top of his head. Cassandra's staff hovered in the air in front of him, wiggling tauntingly in his direction, the raw crystal embedded in the top of the staff glowing brightly.

Brushing his hair out of his face, Loki glanced at the other bed. It was empty. The sheets and blanket were a jumble on the floor as if Cassandra had fallen out of bed. The smooth stones were icy cold against his bare feet as he crept across the floor. He peered into the bathroom but found no sign of Cassandra.

The staff floated toward the doorway. He followed the relic down the warren of hallways until they arrived outside in the training courtyard. The staff fell with a clatter.

Cassandra stood alone in her nightclothes near the wall. Head bowed, her long dark hair concealed her face from view.

"Cassandra?" Loki began hesitantly moving towards her.

She didn't respond.

Alarmed, Loki gently cupped her chin tilting her head back. Her normally warm brown eyes were blank. She appeared to be in a trance. He brushed his thumbs over her cheeks, while he tried to quell his panic at her unnatural pallor. "Cassandra? Come back to me, darling."

She sagged against him limply. Loki drew her face close to his and exhaled a cloud of cold air to rouse her.

Even that didn't work.

Whatever cruel vision had her in its grip refused to release her. Framing her beautiful face in his hands Loki leaned down and kissed her. Her lips were soft and still beneath his.

This is not how he wished their first kiss to be.

Loki had been fighting the desire to kiss her for months. He had believed he'd lost everything he ever cared about when Asgard was destroyed.

Loki was afraid to care. To lose Cassandra in the battle ahead and be left with nothing but more grief. But to lose her without trying, was infinitely worse.

If he continued to hold her at arm's length eventually, he'd lose her to another man. That he would not allow.

Gradually, Cassandra stirred to life beneath his lips, kissing him back.

A bright spark of desire unfurled in Loki's chest and he pulled her close deepening the kiss. Cassandra slid her hands up his chest, tangling her fingers in his hair the tips of her fingers brushing against his nape.

Her soft body molded to his as she twined her tongue with his in a familiar erotic dance. A scalding heat filled his veins and threatened to consume him as he held her in the circle of his arms.

Loki broke the kiss first, gazing down at Cassandra in wonder. She gazed back just as surprised, a pink flush decorating her cheeks. "I..." For once Loki was at a loss for words.

Instead, he lifted her around the waist, perching her on the low wall. Loki kissed her again, unable to resist the sweet taste of her. Cassandra was absolutely intoxicating.

Cassandra hooked a leg around his waist, locking him in place.

Loki could feel the warm core of her press against his groin. Her slender fingers curled at the waistband of his sleep pants and dipped beneath to caress his hipbone.

Loki jerked in surprise tearing his mouth away. Breathing hard, he stared down at Cassandra, vaguely wondering why he pulled away. She was willing and so was he. What stopped him from scooping her up and carrying her to bed to rid them both of the sexual tension that had been building for months?

She spoke first into the silence. Cassandra's hair was rumpled from his caresses, and a languid heat burned in her eyes. "Now, that's what I call a kiss. Why'd you stop?"

Loki was too rattled by his reaction to her to answer. Compressing his lips in a thin line, he spun on his heel and walked away. Maybe it was cowardly, but he was not ready to give Cassandra an answer. No matter the whirlpool of emotions churning inside of him.

He slipped into the mirror dimension, taking advantage of the realm's quiet to cool down. His clipped steps echoed off the walls as he marched toward the front entrance and out into the city.

Loki walked through the streets without a plan or idea of where he was going. Thoughts of Cassandra bombarded him from every direction. Of her soft demanding lips, her hands caressing his body. He ached with wanting her.

As the God of Mischief he did not check his impulses. He acted upon them. Loki gripped the back of his neck, gazing up at the cloudy night sky. What in Asgard's name was wrong with him?

*************************************************************************************

Cassandra watched Loki's back as the god retreated into the temple. He always left when things got interesting. It was a frustrating habit of his to leave her wanting.

She hopped down from the wall to start after him then stopped, her toes curling against the ground as reason set in. No. Chasing after him would solve nothing.

As frustrating as it might be Cassandra had to be patient.

Pushing Loki got her nowhere. The god was such a stubborn ass. But the fact that he kissed her was a good sign, right?

Something cold and wet brushed against her cheek. Cassandra blinked as snow began to sprinkle gently from the sky. She held out her hands to catch the first flakes of the season. The end of November had arrived and with it, winter drew closer with each passing day.

Cassandra shivered in her thin nightclothes as the wintry chill seeped into her skin though she did not immediately go inside to escape the cold.

Loki had been born into a wintry world called Jotunheim, the home of the Frost Giants. Cassandra only caught a glimpse of his true self once when he pinned her against the wall in Stark Tower.

Loki seemed to be ashamed of his true form, but he was just as handsome in his Jotun form as the Asgardian one he preferred. At least to her. Powder blue skin decorated with swirls and whorls and red eyes that glimmered with a sad kind of vulnerability.

Wrapping her arms around herself, Cassandra trembled. How had she gotten out here in the training yard? Loki's kiss had scrambled her brains. Made her forget for a moment what she saw in her latest vision.

Lurching forward, Cassandra headed for the library certain Master Wong would be up even at this late hour. With Loki gone, she must tell someone of her vision.

Sure enough the monk sat at his desk, reading through a stack of papers.

Wong looked up at her approach, frowning in disapproval. "Novice, it is late. You should be in bed."

Instead of arguing, Cassandra jumped straight to the point. "I've had another vision. Crop circles have been appearing around the world for months. I think I know what they are for."

"Tell me." The monk commanded.

"You spoke of Morgan le Fey's desire to create a human relic. I think her followers have been using items from the Collector's Collection to attempt to make one. Those crop circles aren't crop circles, they are ritual circles. Bone fragments were found at the last site so the sorceress hasn't succeeded yet."

Wong steepled his hands beneath his chin. "This is troubling news. If her followers succeed, they will be able to break the banishment and return Morgan to this world."

Cassandra froze. "Then what will happen?"

Wong smiled grimly. "You will fight her." He came around his desk and pulled several tomes off the nearest bookshelf. "We have less time than we thought. Come, its time we move past illusions to combat magic."

"The last time it took both the Merlin and the Ancient One to banish her." Cassandra objected.

The monk held her gaze steadily over the pile of books in his arms. "Which is why I've been training your Jotun lover. He has mastered several of the Ancient One's tomes already. Once he has finished memorizing those spells Loki of Asgard will be the new Sorcerer Supreme."

A laugh startled out of Cassandra. Of course. She'd wondered about Wong's willingness to train Loki from the beginning. The monk knew of Loki's criminal past. Given Strange's distrust of the god, Wong's willingness to accept Loki's presence in Kamar Taj had always baffled her. Now, it made perfect sense. The monk meant for Cassandra and Loki to face Morgan le Fey together.

Though she was afraid, the thought of Loki standing with her gave her some comfort.

A/N: The kiss finally happened, yay! I've been putting it off over and over again (I have a few deleted kiss scenes from earlier chapters on my flash drive) waiting for the right moment, but with Cassandra and Loki there is no perfect moment. Or at least I've never found one as I've worked on the plot. They're both so contrary and difficult to handle as a writer. So, I decided to squeeze the kiss in this chapter and make it work with the scene. Maybe not the smoothest move but I did my best!

And now we know why Loki's been training. He's the new Ancient One! As always, comment, vote, and have a great day!