“Your attachment to your humanity is a liability,” Thorin said. His eyes narrowed at my hand clasped in Val’s.
I pulled away and scowled at Val while Thorin continued.
“Helen will use it against you. As Baldur said, this is war, and there is no room for sentimentality.” Thorin raised his chin, peered down his nose at me, and held himself rigid like a military commander. All the softness he’d shown me the night before receded.
Baldur was entrusting his authority to Thorin, who had Mjölnir to back it up. Where did I fit into that hierarchy?
I met Thorin’s cold stare with my own bold gaze. I turned up my coffee cup, drained it dry, and set the mug on the counter without even a clink to give away my irritation. “It’s business as usual, isn’t it? You, Thorin, overbearing tightwad.” I ignored the choking noise Val made. “Me, Miss Mundy, messy obligation. Just don’t forget I’m not as helpless as I used to be, and you made me a promise.”
Thorin nodded. “Skoll’s head on a silver platter. I haven’t forgotten.”
“Good.” I went to the kitchenette for a coffee refill, turning my back on Val and Thorin before I said or did something regrettable.
Skyla came scooting after me as the low rumble of male conversation filled the room. “He didn’t mean it as harsh as it sounded.”
“He’s right, though,” I said. “As much as I hate admitting it. My humanity is a liability, as well as my sentimentality. Regardless of our differences, I do have a great deal of sentimentality for my parents. Helen could easily use that against me. I’ve got to do something more proactive to protect them. I just don’t know what.”
Skyla tapped a finger against her bottom lip and furrowed her brow. “Maybe you could tell them the truth, or…” She inhaled a sudden sharp breath, and her face brightened. “Baldur.”
“What about him?”
“This network of his—why can’t he use it to watch out for your parents? They have unlimited resources, Solina. Ask Baldur to put guards on your parents or something like that.”
“You think that would work? You think he would go for it?”
Skyla raised a shoulder and dropped it. “All you can do is ask.”
Taking her advice, I pulled Baldur aside and pleaded my case—my parents’ case, to be precise.
Baldur flushed and dropped his gaze. He worried his thumbnail as if picking a rough cuticle. “It shames me that you had to ask. I should have thought to do such a thing myself.” He raised his blue eyes and peered at me through cinnamon lashes. “Forgive me, Solina. And of course. I’ll make the call now and have someone stationed at your parents’ house within the hour.”
“Discreetly, though, okay?”
He nodded. “Of course. The less attention we attract, mortal or supernatural, the better.”
I reached around his massive shoulders and squeezed him in a tight hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Baldur chuckled and patted my back. “You don’t have to thank me. As I said, I should have thought of this myself. Thorin would say it’s a smart tactical move that benefits us all.”
I harrumphed and pulled away. “Thorin says a lot of things. Doesn’t mean he’s always right. But in this case, I won’t argue.”
Baldur brushed his knuckles over my chin, a fatherly rebuff. “Thorin has always been a singular sort. We haven’t been required to access our humanity in a long time, and it’s like shrugging on a dusty, stiff old cloak. But the longer we wear it, the more comfortable and natural it feels. Perhaps Thorin’s humanity needs a little more time to break in, but it will. Just be patient with him.”
“Hmm. If you say so.”
Baldur’s grin widened, and he winked. “Trust me.”
Later in the evening, Skyla came into my room, plopped on the bed beside me, and tugged at a few strands of my hair, separating it into thirds as if she meant to braid it. I had hidden away from the guys, pretending to watch a pay-per-view movie when, really, I was spending that time replaying the contrasting scenes of the gentle man from last night against the harsh but familiar Thorin who had basically told me again how my life meant nothing beyond the guarantee of his own survival. He had gotten into my head—maybe into my heart a little, too—and I hadn’t quite figured out how to get him out.
“What is it?” I turned my attention to Skyla.
Skyla reached the end of the thin plait she had woven into my hair and started another row. “I wanted to talk to you.”
“’Bout what?”
“The Valkyries. They would be an amazing weapon to have on our side. We know Helen has infiltrated at least some of them. I want to find out how far the corruption goes.”
“And then what?”
Skyla grinned and sliced a hand through the air. “Then I’m going to cut it out. Get them back on our side—loyal and dedicated.”
I sat up and folded my legs beneath me. “How are you going to do that?”
“I’m going back to the Aerie.”
I grabbed her arm. “You can’t leave me. I just got you back.”
“I have to, girlfriend.” Skyla pried my death grip from her arm. “I can’t let Helen corrupt our best allies.”
“You can’t leave me alone with them.”
Skyla gave me a knowing look. “You mean you don’t want me to leave you alone with him, with Thorin.”
“Him too.”
Skyla took my hands and held them in hers. Her big, earnest eyes were pleading with me. “This is my purpose, Solina. Save the Valkyries from the poison within. It’s my part to play in this. Once they’re whole again, the Valkyries can assume their rightful place at the side of the Aesir. Helen will never be able to defeat you.”
