“Baldur, take Solina away from here. Please.” Thorin’s voice sounded as if it had issued from a grizzly bear, and rage oozed from his pores until all humanity left him. “We both know it will take something as strong as Mjölnir to bring him down.”

Baldur met Thorin’s eyes, held his gaze for a moment, and nodded. He dropped Grim, flickered to Thorin’s side, and took hold of me. My ears popped, and blackness whirled before my eyes. We stopped outside the cavern. Low-hanging clouds and a stiff breeze stirred snow into icy whirlwinds.

“I’m going to get Skyla,” Baldur said. “Once she’s safely out, I’ll take you away from the mountain.”

“Mountain?”

“Mount Rainier. Grim has kept you in a glacial cave for almost two days. It’s a miracle you’ve survived.” Baldur popped out of sight. I counted several heartbeats, expecting his immediate return, but the minutes of his absence ticked by without his reappearance. My impatience urged me to do something, to take action… to fight. I needed Baldur. Thorin, too. Without the gods to help me off this mountain, I had nowhere to go. I stepped toward the cave but lost my balance when the ground shuddered. The ice shook and heaved as if the glacier meant to break apart.

Skyla’s voice rose above the din, panting and cursing like a sailor. “We’re on the same side, you crazy bitch!”

“It’s too late for that,” said Skyla’s opponent, Tori.

Where did she come from?

Tori heaved a breath and said, “Grim wants Solina dead.”

“You’re his slave? Can’t think for yourself?”

The two women tumbled out of the cavern into the open ice field a few yards away from me. Neither noticed my presence as they were too wrapped up in their fight.

“It’s for the greater good!” Tori screamed. Their feet scuffled over the ice, and they panted like dogs. They darted toward each other, pivoting in circles, occasionally falling to wrestle each other in the snow.

“Screw the greater good!” Skyla gasped for a breath. “The greater good never did me one single favor.”

“You… You want to throw it all away for her?” Condensation puffed from Tori’s mouth and nose like a steaming locomotive. “You risk the world for one woman?”

“For a brother and sister who were more family to me than my own blood.” Skyla backed away and huffed out her own steady stream of frozen breath. “Mani was ripped from me too soon. I’ll be damned if anyone takes his sister, too.”

The two fell against each other again. Skyla struck out with the heel of her hand, and Tori spouted a brutal shriek as something crunched—a joint or possibly a bone.

“The world will be destroyed.” Tori panted, obviously speaking through a great amount of pain. “You’ll have no one to blame but yourself.”

Baldur blipped to my side, clutching his ribs. Blood seeped between his fingers, and his breath came in rough spurts. “Tori’s appearance was unexpected. She got the jump on us.”

“What happened to you?”

“Tori had a blade, something infused with mistletoe is my guess.”

“Will you be okay?”

“I’ll manage.”

“What about Skyla’s gun?”

“Dropped in the tussle, I presume.” Baldur bent to scoop me up. He moved as if preparing to leave.

“No,” I said. “We can’t leave Skyla.”

Baldur frowned but turned us to face the fight.

“You could have helped us, Tori,” Skyla said in a raw and ragged voice.

Back on their feet again, the Valkyries were locked in a desperate embrace.

“You could have stopped Helen,” Skyla said. “You could have told me the truth about myself and let me help you lead the Valkyries on the path they were intended to take.”

“It’s no good. The Valkyries are lost. Forget them.”

“You’re a spineless bitch, Tori. The Valkyries are better off without you.”

Tori spat out a shriek that sheared through the crisp air and raised the hairs on the back of my neck. She pivoted, jerked Skyla off balance and jabbed a knee into her side. Skyla wheezed and fell to the ground as Tori turned and came for me.

My flames erupted in a cloak and cowl of blazing glory. Another set of clothing burned and gone, but Skyla was worth the risk of frostbite. I widened my stance and lowered my center of gravity. Tori could kick my butt in a fistfight, but let her see how she did against my fire.

“Solina,” Skyla called my name, warning me. She struggled to her feet.

Baldur moved, lightning fast, and knocked Tori aside. Before she regained her balance, I pounced.

Tori screamed. She shifted her weight, rolled, and threw me off. I scuttled back and regained my feet.

“Solina.” She breathed heavily, gritting her teeth. Her winter clothes had protected her, mostly, but a red welt rose on her cheek. Her gloves and winter coat hung in tatters. “It has to go this way. We can’t risk the wolf killing you.”

I bared my teeth at her and growled. “If you had my back, if you fought on my side, Skoll would never stand a chance. But instead, you chose to sacrifice me because why? Because it’s easier? Because Grim told you to?”

While I talked and held Tori’s attention, Baldur teleported himself behind her. Ice cracked under his feet, giving his position away. Tori spun, faced Baldur, and raised her knife, presumably the one laced with mistletoe. Baldur had already tasted that poison—no need for a second helping. I leapt forward, aiming to tackle Tori, but she danced aside, and I skidded on the ice, missing her by a breath. My flames sputtered. I had used most of the energy the apples had given me, and I had nearly reached the bottom of my fuel tank.

Skyla stumbled to her feet and clutched her side. She lunged, throwing a fist into Tori’s jaw. Tori wheeled back, and Skyla kicked her feet out from beneath her. Tori fell to her back and cried out. Skyla straddled Tori, sitting on her, and wrapped her hands around Tori’s neck.

“Solina,” Baldur said. “Kill your fire.”

“What? Why?”

“Just do it!” he ordered.

The command in his voice required compliance, and I couldn’t resist, especially in my weakened state. My flames guttered and died. Baldur threw his arms around me, and in the moment before he carried us away, someone screamed. The cry ended in a horrible gargle.

“No,” I said as my ears popped. “We can’t leave them.”

“My job is to protect you, Solina. I can’t take any more chances. We must go.”

Baldur dumped me in a room heated to sauna proportions and ordered me to sleep. I didn’t know where he had brought me, but I asked no questions and offered no protests. My mind sank into a white haze, and I embraced the reprieve it granted. The sandman carried me into unconsciousness, and all the gods together couldn’t have stopped him.

I woke later, shivers wracking my body with horrible spasms. My muscles cramped in such terrific pain I thought they might tear away from the bone. I might have screamed. Someone came and held me, feeding me warm medicinal drinks that burned my throat but eased the cramping. The trembling subsided, and I sank back into a blessed oblivion.