“It’s like a dream. It’s hard to believe any of it might be real. I don’t think I’m fully myself when I come here. Part of me is somewhere else.”

“The part of you that comes here is the spirit of Sol that gives you your ability with fire.” Thorin stopped working again and gave me a solemn look. “So long as you live, you remain tethered to her. She is you, and you are her. That which defines you as Sol is not tangible. Your spirit can exist in Asgard, but not your humanity.”

I motioned toward the burnt-out skyline behind us. “Do you think it could be rebuilt?”

“I would have said no before, but I’m beginning to wonder.”

“I could stay and help you,” I said. “I like it here.”

“When you are separated like this, you are putting yourself in danger. If Helen found you in the earthly realm right now, you would be easy prey. This is only a half life for you. You must go back.”

“And leave you here, alone?”

“I’ve been alone for centuries, Sunshine.”

I crossed the yard and stopped at a spot that kept the rock pile between us. “What happened to you?”

Thorin, moving like a snake, slithered around the meager barricade of stones and towered over me, his eyes blackened by the ferocity of his imperative. “Forget about me. Baldur will take you to his home and protect you. Forget about going after Helen. Forget about Skoll. Keep yourself alive. Forgive me for the comic-book dialogue, but the fate of your world rests on your life, and you cannot jeopardize that on my behalf. Not for me, not for Val, not for Skyla, the Valkyries, your parents, or your brother. If Helen wins, if Skoll takes you, then all of that is gone. My life doesn’t even begin to weigh on that scale.”

Thorin’s hand shot out and latched onto my upper arm, squeezing. “Tell me you understand.”

“I understand.” I returned his bold gaze and didn’t shrug off his grip, although my arm throbbed in protest.

“Tell me you’ll do as I say.”

“You want me to forget about you?”

Thorin snarled. “Yes.”

I spread my lips into a thin, defiant smile. “I’ve never done a damn thing you told me to do before, Thorin, and I don’t plan to start doing it now.”

I awoke with a gasp. The sudden shift from Idun’s garden to the real world upset my sense of balance, and the room swirled around me. The howl of Thorin’s outrage echoed in my ears, but the man himself remained in Asgard, trapped. The cabin breathed as a squall of wind passed by. I inhaled several deep breaths and sent them out in one therapeutic whoosh. When my heartbeat settled into a normal rhythm again, I eased against the headboard and let my mind drift back, replaying my encounter with Thorin.

Thorin’s argument presented solid reasoning. His life for the fate of the world? Logically, I would have said no, he wasn’t worth that much. Something inside me wanted to disagree. I shifted in the big, empty bed and sat up, intending to go to the kitchen for a drink of water. I considered finding something mind-numbing to watch on TV and shutting out my thoughts for a bit. Going back to sleep was a hopeless goal.

As I reached across the bed to snap on the lamp, I noticed something on the pillow beside me, something heavy enough to sink into its downy filling. When my fingers curled around the item, I recognized the shape, but it radiated none of its usual warmth. All my aches and pains drained away as panic sent me racing from the bed, calling for Skyla.

Skyla threw open her bedroom door and rushed to meet me in the living room. Whatever she saw on my face sent the blood draining from her own. “What is it?” she demanded. “Helen? Skoll?”

“No.” I presented my discovery. Skyla looked down at my open hand and gasped.

By then Baldur had joined us. He saw my prize and swore. “Mjölnir? Is Magni back?”

“No. I found it lying on the pillow next to me.”

“What does it mean?” Skyla asked.

Baldur shook his head. “Nothing good. Mjölnir would never leave Magni unless it was taken from him unwittingly or if he lost the will to possess it.”

“Lost his will?” Skyla asked. “Like…” She swallowed and started again. “Like, if he died?”

“It only means he’s lost the force of will required to possess Mjölnir. Something terrible has happened, but I cannot presume to know what.”

“He’s not dead,” I said. I told Baldur and Skyla about Asgard and what Thorin had said in Idun’s garden about not being able to leave. “You can go there and get him, Baldur. You can make him leave.”

Baldur shook his head. “I’m afraid not. Not without knowing where Magni’s corporeal body is. His godhood cannot exist in this plane without his body.”

“Are you saying Asgard is, like, an afterlife or something? You have to be a spirit to go there?”

“Not an afterlife. Just an alternate plane of existence with different physical laws.”

“We have to go back to the glacier,” I said. “When I lose things, I always look in the last place I saw them.”

“He’s not a set of keys. You’re in no condition to go traipsing around Mount Rainier. You nearly froze to death, Solina.”

“If Thorin hadn’t come for me, I probably would have. He came for you when you needed him, too, Baldur. You’re going to abandon him when he needs the favor returned?”

Baldur’s face crumpled. “No, but I’ve got Nina to think about, and keeping you safe is above everything else.”

I squawked and pounded a fist on my thigh. “Why can’t you just blip over there and take a look?”

Baldur sucked in a deep breath and blew it out in a rush. “Yes. I can do that much, at least.”

“Skyla,” I asked, “are you still planning to go back to the Aerie?”

Skyla shrugged. “Well, I was—”

“Good. Just promise me you’ll make time to look for Val.”

“Solina, you know how I—”

“I don’t want to hear it,” I said. “We’re not going to abandon people every time a little bit of trouble comes along. If you find Val, tell him everything he’s missed.” I turned and pointed at Baldur. “You get your ass back up that mountain and find out what happened to Thorin and Grim.”

Baldur shook his head and gave me a defeated smile. “Are you sure you’re not fully Aesir? You command like a full-blooded goddess.”

I braced my hands on my hips and managed to peer down my nose at him despite his height advantage. “I’m a fast learner.”

Chapter Twenty-eight

After Skyla left for the Aerie, Baldur made me demonstrate the extent of my recuperation before he agreed to leave me alone with Nina as my only companion. I managed to create a palm-sized fireball but had to stop when dizziness overwhelmed me.

“This goes against my better judgment,” Baldur said.

“Your better judgment sucks,” I said.

Baldur winced, and his face reddened. “You have a fiery tongue, girl. My advice is to use honey rather than acid when you’re asking for favors.”