My shoulders slumped. “I guess not.”

“The same applies to this situation. Eventually this new aspect of your life will become second nature.”

“I guess you speak from experience, don’t you?”

Thorin merely arched an eyebrow and ignored my question as he reached for the collar of my borrowed T-shirt, one belonging to him, judging by its size. I assumed my dress had not survived the fire. My cheeks reddened as I mourned the loss of my modesty. I hoped Thorin had possessed the decency to throw a blanket over my bare behind before carrying me to his boat.

“There’s one more thing you might want to know.” Thorin tugged the shirt collar down, reminding me of how he’d manhandled me in front of an audience the night before.

I slapped at his hands. “Stop doing that.”

“Look at yourself,” he said. “Your wounds are healed.”

“What?” I yanked up my shirt and examined my ribs. Thorin was right. The bandages were gone, and the skin was smooth and white, as pure as if my flesh had never been rent by fangs and claws. “Ohh,” I moaned, clutching my stomach.

Thorin put his hand on my shoulder. “What is it?”

“I’m gonna be sick again.”

I sat in the fresh air on the deck of the Mjölnir as Thorin steered us into Resurrection Bay. It was early evening, but the sun was still high in the sky. I wondered if the long summer days were something people who weren’t born in Alaska adjusted to eventually. Or did they always long for more balance between darkness and light?

As Thorin reversed his yacht into its slip, Skyla and Val dashed onto the dock to meet us. Val jumped onto the dive platform and rushed up the steps into the interior of the boat before Thorin shut off the engine. I held my breath, waiting to see what Val would do. He shot a dirty look at Thorin and rushed to gather me into a hug. He wasn’t yelling yet, so I returned his embrace. Skyla ignored us and tied the mooring lines in place.

“Val, let up,” I said. “You’re squeezing the breath out of me.”

“It’s either hug you or shake you ’til your teeth clack.”

“I’m not your wayward child. You have no right to be upset with me.”

Val took me by my arms and held me so he could peer into my face. “I was scared for you. I care about you, and that gives me every right.”

“Not to threaten me, it doesn’t. At this point you’re either with me or against me. Please, Val, if you know something that can help us, tell me what it is.”

Val released me and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I imagine you know more than me. These things that have happened are familiar, but there’s no foretelling about this. None of it makes sense.”

“What did you find out from Helen Locke?” Skyla asked.

“Not bloody much,” Thorin said, joining the party after finishing his docking duties. “Our little ball of sunshine set the hotel room on fire before we could get any answers.”

Everyone spoke at once.

“On fire?” Val said.

“You did it again?” Skyla asked.

“She wasn’t going to tell us anything anyway,” I said.

Thorin waved his hand, signaling for quiet. “They know who she is and, more importantly, what she is. If whoever was trying to kill her only suspected her identity before, then now they have confirmation.”

“But you’re not sure it was Helen?” Val asked.

“You know her, too?” I asked.

Both men shot me petulant looks. I pursed my lips and returned their glare.

“I’m sure that if it wasn’t Helen, then she knows who it was,” Thorin said.

“I want to hear about this fire,” Val said.

“Do you know more about how you do it?” Skyla asked.

I shook my head. “I thought I felt something different this time, but I don’t know what it was. It still seems to have a lot to do with my emotions. I have to be pretty freaked out for it to work.”

“So what now?” Skyla asked.

“We laid our traps,” Thorin said. “Now we wait to see who takes the bait.”

“I don’t want anyone to take the bait,” I said. “I want to live to see another day or two… or several thousand of them, actually.”

Skyla patted my shoulder. “They’ll have to get through some tough barriers first. I got your back, girlfriend.”

A crash of thunder boomed overhead. We all looked up at the sky. Dark clouds gathered along the horizon. Night was on its way, but the storm would likely arrive before the darkness. “Let’s get inside,” Thorin said.

Val put his hand on my shoulder. “I’ll help you carry your things. Where are your bags?”

I waved him off. “I got them. It wasn’t much more than an overnight bag anyway.”

“What about your shoulder?”

I gave him a crooked smile. “That’s an interesting story as well.”

Inside the apartment over Thorin’s store, I filled a teapot with water and got out mugs. Skyla and Thorin went into the living room, but Val stayed at my side, attentive, intent, and all but breathing down my neck.

I reached around him and opened the cabinet where Thorin stored the tea boxes. “What is it? Why are you hovering?”

“You’re really all right?” Val asked. I tugged down my shirt collar and raised an eyebrow. Val shook his head. “It’s miraculous.”

“Something like that.”

“I always thought there was something special about you.”

I turned to the fridge and opened it to search for some kind of dairy product appropriate for the tea. “You did?” I came away, carrying a jug of skim milk and a carton of half-and-half.

“Your spirit exudes light, Solina. I’d have to be dead not to sense it.”

“Did you know who I was the first time you met me? I mean, in relation to what has been happening.”