“Why does it have to be your responsibility?”

“Because even though I don’t have the proof, I know I’m one of them. It’s me who has to do this. An outsider. An objective third party.”

“And why should they believe you?”

Skyla shook her head. “They shouldn’t. That’s why I have to go and convince them.”

I pulled her into a tight hug and tried not to cry. “Other than Mani, you’re the best friend I’ve ever had. I don’t know what I’m going to do without you.”

“Trust Thorin.”

I pulled away and wrinkled my nose. “He’s proven he’s as fallible as the rest of us.”

“Loyalty is not a fault, Solina. You were willing to take the same risks for me and for Mani. If you wanted to stay safe, you wouldn’t be here right now. And if Thorin didn’t respect you, he’d have already locked you away somewhere.”

“I’m not as scared when you’re around,” I said. “I can’t talk to them like I talk to you.”

Skyla dipped her head and showed uncharacteristic humility. “It’s not forever, babe. I’ll be back, hopefully with a battalion of Odin’s finest battle divas.”

“And you’ve got to leave today?”

Skyla looked at the clock on the bedside table. “I’ve got to leave now. I’m catching a flight out in a couple hours. But don’t worry. I won’t leave you completely empty-handed. There’s something else I need to tell you.”

“What?”

Skyla grinned and waggled an eyebrow. “I think I know where Helen is keeping the wolf.”

Chapter Thirteen

After Skyla borrowed a set of clothes from me and got dressed, I bit my lip and fought the urge to beg her to stay. “Be safe,” I said. “And keep in touch.”

She hugged me. “I promise.”

Thorin was waiting for us outside my room when Skyla and I opened the door. “What’s going on?” he asked. “What have you two been scheming?”

Skyla cut her eyes to me and bit back a smile. “He acts like he knows us or something.”

Thorin frowned at me. “What are you up to, Sunshine?”

“You don’t have to look at me that way. I was going to tell you.”

“Sure you were.”

“No, really. I’m going to need your help.”

Thorin’s head tilted, his eyebrow arched. He was interested. “Oh, yeah?”

“Skyla’s time with Helen might have been useful after all. She’s got some leads on where Skoll hides out when he’s not chasing after me.” I turned to Skyla and gestured to Thorin. “Tell him.”

“Hati and Skoll were wolves, first and foremost.” Skyla looked at Thorin for confirmation. When he nodded, she continued. “Their human exterior is more mask than man. It goes against their nature to live in big cities around lots of people. Hati couldn’t hold down a day job because he didn’t do well with socially appropriate human behavior. Only Loki and Helen have managed to control them. Otherwise, they’re a public nuisance and a danger to Helen’s inconspicuousness.

“So, Helen makes Skoll go into hiding when she doesn’t need him because it keeps him out of trouble, but she keeps him close enough to call back at her whim.”

“While I agree with all you’re saying,” Thorin said, “it’s still a lot of speculation. If we are going to hunt Skoll, we need something more solid than that.”

Skyla nodded. “I overheard one of the guards talking about Helen last night, before Solina came and rescued us all.” She flashed me a smile, at which Thorin grimaced but said nothing. “One guy said he’d seen a lone wolf hanging around outside the warehouses. Then they argued about whether it was really just a coyote or not. The one guy was pretty damned insistent it was a wolf, though.”

Thorin rearranged his posture, standing taller and surer. “Presuming that the guard did see a wolf, and not a coyote, and presuming that wolf was Skoll, how do we know he’s still there? What if Helen’s moved him to another location after our escape?”

I put a hand on Thorin’s arm to turn his attention to me. “And what if she hasn’t? It’s as good of a place to look for him as any.”

Thorin’s brows drew together. “I couldn’t convince you to stay here, could I? Let me hunt him alone?”

I pointed to myself. “Bait, remember? Skoll wouldn’t let you get anywhere near him unless you have something he wants. And I think he wants me rather badly.”

Skyla bobbed her head. “Helen’s orders.”

I shook my head. “No. I mean, I’m sure Helen’s orders are encouragement enough, but don’t forget I killed Skoll’s brother. I know something about what’s motivating him. Skoll wants revenge. If he’s desperate enough, he’ll do anything to get it. It could make him rash and clumsy. It could make him vulnerable.”

Thorin gazed at me, his expression tinged with wariness. “I don’t know whether to be impressed or to be afraid of you.”

I snorted. “Did you expect that I would always be that naive and meek-mannered girl you picked up at the airport all those months ago?”

Thorin chuckled. “You were never meek, Sunshine.”

“When I get to the Aerie, I’m going to put a bug in the Valkyries’ ears,” Skyla said, steering the conversation back on path. “I’ll mention that you and Thorin are on your way to the desert to hunt Skoll.”

The plot sank in. “If Helen has a double agent in the Valkyries, she’ll pass the news to Helen, who’ll send Skoll out to meet us,” Thorin said.

“I’ll have the proof I need to show the Valkyries that they’ve been compromised. Then we can work together to flush out the mole.”

“And either way, we’ll have Skoll’s head.”

“I have to get a move on,” Skyla said. She swept me aside and went to the foyer. As she opened the door, she turned to Thorin. “I’ll call and leave you a message with an update.” Pointing a finger at both of us, she put on a stern face and said, “Play nice, you two.”

Skyla walked out and didn’t look back. I missed her the moment the door closed behind her. I turned to Thorin, who had shoved his hands into his jeans pockets and stared at the door, a reluctant look on his face as if, maybe, he shouldn’t have let her go.

“When should we leave?” I asked.

“Sunrise,” he said. “But we need to go out now and get supplies.”

I went into my room to grab my shoes but raised my voice so Thorin could hear me. “Hati worked for you for a while, didn’t he?”

“Skyla tell you that?”

“No, I read it in the police file on Mani’s murder. Hati worked for you, but not Skoll. But did you ever see him? Were they ever together?”

Thorin appeared in my doorway and rested a shoulder against the doorjamb. “I knew who Hati was but not what he was up to.” He looked down and scuffed the carpet with the toe of his boot. “And no, I never saw Skoll. Not in human form. It’s not the first time I’ve run into them since Ragnarok, but I never suspected Hati was going to do what he did. I thought all that was over with a long time ago. It’s no excuse. I shouldn’t have let down my guard.” Thorin took a deep breath, but whatever he was going to say next, he decided against.