I had no reply for Thorin except to say I thought he should have been more careful with Hati, but that would have been the equivalent of poking a beehive with a stick.

“This won’t be luxury, Solina. It’s a desert, and we’re going in with the barest of what we need to get by.”

I bit my lip and bobbed my chin in a curt nod. “I’m sure I’ll be totally unprepared and be a complete wuss. I apologize in advance.”

Thorin cracked a smile. “Thanks for the warning.”

I followed him to the front door, expecting Val and Baldur to fall in behind us, but Thorin and I stepped into the hallway alone. “Where are the others?”

“I had already sent Val and Baldur back to Vegas before Skyla told us her news. It’s Helen’s headquarters. The only other place Skoll would be is at Helen’s side. Val and Baldur are going to try to catch Skoll’s trail there. If Skyla is wrong, and if Helen doesn’t have a mole in the Aerie, I still want to get my hands on that wolf.”

“Maybe we should switch places.” I winked at Thorin. “Let Baldur and Val rough it in the desert.”

When Thorin and I stopped before a bay of elevators, he pressed the call button. “No, I want you far away from Helen. Skoll poses much less threat and is more vulnerable on his own. Divide and conquer.”

The elevator bell chimed, and the door slid apart to an empty car. Thorin and I stepped inside, and he pushed the button for the lobby.

“Couldn’t the same be said for us?” I asked. “We’re divided. Easier to conquer.”

Thorin huffed a breath through his nose. “I’ve already raised all your doubts for myself. At some point, we have to stop questioning and start acting. You said so yourself.”

“Using my own words against me? Good strategy.”

The elevator opened, and Thorin and I strolled across the elegant lobby. People turned to watch him—he had that kind of presence. He’d been a god for eons, while I’d only played at it for a few months. My humanity still shrouded me while Thorin’s fit like a sheer veil, barely hiding the divinity beneath.

“People notice you,” I said in a low voice only he could hear. “Everywhere we go, you turn heads. It’s like they can tell something’s different about you.”

Thorin’s mouth curved into a crooked smile. “They’re looking at you, too.”

“No…” My protest started and stopped on that single word.

The gazes that first settled on him had turned to me, studying, evaluating.

“They’re probably all wondering what a guy like you is doing with a girl like me.”

Thorin snorted. “The only person you’re fooling is yourself, Sunshine.”

A valet had brought the Yukon from the parking lot and left it idling under the portico for us. Thorin tipped him and slid behind the wheel while I climbed into the passenger seat. Thorin pulled out from the hotel’s driveway and eased into traffic. The sun had set, and the city lights limned his face—he looked like a two-dimensional illustration.

Thorin drove the whole way in silence, but as we pulled into the parking lot of a camping supply store, he took a deep breath and said, “I’ll admit I’ve had conflicting interests before, but now I have Mjölnir, and I’ve been released from my vows to Baldur.” He turned to me, and conviction blazed in his dark eyes. “There’s nothing but you to hold me back.”

“Me? How am I going to hold you back? I’ve never had the least bit of influence on you.”

The muscle in Thorin’s jaw clenched as he fought some internal battle. “That’s not entirely true. But I’m asking you to trust me, no matter what. No matter if I say or do something that you don’t agree with, or that pisses you off. I’m doing what’s best for me, and that happens to be what’s best for you, too.”

I raised a sardonic eyebrow. “You see the world through your own Thorin-colored lenses, don’t you?”

Thorin smirked. “You should give it a try sometime. It’s an exceptional view. But you’re deflecting. Do you trust me or not?”

“I—” My voice broke. I cleared my throat and tried again. “I don’t follow blindly.”

“I’m not asking you to do that.”

I studied Thorin’s face, although the darkness hid most of it. Somehow, he managed to exude an air of surety, confidence, and capability, offering a reassurance I hadn’t realized I wanted until that moment. I bit my bottom lip as the tension built between us. He wouldn’t let the issue go until I gave him an answer.

“Okay.” I let out a heavy breath. “I trust you.”

Thorin exhaled and seemed to relax. “Good answer, Sunshine.”

After our shopping spree, we loaded the SUV with every camping necessity Thorin could think of—packs, a tent, water bottles, food—and returned to the hotel for one last night of luxury. Back in our room, Thorin unloaded his laptop from its carry case while I dug through our purchases, packing things into an honest-to-god long-distance trekking backpack complete with a hip belt, internal frame, and a money-back guarantee if carrying it didn’t result in blisters and a back ache.

“I’ve got to catch up on a couple of things,” Thorin said. “Can you keep yourself busy and out of trouble for a while?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Really? Did you just say that? Because, as I recall, the last person to have their butt in a jam was not me.”

“There’s no Skyla around to back you up this time.”

“You said you were going to be all I needed from now on.”

Thorin cracked a slow grin and arched an eyebrow. I immediately regretted my choice of words. “And anytime you want me to prove it to you”—he glanced toward the bedroom he had claimed for himself—“I’m right down the hall.”

I set my hands on my hips and jutted my chin. “You also said you have plenty of self-restraint.”

“I can’t help it if you throw yourself at me.”

“In your dreams.” I picked up the closest thing at hand, a pillow from the sofa, and chucked it at him.

Thorin laughed and ducked around the corner, disappearing into his bedroom. I went back to shoving things into my pack so I wouldn’t meditate on how exasperating I found my roommate. After finishing that chore, I dug out the room-service menu and ordered dinner.

Some time later, Thorin shuffled into the living room, his pale hair hanging loose and unkempt around his face. My fingers flinched in an unconscious urge to smooth the unruly strands.

“Do I smell pizza?” he asked.

I motioned toward the box next to me on the coffee table. “Room service just left.”

“Coffee?” he asked on his way to the kitchenette.

“No caffeine for me this late, but thanks.”

After he finished preparing the coffee pot, Thorin returned to the living room and plopped down next to me on the sofa. “Baldur and Val said they’ve had no luck yet, but they’re going to keep looking.”

“You talked to them?”

“E-mail.”

“You take chances with Wi-fi?”

“Encrypted satellite modem.”