I opened the door to my dad’s shop and heard laughter. My parents were both smiling at Vali, their faces happy and relaxed. Well, damn, it certainly hadn’t taken long for Vali to win over my folks.

“Hey,” I said. “Vali, I need a minute.”

Vali walked over to me and put his arm around my waist. “What is it?”

“Loki,” I whispered. “Outside.”

“Take me to him,” Vali growled under his breath.

I spun to face my parents. “Mom, Dad, we’ve got to go.”

I hesitated, slowly realizing how freaking weird that sounded. “I mean, we’re going to head into town. I really want to show Vali the, uh—” I paused and tried desperately to think of something, anything, in downtown Pinevale that would be worth showing off.

“The gazebo,” I said, finally. “I want to show him the gazebo. So, we’ll just be going. Now. Right now.”

Mom smiled. “Well, what do you two want for dinner? We have plenty of moose, and I’ll start on the bread right away. You could get some ice cream from Plourde’s, maybe? And some wine?”

I tried very hard to smile at my parents like a normal person. “Yeah. That sounds great. We’ll get ice cream and wine.”

Vali opened the door, the silver bell chiming above him, and I followed, bracing myself for the blast of cold air. As I stepped onto the ice of my parents’ driveway and pulled the door closed behind us, I heard the hiss of metal against leather. I turned and saw Hrotti gleaming in the winter light.

“Father,” Vali hissed, staring down the length of his blade at Loki, who was still leaning against the cold metal wall of McDonald’s Auto Repair.

“Welcome back, son,” said Loki.

“Wait!” I yelled, pressing my hand to Vali’s chest.

The world spun—

—And it was no longer cold. I blinked as my surroundings swam slowly into focus. We were in a warm, brightly lit room, with huge, open windows. The sparkle of light on water filled the windows, almost blinding me. I turned away to face a back wall covered with books. The floor was a jumbled mess of bags, blankets, and baby accoutrements.

“Karen!” Caroline cried.

She was sitting on an enormous, round bed in the center of the room, surrounded by a deep nest of pillows, books, and what looked like every toy the Baby Einstein company had ever made. Tiny Adelina nestled against her chest. Loki walked to the bed, kissing Caroline’s cheek as he took the white-swaddled infant from her arms. He picked a careful path around boxes of diapers, fuzzy pink blankets, and black-and-white checkered toys to stand in front of Vali. Hrotti hovered in the air between them, gleaming a cold blue in the odd, warm light of the room.

“I should have told you,” Loki said, smiling at the baby in his arms. “Vali, you’ve got a sister.”

Vali did not respond, and a knot of fear settled in my stomach.

Caroline nodded formally at Vali. “It’s an honor to see you again,” she said.

Vali shifted, his body tensing as he brought Hrotti over his head. The sharp metal hissed as it slid into the sheath across his back. I dared to breathe again. Vali stepped away from my side, walking slowly around the room. He stared out the windows, then paced to the back wall, running his hands along the bookcases. Loki, Caroline, and I watched him silently.

“This place has changed,” Vali finally said.

“Much has changed,” Loki replied.

Vali moved to stand directly in front of Loki. He was taller than his father, I realized with a jolt of surprise. The air between them seemed to thicken somewhat, almost like a thunderstorm was approaching.

“Father,” Vali began.

Baby Adelina hiccupped once against Loki’s neck and began to scream in her high pitched and piercing infant voice. Vali’s eyes widened, and he took a step back.

“Oh, is she hungry?” Caroline asked. “I can take her.”

Loki frowned. “No, I don’t think she’s hungry. I think she just wants to move.” He pressed her tiny body against his chest and began to walk, bouncing Adelina in his arms. Her shrill wailing continued.

“Hold on,” Caroline said, pulling her phone from somewhere in the sheets of the vast, white bed.. “Her last feeding ended, uh, twenty-three minutes ago. So, yeah, she’s probably not hungry.” Caroline’s forehead creased. “But she hasn’t slept in almost five hours, and the book says she should be sleeping every ninety minutes. Loki, I think we should call Dr. Singh again.”

Loki sighed. “If you wish.”

Caroline turned to me with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. Apparently, Adelina doesn’t exactly sleep.”

“Of course, neither do I,” said Loki.

He’d made a full circuit of the room, and he now stood next to the bed, bouncing Adelina’s white-clad body gently in his long arms. Adelina’s cries finally settled to hiccupping chirps as she nestled against the hollow of his neck.

I wrapped my hand around Vali’s arm. “Can we talk?” I whispered.

Vali nodded and turned toward the bookcases. I followed him through a small doorway into a bathroom with another wall of windows open to the vast, glittering sea. What looked like a very expensive breast pump balanced precariously on the copper rim of an enormous bathtub, and almost every surface was cluttered with baby-related detritus.

Vali snorted as the door closed silently behind us. “This place is nothing like it used to be,” he muttered. “What the hell is he getting at, changing it like this?”

I took a deep breath, trying to find a place to sit that wasn’t covered with empty baby bottles or tiny pink clothes.

“Maybe your dad’s not like he used to be, either,” I said.

Vali stared at me. “What are you trying to say?”

“Look, I’ve gotten to know Loki a little more, and—” I stopped, struggling to find the right words. I couldn’t exactly say I liked Loki; there was something about him that made my skin crawl. But—

“Don’t kill him,” I said, feeling ridiculous. “Please.”

Vali’s brow furrowed.

“I know you’re angry,” I said, haltingly, “and you have every right to be. And I understand why you’d want to go live in that house on the beach, like Óðinn offered. I just...I think it’s a bad deal, killing your dad.”

My shoulders slumped. That had to be the worst argument against killing someone in the history of the universe.

Vali laughed. His warm voice echoed through the small room. “Karen, I have no love for Óðinn.”

I blinked.

“Óðinn imprisoned me,” Vali said. “I have no plans to do his bidding, like one of his mindless dead warriors. There may be little love lost between me and my father, but I promise you, I’m not going to kill him.”

A wave of relief swept through my body so suddenly it made tears prick my eyelids. “Thank you,” I whispered.

Vali raised an eyebrow as the corners of his mouth twitched into a smile. “Did you really think I’d kill someone holding my baby sister?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but Vali turned and left the bathroom before I had the chance. I followed, trying to decide if he’d meant that as a joke.

“I’m afraid we still have something to discuss,” Loki said. He was sitting on the edge of the bed with Adelina gurgling and chirping in his arms.

Vali nodded, his face dark. “Níðhöggr.”

Loki handed a grunting Adelina and a glass of water to Caroline. She gave him a grateful smile before pulling open her white robe and bringing Adelina to her breast. I turned away, but not before noticing Caroline had very nice, full breasts. My eyes flickered to Vali. He smiled at me, oblivious to the half-naked woman on the bed.

“Yes, Níðhöggr,” Loki said. “Artemis told me the wards are growing stronger. I assume the beast is not defeated?”

“I tried,” Vali said. “I couldn’t touch it. Remember, Hrotti was used to kill Fáfnir. And he was an enchanted dwarf, not an actual dragon.”

“Yes,” Loki said. “Yet, I would have chosen the same weapon, and the same path.”

Vali stiffened. He looked stunned by this offhand compliment.

“Dragons,” Loki muttered, turning to his wife. “What do you know of dragons, my love?”

Caroline sighed and shook her head. Her dark hair fell over her shoulders. “No more than you, I’m afraid. I’m hardly a dragon expert.”

A dragon expert. My mind whirled as something unexpected fell into place.

“Oh, shit,” I said. “I know a dragon expert.”