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glimpse at me out of the corner of his eye. "Don't believe me?"
I wanted to point and laugh at him, to call him a nut case. I wanted to shrug all of this craziness off and go back to California. Then I looked at my feet, at the puddle of melted ice that felt like bath water, and I knew he wasn't lying. It was still hard to wrap my head around though.
"I can understand if you need a minute," he murmured.
Out the window the silent, white landscape rolled by. My mind felt like scrambled eggs—one big, jumbled mess. "So, this queen—she's jotun."
Loki’s grip tightened on the steering wheel, and his knuckles paled. “She is.”
"And she had some jotun men go and...and have sex with human women. The babies were adopted. And now, she's trying to get us back?"
"The ones who survived, yes. She had more. Some of the blood didn't mix well, and some of it died out altogether. But a lot were successful. They're bringing them to the palace now. We think it was some kind of experiment."
I looked at him sharply. "And who is we ? What's your stake in all of this? Are you with the government or something?"
"Not quite. I'm a son of Muspel, of the Fire Giant Clan." He said it with a flash of pride, straightening his shoulders.
I groaned, leaning back against the seat, scrubbing my hands across my face. "You've got to be kidding me. I was barely dealing with this frost giant thing."
"Sorry, but it's true. Our people have pretty much always hated each other."
"Then why are you helping me?"
Loki hesitated. "I'm supposed to make sure you don't get to the queen. That's all."
"What does the queen want with me?"
"We're not sure. She experimented with human and frost giant blood. But we've always mingled with one another, so that's nothing new. We've had surveillance on her for some time now, since she's bound and determined to start a war and kill us all, so we know she has plans for you. We just don't know what those plans are."
"Well, that's comfortingly vague," I muttered.
"All I know is that you don't want to get mixed up with her. She's sort of a bitch."
Clearly, since she’d ordered them to knock me out and all that. I dug my nails into the leather seat. "Where were they taking me? It couldn’t have been anywhere near Grande Prairie."
"It's not near anywhere, actually."
I groaned. "You're going to tell me it's a different dimension or something, aren't you?"
"Something like that." Loki bit his lower lip, fighting smile.
Not something I could think about right now.
“So, what now? We're going to lie low until she gives up on me?"
His smile faded. "She won't give up on you. You can't stay in Grande Prairie. Do you have friends anywhere else?"
"I... Yes, I guess so. I could go back to California for a while." That didn't sound bad at all.
But Loki was shaking his head. "No, I'm saying you'll have to hide there permanently. They'll keep looking for you, so you can't come back here, and you can't tell anyone where you're going."
I frowned, my chest constricting. "But my unc—"
"They can't know. No one can know."
"But they'll be worried ." At least, Uncle Dave would be. Janet would probably throw a party if I went missing.
“Sorry. That’s just the way it has to be.” Loki flicked the turn signal on, eyes focused on the road. “You have to run. These people don't play games, and they're not nice."
The memory of the smothering cloth pressing over my mouth and my nose was still sharp in the back of my mind. I shuddered.
"I'm sorry." He reached a hand out, and his fingers brushed mine, surprising me. "I really am." Then he withdrew.
I found myself a bit disappointed. I had the crazy impulse to grab his hand and hold on. Somehow, he was both strange and comforting.
"Look, I'll take you there—to California. It will take a few days, but this van should get us there."
"Is that part of your job too?" I asked. "Driving me to California?"
"Sure it is. Why not?" Loki punched the buttons on the radio, tuning into a rock station.
I lay back and shut