Read Frost for Free Online Page B

my eyes for a while. My mind wandered as I tried to picture how this would play out—me running away to California without telling Dave—but I just couldn't do it. He would notice I was missing. Other people would too. Like the people at school.
Charlotte's face swam in my mind's eye, and I jerked upright, guilt pulsing in my stomach. I hadn't even considered the girls at school.
Amy and her friends must have been taken the same way I had, but what about Charlotte? Was she one of us? Maybe Amy was right in thinking she'd missed the cut. Loki had said that the experiments with mixing blood hadn't always worked. Was Charlotte a castoff? I hoped so. The thought of someone clonking little Charlotte over the head and dragging her off made me break out in a cold sweat.
I shifted in my seat, and something poked me in the hip. My cell phone.
Somehow, it had stayed in the pocket of my nightgown despite the events of the night. Probably because it was the ugly, bulky kind. For once, I found myself grateful that Janet had insisted on cheaping out.
I didn't have to worry if Charlotte was okay. I could text her and make sure. My fingers hovered over the buttons. What should I write? Pretty sure I shouldn't say, “Hey, been kidnapped yet?” I settled for a simple, "Hey," and obviously, if she texted me back, I’d know she was fine.
Loki had been singing along with the radio, and now, he paused to stare at me.
"Don't worry. I'm just texting one of the girls at school. She looks like me, but she isn't tall. Do you think the queen would want her too?"
"It depends what she wants them— you —for. It sounds like her blood didn't mix well though, so probably not."
I relaxed against the seat, slipping my cell back into my pocket. Charlotte was fine. She'd probably text back in a minute with the latest piece of school gossip.
We drove for another hour, and Loki talked almost nonstop about the city of Muspelheim, which was apparently where he'd come from.
"You should see it. It's amazing." His face was glowing as he spoke, like he was reliving memories.
"And what does the ice palace look like?" I asked eagerly. "What's it like?"
His expression went flat. "Cold. It's made of solid ice."
My mouth dropped open. "Get real! I thought that was just...y’know, like a name or something."
Loki glanced over at me and chuckled. "You should see your face! I am real. The whole damn thing is made of frozen water."
I shivered. "Sounds unpleasant."
"Oh, it is. Horrible place. So cold ."
"I probably wouldn't feel it." I flinched as Loki grabbed my hand and laced his fingers through mine. His palm pressed against the back of my hand, heat radiating from his skin.
"H-hey..." I stammered, my cheeks burning. "What are you—"
"Yup, just like I thought." He released my hand. "You're freezing."
"Well, I'm always cold here. I mean, to other people, I feel cold." I rubbed my palm against my leg as the tingling warmth of contact slowly faded. "And you feel hot."
He gave me another mischievous grin. "Why thank you."
"That's not what I meant!"
"I know. I'm just kidding. My body temperature is actually way higher than a normal human being, and yours is way lower—and still dropping." He regarded me seriously. "You'll have to make sure you avoid contact with people. Wear gloves." His mouth quirked at the corner. "And don't go freezing any more boys."
It was obviously some kind of joke to him, but the flashback of Adam that came with the thought wasn't at all funny—his skin turning blue, the way he’d shuddered and gone still.
"So this is permanent. I can't touch people? I can't ever have a normal relationship?" I tucked my hands under my knees, feeling a little sick at the thought.
"With another frost giant, you could." He grimaced. "Most of them are horrible in relationships though. But you didn't turn me into a Popsicle, did you?"
"No," I said slowly. "So, your heat counteracts my cold?"
"Exactly."
I let that one stew for a while, watching the snow-crusted houses