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carelessness. “The burning bridge.”
    Norse mythology held that there were nine worlds bound together by Yggdrasil, the great tree. Asbrú connected Asgard, home of the gods, to Midgard, the human world. And…she started to laugh again. “Ragnarok. I knew it sounded familiar. Why on earth would you pick that name?”
    His jaw clenched. “So we never forget. Not who we are or where we come from. We don’t forget what happened to our home.”
    “So you named your town Apocalypse, Iowa?”
    She stopped laughing when she saw the look on Aiden’s face, angry and suspicious. She’d slipped, mentioning Asbrú and talking about Ragnarok.
    “You know more about us than you let on.”
    She shrugged. “I liked to read books about mythology when I was a kid.”
    “That’s a strange interest for a child.”
    “I was a strange child. Not, apparently, as strange as you.”
    “I’m telling you the truth.”
    She thought of the quaint little town with its two-lane bowling alley and cozy diner. Marly, Maia, that clerk at the gas station. Shaking her head, Grace still couldn’t believe she was actually having this conversation. Nothing about Aiden said he was joking, but he had to be, right?
    “The people in this town,” she said. “They’re normal people. Not soldiers, not aliens and despite what you might think about yourself, Aiden, you’re no god.” His lips thinned but he didn’t interrupt. “Is that what Fen meant when he asked me what clan I belong to?”
    “There are others like us. Other portals. Other clans.” He lifted his chin. “You had to have come from one of them.”
    “I came from St. Louis.”
    He smiled faintly. “Even so.”
    No, he didn’t understand. “My parents…they weren’t like me. My mother…” She trailed off, not wanting to go there. Aiden raised an eyebrow waiting for her to continue but she shook her head. “Never mind.”
    “Your parents had Æsir blood but no manifested talent. That’s not unusual and it’s probably why they decided they were safe to run. I can send out inquiries to the other clans if you’d like, see if we can find a match. You might have family.”
    She swallowed and shook her head. He didn’t understand. Her mother had been scared of her. If she was what Aiden said she was, she wouldn’t have been blindsided by a psychic daughter. “My family is dead and they were human.”
    “But you can sense things others can’t, right? Did you have strange visions as a child? Ever think maybe your nightmares were a little too real?”
    Enough. “Let’s say—just for the hell of it—that I believe you. I won’t tell anyone. You’re right about that at least. No one would believe me anyway. This meeting you’ve called isn’t necessary. I won’t talk and as soon as I can get a rental or a ride, I’ll be on my way.”
    He looked at her for a long time before standing to cross the room. He paused beside the mantle and touched the frame holding his daughter’s picture. “There’s just one thing.”
    She braced herself. Okay, this was it. The part where he asked her to join his little cult. “Yes?”
    When he turned around, he looked reluctant, uncertain for the first time since she’d met him. But then he fixed those sharp eyes on her and the impression was gone. He was the same Aiden—stern, determined, self-sure. “I want to hire you.”
    She blew out a pent up breath and eased back in her seat. Ever since she’d seen that picture, she’d been planning on going after the girl once the job with Maia was done. It wasn’t in her to turn away from that, money or no. Nut job father or no. She nodded. “We’ll work out a contract.”
    “No,” he said. “I don’t think you understand—”
    He cut off when the front door opened. While Aiden moved to greet his guests, Grace tried to clear her head. Fen scared her. Something about him seemed half wild, his eyes were a little too bright, his smile too sharp. She wondered about the others. And she