"Come on," said Val. "Let's get this over with, and then we can go back to Midgard."
Elle nodded. Val led her across the green and past a large marble fountain to the enormous, open, intricate, colored-glass front doors. Greenery and vines snaked up the front of the building. Standing near the entrance, a wide-shouldered, cobalt blue-skinned male nodded at people as they entered. Compared to how everyone else was dressed, Elle felt quite inadequate. Colorful jeweled masks covered their faces, matching the opulent silk and satin clothing they were draped in.
She stepped tentatively up the cream marble steps toward the entrance, and the light scent of old books and tallow candles made her gut clench, bringing back memories of her room back on Muspelheim. She’d lived in that room for so many years, she’d had no idea about the world outside of it. And moving with Val to Midgard had been exceptionally eye-opening.
Suddenly, the scent morphed into vanilla and spices, chasing away the memories and calming her.
Elle blinked several times at the bright reds and pinks decorating the entrance hall. It appeared to Elle more like Frigg had decorated the place in advance of a mating ritual than a home.
A beautiful young woman glided over to them and smiled at Elle. "Hello. I'm Fulla. You must be new here."
"Yes," Val answered. "I’m Val. We have a meeting-"
Fulla smiled brighter. "Of course. Lady Frigg said you would be coming.” She looked at Elle. “You must be Elle."
Val's eyebrows smashed together. "I don't understand. We were told to be here at 8:00."
Fulla nodded. “If you will put these on and follow me."
Val looked from Elle to Fulla. The expression on her face told Elle that Val had no intention of putting on the mask and sitting at a table.
Val opened her mouth to argue, but Elle stepped forward.
"Thank you, Fulla." Elle took the masks and handed Val the silver fox mask while she herself affixed a golden cat mask to her face. Elle grabbed Val's hand and followed Fulla toward the tables lining a red velvet curtain.
"This is strange," said Val. "Why do we need masks to talk to Loki?"
"Maybe it’s a game? Or to protect our identities? He has a lot of clients. I'm sure we aren't the only ones he is helping. Maybe he is trying to help us not be recognized. I'll get us some food, and you have a drink." Elle threw Val a smile, trying to ease the tension.
Ever since they'd run from Muspelheim, Val had been more on edge than ever. Lady Frigg had taken them in and offered them shelter, and Loki finally had the mortal paperwork they needed to permanently change their identities. It surprised Elle how many different pieces of identification mortals needed to be able to live on Midgard-
Earth. Humans call it Earth, she reminded herself.
Being in Helheim even for a few minutes had been overwhelming to Elle at first, but Midgard was a thousand times more. The sights, smells, and noise of Los Angeles, California, were nothing like what she was used to in Muspelheim.
On Midgard, the air tasted nothing like the metallic sulfur she’d grown up with. Instead, it hit her in layers- grease from a food truck, exhaust from a bus groaning through intersections, and underneath it all, the salty, faint smell of the ocean mixed with a thousand miles of concrete and asphalt.
June in Los Angeles meant a white, hazy sky pressed down without color or definition, the kind of sky one would have thought unthinkable in Muspelheim, where the horizon always glowed molten orange behind curtains of ash. On Midgard, the haze sat, bleaching and drying out the tops of palm trees to pale silhouettes.
It was nothing like Muspelheim. And that, she reminded herself, was the entire point.
The biggest thing she'd fought to become accustomed to in her new life was the lack of physical pain when she did something that displeased someone. On the contrary, the smiles and thank-yous liberally aimed her way for bringing people food and drinks were also something she wasn't quite used to yet, though they were most welcome.
Elle waited until Val had been seated and then turned toward the endless buffet tables. She lifted a porcelain plate while the two women in front of her finished choosing food. One sported skin the color of emeralds and wings hanging from the nape of her neck down to the edge of her heels. The other was the opposite, with skin as pale as alabaster and tiny feathery wings delicate enough to carry nothing more than a butterfly.
The women hurried away, talking animatedly and sending a sense of longing through Elle. She’d hoped when she and Val entered their new life, Elle might make friends, but the opportunity had yet to present itself.
Elle stepped up to the table and scanned the food. Since leaving Muspelheim, her appetite had also improved. She’d filled out the clothes Val bought for her better than she had at home. So much had changed in such a short period of time, bringing Elle joy she’d never known.
Elle picked up a chicken leg, some orange-looking rolls, several pastries she didn’t recognize, fruit, and several types of cheese and placed them all on her plate. She looked down and, for a second, guilt stabbed her for taking too much.
"Eat anything you like, Elle. It’s what it’s here for."
Elle turned to Lady Frigg.
She curtsied. “Lady Frigg, thank you so much for your hospitality.”
Frigg clucked her tongue and lifted Elle. “Elle, how many times have I told you that you do not need to do that anymore?”
