Frost by E. Latimer Page B

off, letting my bright hair fall around my shoulders.
To my surprise, Erik's grin grew wider.
"What?"
"Beautiful," he said.
I blushed bright red again, and he laughed. "Most of the other girls have pale-blond hair, but yours... Well, you almost look like a pure-blood."
I bit my lip, my brow furrowing. What exactly was that supposed to mean?
He seemed to pick up on the thought, because he blinked rapidly and then cleared his throat. "Sorry. I didn't mean it that way. I just mean that most of the other half-human girls have blond hair. Yours has lost all pigment." He ran a hand over his own hair. "Like mine. That's normal for us."
"My eyes have gotten lighter too. Is that...normal? Am I turning full frost giant or something?"
Erik rubbed his chin, his eyes fixed on the far wall. "Jotun hit puberty late, and then all at once. As in…wake up one morning and this." He gestured at my hair. “But your human genes should be slowing that process down. It could be that your father's genes were simply more dominant than the other men who were sent out.”
That gave me pause. "Tell me about that."
"About the experiment?"
"Yeah. Loki only told me a little. I'd like to hear you explain it." I folded my arms over my chest. No doubt, his explanation would sound a little less "evil scientist" than the original version.
He rubbed the back of his neck. "Queen Eira is very forward thinking. While some of us are opposed to relations with humans, she knows we have to be realistic. We're a dying breed. If we don't mingle with humans, we'll be gone in another thousand years or so."
"That still sounds like a long time."
"Not when you live for hundreds of years."
I choked on my water. "Wh-what?"
"Sorry." He ducked his head. "I shouldn't have sprung that on you. I just take it for granted."
I sputtered, wiping the corner of my mouth. "No kidding. You're serious though? How long will I live? How long do...I dunno, hybrids live?"
"Probably two hundred years or so. At least, that's been my experience." He tried to hide his smile. "It's true. I swear."
My mind was reeling. I would live to be two hundred ? I would outlive regular humans.               Suddenly, I was seeing the sandwich shop through new eyes. Every one of these people would be dead—dust and bones—and I would still be alive. I would outlast the ten-year-old kid who was messily devouring a grilled cheese sandwich over in the corner. The curly-headed little girl dancing around her mother's legs.
Erik stayed quiet as I took it all in.
I whirled back around in my seat. "And this...this thing that happens. How I accidentally turn stuff to ice. Can it be controlled? I was upset last night and I froze the bathroom sink..."               Erik pressed his lips together and the corner of his mouth twitched.
"I'm glad you think it's funny ."
"I'm sorry." He cleared his throat and attempted a straight face. "Really. Don't worry. If you come back to the palace with me, I can teach you everything about your powers. I can help you have full control of them."
It was tempting.
"I'll never accidentally freeze someone if you train me?" I asked.
When he nodded, relief flooded through me. That alone was incentive to go with him, but I still didn’t totally trust him. After the Loki mind tricks, I would have been stupid to start trusting blindly.
"This is going to take some time." I fidgeted with a strand of my newly lightened hair. "I...I'll want more information, and...I want to know more about what will happen before I go anywhere with you."
Erik shrugged. "Of course. It's the only smart thing to do. I know you must have more questions."
"Tons," I said. "I want to know more about your queen. What's she like? What does she look like?” At least that might help sort out my dreams. It couldn’t be the same person. My brain had to be making stuff up because of the stress. “Also, why am I with my uncle and aunt? Why couldn't I be with my real parents? I mean, at least my