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“You’re the CEO of a major company, Dad!”

“So I can get my employees to do the work for me,” he replied. “I’ve done all the hard work in my youth. Now, we can all lie back and enjoy life.”

Luna grumbled under her breath. It wasn’t that she didn’tappreciatethe lavish lifestyle her dad provided her, all travel and parties and fun. She justwondered sometimes what it would be like to…dosomething. Hence begging to get sent to a boring company conference. She was technically her dad’s employee, after all. She had the degrees to qualify her for it and everything.

“I did have some interesting chats with the marketing team,” she said hopefully.

Her dad groaned. “Luna. Don’t start.”

“I’m not,” she said hastily. “I just?—”

“I know you got those fancy degrees,” he continued patiently. “But let’s face it, hon. You’re not made to sit in an office and send emails about which logo makes people want to buy hand towels more. Stop bothering the marketing team with all your little social media ideas, alright?”

“Right,” Luna said bitterly. She actuallyhadbeen about to tell her dad about logos. She’d had an intriguing chat with the marketing team who she’d secretly been in touch with for years. Theylovedit when she “bothered” them. Theyaskedher to bother them at least once a month, CC’ing her on email chains as they discussed their latest projects. Her dad was happy with her work when he thought it was someone else’s, but every time she tried to bring it up, he told her to stick to what she was good at: having fun and throwing parties. Which, admittedly, shewaspretty great at. But part of her longed to know what it was like to do something else. Something that didn’t end after one night or require cleanup in the morning. Not that Luna ever stuck around for the cleanup. The help could take care of that.

She tweaked the windshield wipers desperately likethere might be a secret faster setting if she held them at the right angle. No dice. The snow kept battering down, only allowing her to glance at the white road in between gusts.

“Dad, I don’t know if I’m going to make my flight. Can you book me a new one if I get stuck here overnight?”

“Send me the details when you get out of the snow,” her dad said. “I have to go, your mother’s calling. They did something horrible to our mai tais.”

“A fate worse than death,” Luna said flatly. “I’ll just be here. Your only daughter. Suffering. Hope I don’t get trapped and have to start eating local townsfolk, Donner-style.”

Another burst of static. Luna cursed at the cliffs surrounding the roads.

“I hate Alaska,” she yelled uselessly at the flurrying snow. “Why are youlikethis?”

“Definitely yell at it more,” came Hector’s voice down the crackling line. “That’ll fix it. Hey, did you know Alaska’s covered in snow for six months of the year?”

“That’s ridiculous,” Luna hissed, longing for their heated pool at home in sunny California as she stared out at the street, which was slowly but surely whiting out. “Six months out of ayear? Who in their right mind wouldlivehere?”

“Eighty thousand people.”

“Idiots,” Luna declared.

The car swerved. Luna yelped, jerking thesteering wheel as the car wobbled from side to side on the slippery road.

“Babe?” Another slurping sound. “Did you die?”

“I’m fine,” Luna said, slowing down to a crawl. “I’m— Oh, thank god, there’s a town.”

“Does it sayabandon hope, all ye who enter, you’re about to get eaten by an orc?”

“Ha, ha,” Luna said. “No. It says…”

She squinted through the snow. It was hard to see anything beyond her windshield, let alone the half-covered wooden sign on the side of the road. The font was almost too swirly to read. Like the person designing it had gotten too excited about being fancy and forgot that the point of road signs was for people to read them quickly and clearly as they careened past ten miles over the speed limit.

“Claw Haven,” Luna read out. “For the monster who wants some peace and quiet.”

Hector hummed. “Huh. Doesn’t sound very murdery. Maybe you won’t get eaten after all.”

“Nobody’s eating me,” Luna protested.

Her car swerved again. Luna straightened up with an embarrassingly fearful squeak.

“Hey,” Hector said, voice softening through the static. “Worse comes to worst, you stay overnight in some crappy little town, then get the next flight out. I’ll meet you in the Bahamas. You, me, some meetings I’m going to blow off, and mai tais made by someone with more than two hours of bartending experience.”

Luna laughed shakily. “That bad, huh?”