A Solstice Journey Read Online Free PDF Page B

stomach did a slow roll. I wanted to blurt out that I had new clothing, and it couldn’t eat me.
    Celyn saw where I was staring in horror and then laughed, the asshole. “She’s harmless.”
    The cat looked over at us, and I didn’t believe she was harmless, even as she purred loudly, sounding like a car with a bad muffler. She was glad to see Celyn, at least.
    “She eats children,” I hissed.
    Celyn laughed again. “She steals children to bring them to a better place,” he corrected. “But she hasn’t been able to do so in ages. I fear that it’s because she is fading in the world of menskr .”
    I shook my head. “My parents still send me something new to wear every Christmas to make sure that I’m not eaten by her, even at my age.”
    Celyn looked at me more closely then. “Your parents keep the old ways. With the coming of the White Christ, the poor k ǫ ttr has faded.” He paused and looked at her again. “And shrunk too. But Math is friendly, and I grew up with her. She made a very nice pony to ride when I was younger.”
    If she was shrunk now, I wondered what she had looked like before. Celyn walked us over to her and, before I could freak out too much, scratched her under the chin. She closed her eyes in pleasure and purred even louder at his attention.
    I had to admit she didn’t look that dangerous in this situation, but I still told Math, “I have new clothes for Christmas.”
    She opened her eyes, and for a second I would have sworn the look in them said, “I don’t steal Álfr. ”
    I ignored that look and let Math sniff my hand a bit before I petted her too, scratching behind her ears so I wasn’t near her teeth. I could feel the eyes of the other people in the room boring holes in my back.
    “Math usually isn’t very friendly, is she,” I said to Celyn, considering the reactions I sensed behind us.
    He laughed. “Math is just picky about who she lets pet her. Many a noble or their children have found that out, much to their dismay.”
    I almost pulled my hand back, but I figured that Math had had a chance to bite it before this, and she wasn’t going to do it now.
    “Nobles?” I asked him quietly, hoping he would know what I was talking about.
    “We have a king, so of course there are nobles,” Celyn explained. He didn’t sound too amused or patronizing. “Is it not the same way in the world of menskr ?”
    “Not where I am from,” I said. “And actually, most of the world is the same way.”
    “And how are you ruled, then?” he asked me in amazement.
    “We elect our own officials,” I said. “It’s called democracy. It works for the most part, but that could be said for a monarchy too, so let’s not get into a debate about politics.”
    He laughed again, and I could hear the people behind us talking, the buzz of their voices as they wondered what we were talking about, who I was, where I came from, why Celyn was enjoying my company.
    “And I take it that you’re a noble?” I asked Celyn, even if I could guess the answer. He was someone, and I just had to figure it out.
    “You might say that,” he teased, showing me a sexy smile. “But it isn’t different among the Álfr , either.”
    “Which would mean something, if I actually was one,” I pointed out, trying not to sound too annoyed. He opened his mouth, probably to protest, and I talked over him, not trying to be rude, just trying to explain. “I may be one, but I’m not one. I was raised as a menskr , and you can tell me that I’m not one of them, but that’s who I think I am, and that is more important than the genetics of the whole thing.”
    “Genetics?” Celyn asked.
    “Blood and family,” I answered. “It’s a complicated thing with a lot of science that I don’t understand, but basically genetics is the science of who is related to who.”
    It was actually an issue in Iceland because of the small population. There was even an app for your smartphone linked into the national genealogical