Page 165 of The Sun He Buried

I move it beyond her teeth. “She climbed the sideboard, crossed Eirik’s shoulders, stole meat, and made me chase her around the kitchen.”

Baldr’s hands stop at the ties of his shirt.

Only for a second.

He looks down and finishes the knot.

I rub the last yellow streak from Snowpetal’s ear. “There.”

She shakes.

Cold water hits my cheek.

“That was unnecessary.”

Snowpetal walks across the rug and climbs onto Baldr’s bed.

He catches her before she reaches the pillows.

She goes boneless between his hands.

“No.”

Her club-tail strikes his arm.

“Still no.”

He puts her back on the floor. Snowpetal immediately climbs onto my lap, steps across both thighs, and returns to the bed from my side.

“She found another road,” I say.

“Close the border.”

I gather her against my chest. She purrs, clean ear pressed beneath my chin.

Baldr looks at the white fur.

“Why was she in the kitchen with him?”

There it is.

His voice stays easy. His shoulders don’t.

“She stole Asta’s ribbon and ran away.”

“That explains Snowpetal.”

“Eirik was already there.”

Baldr waits.

I should’ve begun with the part where he was face-down in the yard.

That part won’t help now either.

“He slept outside.”

Baldr’s eyes lift to mine.