Page 32 of Heartsong
Eventually, they drifted into the main living space, taking opposite ends of the cushioned bench she called a couch. As he spoke of his clan, of the Gorsedd and patrolling the sea near Caerdyf and fighting off Saxon raiders, Captain padded between them, sitting on Anna’s lap for a while before climbing all over Frey, only to repeat this again.
Frey wished he too could lay his head in Anna’s lap, but he had to be patient.
Her questions were many, and each pleased Frey a little more. The interest she showed was deep and genuine. She spoke of her love for history, how she had made it her main study at university.
“So you are a scholar,” he crowed, shoulders thrown back with pride.
Anna smiled, amused. “Sort of. Lots of people go to college for lots of different subjects. I couldn’t find anything I liked more, so I studied early-medieval history and loved every minute of it.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to remark that even before her time at the place where he and his kin were kept, she’d been drawn to his own time and history. The connection was plain to him, and if the significant look she shot him over Captain’s head was anything, it was plain to her, too.
Frey clenched his jaw and kept his expression mild.
He kept his vows.
After another moment, Anna continued, “We could watch a documentary on Welsh history if you’d like?”
Frey agreed, fascinated when she picked up a small object and the black surface on the far wall lit up with light. Words scrolled across the surface, followed by many boxes of color with more words.
“This is television?” he asked in wonder.
He’d heard of this, of television and movies and how they developed from the theater. A few of his kin had spent time in human theaters, had been able to glimpse the new arts the humans developed. He knew there was some sort of science to it, but didn’t quite understand how the same thing that made the lights in the ceiling appear also made the television.
“Yeah. It’s a pretty great invention.” Turning to him, she winced and said, “My explanation of electricity and modern technological advancements won’t be great, but should I start at the beginning?”
“No, I have heard of these technologies. Perhaps just a small explanation.”
Her abbreviated explanation still left his head swimming, but he thought he understood the fundamentals. As she began manipulating the screen with the small device in her hand, Frey’s eyes hurt trying to keep up. She explained what she did as she went, “In case you’d like to watch anything while I’m asleep. It’d be something to do.”
She held out the device in her hand and began pointing to the small buttons on it and how they corresponded with the screen.
Rumbling, Frey covered her hand with his. “My Anna, you have the kindest of hearts, but I cannot read your language.”
“Oh!” Her eyes bounced between the device, the television, and him, and she winced again. “I’m sorry, I completely forgot. Here…”
She moved closer to him on the couch, close enough that Frey only had to bend his head the slightest distance to take a long breath from the richness of her hair. She held the device, theremote, up, explaining a few important buttons and their symbols, like the greenpowerbutton, but he was only half-listening, trying to keep himself and his unruly cock in check at her nearness.
“After that, press this one,” she said, pointing to another button. She held her finger on it and brought the remote to her lips. “Find Welsh history documentaries.” And after a moment, more boxes appeared on the screen. She turned back to him with a triumphant little grin that Frey felt everywhere.
“You say what you want to watch into the remote and it finds things. It’s not perfect, you’d have to judge things off the thumbnail for now, but it’s a start.”
Drawn in by that smile, Frey matched it with his own as he leaned closer. “You are kindandclever, my Anna.”
A blush, soft and comely this time, stained her cheeks, and Frey bit back his rumble of satisfaction.
With a few more presses on the remote, Anna set up her chosendocumentary. He enjoyed the way she relaxed back into the couch, at ease as music swelled. It’d taken two nights, but finally his mate was comfortable in his presence.
With feinted ease and informality, Frey stretched his arms across the back of the couch as he too settled in, his hand coming to rest very near where her long dark hair spilled across the back of the cushion. Ever so gently, he ran his claws through the silken strands, careful not to tug or alert her. He bit back his rumble when the locks slid like silk across his skin.
And then his attention was stolen by the television. Images began to play of the sea and green, rolling hills, and a deep wistfulness arrowed straight through his heart. A male voice began to speak, and the images changed from landscapes to humans in clothes he recognized. Anna whispered explanations here and there, that the humans were reenactors and that not everything would be accurate or how he remembered.
Frey didn’t mind. The documentary entranced him, and for the evening, he was content to learn what had happened to the world as he and his kin slept the stone sleep, his mate warm and comfortable beside him as he covertly toyed with her hair.
10
Anna wasn’t quite sure if it was normal for someone to pick up on modern things as quickly as Frey did. It was one thing to have to wrestle with Excel or explain streaming to a grandparent; it was quite another to be a mythical being from the sixth century. Yet after just two nights, Frey was already a pro at the remote.
He navigated through the options after requesting videos on Anglo-Celtic mythology, barely needing her to read him the titles. Although he couldn’t read modern English, he’d picked up on symbols quick enough and was an excellent judge of video thumbnails.
