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Back The Ever After
Chapters (92)
  1. Cover
  2. TheEVERAFTER
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. 46
  49. 47
  50. 48
  51. 49
  52. 50
  53. 51
  54. 52
  55. 53
  56. 54
  57. 55
  58. 56
  59. 57
  60. 58
  61. 59
  62. 60
  63. 61
  64. 62
  65. 63
  66. 64
  67. 65
  68. 66
  69. 67
  70. 68
  71. 69
  72. 70
  73. 71
  74. 72
  75. 73
  76. 74
  77. 75
  78. 76
  79. 77
  80. 78
  81. 79
  82. 80
  83. 81
  84. 82
  85. 83
  86. 84
  87. 85
  88. 86
  89. Epilogue
  90. GLOSSARY
  91. TheEVERAFTER
  92. By Amanda Hocking

“Why did he take her back alone?” I asked her after Elof had closed the office door. “Does that mean it’s bad news?”

“He likes to give everyone their results in private,” she explained. “It can be very emotional for some, whether they get the confirmation they wanted or not.”

“I guess he did tell me my original blood test results alone,” I remembered.

“You are something,” he’d told me then, when I’d asked what I was. “You had significant markers for Omte, meaning that one of your parents was almost certainly from the Omte tribe.”

“What about my other parent?” I had asked.

“They’re not a troll,” he’d said.

“Okay, can you spit it out and tell me what it is that I actually am?” I’d asked in exasperation.

“That’s the thing,” Elof had told me finally. “We don’t know.”

Bryn was in the office with Elof for nearly a half hour, and by then I had moved to pacing around the lab, to Dagny’s chagrin. When Bryn finally came out, her expression was unreadable—the stoic blank mask she wore when she was working as a guard—and her eyes downcast.

I started to the office, but Elof followed her out and held up his hand to stop me.

“Aren’t we going to talk?” I asked.

“Yes, we are,” Elof said with a smile. “But I thought it’d be better if we walked and talked.” He headed toward the lab door and motioned for me to follow him. “Come.”

23

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Olfactory

The bench seat in the back of the rickshaw did little to absorb the bumps and dips of the dirt roads, but I didn’t have much room to complain since a driver was literally pulling the small, hooded cart across town. He looked Omte, based on his hulking frame and the ease with which he jogged while hauling me and Elof away from the Mimirin.

We were heading to the farming borough on the outskirts of Merellä, and while it was still within the sprawling city walls, it was an awfully long way to walk, especially for someone like Elof. Like many of the Vittra who had short stature, he sometimes needed accommodations.

Elof had once explained it to me this way: two types of dwarfism were found in the Vittra—hobgoblins, who had a series of comorbid conditions such as slimy skin, a benign but unpleasant form of acne, and exaggerated features, and little trolls, similar to Vittra trolls in almost all ways except for their height. Both conditions were often accompanied by assets—like superior strength for some—and negatives—like chronic hip pain.