“Twenty-six years? How young were you when you started?”
“Well, I was five when I started. So I suppose it’s been more like nineteen years of searching. But it feels like my whole life. I hardly remember a time before it.” I shrugged. “We dwarves start mining young. And as soon as I got a pickaxe in my hand and heard the legend of the Everstone…well, I’ve been determined to find it ever since.”
“I’m only a few years older. And like you, I began my quest at age five.” His eyes grew distant. “I didn’t know about the Everstone then, of course. I thought I might find answers in myown mountain. I asked every shadow demon in Azraak if they knew of a cure. None did.”
I looked up at him. “Then how did you find out about the Everstone?”
“Pure luck,” he said. “A year back, I travelled to the mainland when I heard the conquerer Isveig had been removed from his throne. Thought I might help the orcs come out of hiding.”
My heart twanged with an unexpected swell of…well, admiration, I supposed. Isveig had been a rotten ruler. He’d stolen the orcish lands, destroyed the dragons, and had plotted against the other folk lands. The elves had tried to stop him, but they’d failed.
Eventually, it was his own niece who had defeated him.
Most orcs—the few who’d survived—had gone into hiding. For Tormund to have left his shadowy mountain behind to help them, well. It said a lot about his character.
“Did you see many orcs?” I asked softly.
A wistful smile curled his lips. “More than I even dreamed. The orcs will be all right. I know that now.”
“Good. I’d love to go see Fafnir one day now. I suppose you heard rumors about the Everstone when you were at the docks there?”
He nodded. “Dwarves from Rockheim sailed in to trade. They were talking about it.”
“Rockheim, eh?” I tapped my chin, falling into an easy, companionable silence with Tormund as we wound through the tunnels. Now and then, he stopped to examine a cluster of sunstones or another web of the mineral lines. But, as it turned out, his luck was no better than mine—at least when it came to this.
Eventually, we reached the rim of the Endless Chasm a few ledges down from The Wet Beard. From the sounds of it, the celebration had turned into a bloomin’ riot of good cheer.
“Well.” Tormund stuck his hands into his pockets and leaned back on his heels.
“Well,” I replied.
“I suppose this is the end of our journey. I’ll admit, I believed we’d find the gem in there.”
“A part of me thought we would, too, even though Ireally haveexamined every inch of those tunnels. If it had suddenly appeared, it would have been because someone had put it there.”
He rested his back against the wall, his arms crossed over his broad chest. “Strangely, that wouldn’t surprise me. Not after everything else that’s happened.”
“Yeah. Me either.” I cleared my throat, eyeing the bridge that would lead me toward my village, my home, and the tea I’d craved a few hours earlier. And then I shifted on my feet, feeling awkward all of a sudden. “So, in case you’re turned around, you can take that bridge there to the ledge above. After that, there’s another that will take you back to The Wet Beard. You know where to go from there.”
“I take it that means you’re done with my company for the night,” he said in a low murmur.
I swallowed, avoiding his eyes. “If we’d found the Everstone like you’d hoped, what would you have done with it?”
A moment of silence followed, then he said, “You know what I would have done with it.”
My heart sank, but I didn’t know why I felt the suffocating weight of disappointment. He had good reason for wanting that gem, and he’d never pretended he’d let me have it. In fact, he’d been pretty clear that he’d do anything to get his hands on the thing. And yet, something about the decisiveness in his voice stung. He wouldn’t even hesitate; he wouldn’t consider me at all.
But why would he?
Still, I gazed into his face and searched for any sign that he had empathy for me at all. He wasn’t devoid of emotion. He’d proven that by going to see the orcs. So maybe it was just me.
“That’s what I thought.” I took a step back, my boot scuffing the edge of the bridge. “Have a good night, Tormund.”
“Ah, so you’re going to hold my love for my brother against me?” He ran his hand along the base of his horns, shaking his head. “Why am I not surprised?”
I furrowed my brow. “Don’t act like you know anything about me. You haven’t even asked about mything.” I couldn’t say the word out loud. “For all you know, I could be doomed to die tomorrow.”
“Curses never involve death. They’re intended to torment the living. Only thing is, Astrid, you seem to be just fine.” He cocked his head. “In fact, you have everything you need, and my brother doesn’t.”
