“Except the one thing I want more than anything,” I blurted out.
A beat passed. “The Everstone.”
“Yes. No.” I threw up my hands. “Nevermind. You wouldn’t care about my thing, even if Icouldtell you what it is. Don’t ask for my help again. I won’t give it next time.”
10
ASTRID
Who did he think he was? My fisted hands shook by my sides. He thought he knew everything about my life, but he’d only waltzed into it a day ago.
“‘Everything I need.’ He has no idea,” I muttered beneath my breath as I followed the path toward Steingard. As I crossed a bridge, the dim glow of the sunstones caught my attention. They were beginning to fade in this part of the mountain, which usually took a year after we mined them. I made a mental note to add this bridge to the list of ones that needed replacements.
We had plenty of gems to go around. Whatever power lurked in the tunnel I’d showed Tormund made certain of that. Us dwarves never had to worry about light and heat. And while we enjoyed trading food and drink with sailors beyond the mountain, enough crops grew down here that we could survive without it.
Under the Mountain provided us with everything. Food, water, warmth, light, and shelter. And there were perks on top of that, of course.Communitywas a big one.
The most annoying thing about what Tormund had said was that he was right. I did have everything I needed.
But still, the world beyond called to me. I yearned to feel the sun on my face. Everyone told me the valleys below the mountains were covered in brilliant green grass as soft as a carpet of moss. I wanted to wriggle my toes in it. I wanted to splash in the saltwater sea. Fates, I even wanted to climb a bloomin’ tree!
I doubted Tormund had ever climbed a tree in his life.
And what was worse, his own brother suffered my same fate, albeit for a different reason.
My stride slowed as I climbed the carved steps leading up to the ledge above, daisies lining the path. I did feel for his brother. I truly did. He deserved his freedom just as much as I did, and it didn’t seem fair that only one of us could have it.
That wasn’t the point, though.
It was that Tormund didn’t eventryto understand why I wanted the bloomin’ Everstone so much.
I huffed a breath, taking the last step up to my village’s ledge. Why had I even hoped for understanding? Tormund didn’t know me. He didn’t care. Sure, it felt like we had some common ground now and again, but it was meaningless.
He was probably trying to trick me into seeing him as an ally so I’d happily give up the stone. Not that it was mine to give. Regardless of the weird things going on around here, the gem from Rockheimhadto be the Everstone. Tormund would eventually win it, then he’d go on his merry way back to Azraak and help his brother.
And I’d still be stuck…here.
I lifted my eyes from the path as my cottage came into view across the bridge. Then I stopped short, startled. My flower boxes were teeming with daisies. Mountainous bunches spilled over the sides of every one and crawled across the ground, twisting like vines up the side of my house. Yulla was out front, her hands windmilling, her face flushed and shining with sweat. My mouth dropped open, and I quickly crossed the bridge to reach her side.
“What in Thor’s good name is going on here?” I asked her.
She moaned as she grasped her knees and stood up straight. Damp strands of hair curled around her red face. “Your flower boxes have exploded.”
“Yes, I can see that. But why? What did you feed them earlier?”
It was then I realizedearliermeant this morning when I’d left to trick Tormund down the spider path. Gods, that felt like five years ago now. So much had happened in such a short amount of time. My quiet little life was usually so much more peaceful. I’d get up, tend to my garden, have a cup of tea, and then head on into work. After work, I’d come home to my silent house, have another cup of tea, and chat to my plants before drifting off to sleep.
Day in, day out. It was nice, even if it was a tad lonely.
“Don’t you blame this on me now.” She wagged a finger at me. “I fed them the same thing you normally do. It’s just water from the Steingard Pond.”
Down a tunnel that cut our village in half, we’d found a small frothing pond where natural water trickled in from the cracks in the walls. It was some of the best tasting water in the north, it made my hair feel like silk, and it never ran dry.
It’d certainly never caused the flowers to dothis, though.
I scratched the back of my neck. “I suppose I need some more flower boxes.”
“You’ll need a lot more than that. Look.” She pointed at my front door.
