“It’s just…” He frowned. “I still feel like something isn’t quite right about all of this. If the dragon and the Everstone are through that tunnel, then didn’t we find it a little too easily?”
I squinted at him. “I’m not sure ‘easy’ is the word I would use for falling into a hole.”
“But isn’t it odd we didn’t see the hole?”
Heart constricting, I looked everywhere but at his face. Was he really going to make me say it out loud? So far, neither one of us had commented on the moments leading up to our disaster. We’d simply fallen into a hole that had come out of nowhere! It had nothing to do with the fact we were both staring at each other so intently that we’d missed the very obvious lack of floor.
“Wasit odd, though?” I asked, the pitch of my voice going higher. “We were kind of, well, distracted. If you don’t remember.”
Did he remember? Or had I simply imagined the entire thing?
But then he stepped in close, gripped my chin between his fingers, and tilted back my head. “Speaking of distractions, I still haven’t done this.”
19
ASTRID
Tormund angled his head, and my hands tumbled to my sides. Gently, he pressed his lips against mine. Warmth flooded my senses. With a satisfied growl, he deepened the kiss and parted my lips with his tongue. I reached up and clutched his shoulders and closed my eyes, the tension in my body keeping me as tight as a rod.
His hand snaked down my side and rested on my hip. I leaned into his chest, tasting him, feeling him, revelling in the way his body seemed to hum. Shadowy strands encircled every spot we touched, pulsing in time with the frantic beat of my heart, like they could feel the intoxicating thrill coursing through my body.
He continued to kiss me. His mouth against mine was electric, but there was a gentleness in the way he touched me, like I was made of glass, and he was afraid I might shatter if he pushed too hard. The ache within me deepened, burning up a hole in my core. And when he moved his lips to my neck, I felt like I might very well combust.
I’d thought of this more times than I wanted to admit. How would he taste? Like chocolate, it turned out. How would he feel? Strong and powerful, like he could toss me onto a bed and put me exactly where he wanted me. How would he sound? The low rumble of his chest suggested he was enjoying this as much as I was—if not more.
I curled my fingers tighter around his tunic, pushed up onto my toes, and kissed him—reallykissed him.
This wasn’t shadow demon magic. It wasn’t an allure or some kind of tempting trick. This feeling came straight from the heart of me. I wanted Tormund. It didn’t matter that we could have no future together. All that mattered was right here and now. He would be around for at least a week or two longer, and we could make the most of it.
But then suddenly, he released me, stepped back, and ran his fingers through his hair. His face almost looked pained.
My stomach dropped. Dread crept along the back of my neck. Had I gotten this all wrong? Had I read too much into this kiss? Was it…was itthe shadow magic, after all?
Gods, how mortifying if it was.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice still a growl, though laced with what sounded like regret. “I got carried away.”
I clenched my teeth. All the visions of us spending the next ten days together puffed away like his silken shadows. It’d been a silly little dream. And he’d encouraged it. He never should have kissed me if he hadn’t meant it.
If kissing me was gettingcarried away.
“It’s fine. Don’t make the same mistake again,” I said tightly.
Without another glance in his direction, I ducked and slid into the tunnel. Tormund loosed a grunt, but I ignored him. I crawled forward against the wet stone ground, the orange glow flickering at the other end of the tunnel. From here, I could more clearly see what lay beyond. A cavern large enough tohold an entire dwarven village widened before me, the floor transformed into rolling hills of gold coins. Sunstones were scattered amongst them, as well as powerless gemstones of every color imaginable. In between it all sat treasure trunks with their contents missing, the lids cast open or torn from their hinges. Even a few mine carts had been consumed by the avalanche of gold.
But there was one thing that stood out from the rest. A dragon with flaming orange scales curled around it all, clutching some of the sunstones into her wings. Her back rose and fell in a steady rhythm, and her eyes were closed, so she did not spot the dwarven woman crawling into her lair.
I pulled a breath into my lungs and held it there. For the first time in my life, I’d set my eyes on a dragon. She was a magnificent, gorgeous creature, her long talons glinting against the sunstones’ steady glow. Small horns decorated her snout, trailing to more on the back of her head that were almost as tall as I was. Every wing was tipped with them, too.
And those membranous wings suddenly twitched.
I stilled, my heart in my throat. While she clearly wasn’t fully grown, she was still incredibly large—especially compared to me. She could chomp me to bits if she wanted to, and that was if she didn’t use her internal fires to burn me alive for daring to step on her gold.
Tormund slithered up beside me, his horns scraping the low ceiling. He kept his eyes on the dragon rather than take a chance with looking at me. After a moment, he let out a tense breath.
Leaning closer, he pressed his lips against my ear. “Is that one of his?”
Hisbeing Rivelin’s, I could only assume.
