“Everyone will be staying right where they are.” He held out a hand, palm up. “You and I are going to fix this.”
“How?” I slid my hand into his and nearly sighed in contentment when his warmth pressed against my skin.
“Simple. We go to Rockheim, and we tell them what’s happened. As long as they’re good people, they’ll let you have the Everstone back.”
“Oh.” I smiled. “That’s actually not a terrible idea.”
Jostein cleared his throat. “Ah, about that. You might have a small problem if you go to them empty-handed.”
Tormund lifted his head and gave Jostein a look so brutally harsh that I could have clapped. “Do explain.”
Jostein shuffled uneasily. “We signed a contract during the trade. It said if we want to undo the exchange, either the gem or something of the same value must be offered. Essentially, they’ll need their gem back in order for us to get ours.”
“And that’s despite the fact our community will literally cease to exist without the Everstone?” I asked, my heart pounding.
“The contract was written in blood. It cannot be undone, even if they agree to it.”
Tormund swore.
“Right. Thank you, Jostein, for this impossible task.” Sighing, I squared my shoulders and patted down my hair. “It doesn’t matter. I know exactly how to fix this. It’s simple, really. I have to bribe a dragon.”
22
ASTRID
Lilia, Ragnar, Daella, and Rivelin were nowhere to be found. They knew all about dragons. In fact, the one lurking in the mine tunnels was likely one of Rivelin’s friends. And if not, Daella was an orc who could approach the beast without getting burnt. But after searching every tavern in the area, it seemed they’d either left or gone on their own hunt.
“It couldn’t be easy, could it?” I pulled a stool up to a table at The Wet Beard and pointed for Tormund to sit. No one was here to serve us ale, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t enjoy it.
Right now, I sorely needed to take the edge off with a delicious brew.
As I grabbed a keg and poured the drinks, Tormund leaned against the counter, far more at ease than he had any right to be. Didn’t he understand the implications of this? He seemed content to let me find the Everstone and return it to its rightful place, but that meant he couldn’t take it back to Azraak to save his friend.
“We’ve been to see the dragon once already. We’ll figure it out,” he said.
I pushed a tankard across the counter, then took a big gulp of mine. I downed the whole thing at once, slammed it onto the bar, and poured another.
His eyebrow arched skyward. “Thirsty?”
“You seem awfully calm.” I took another drink—this time just one sip instead of the entire brew—and met his stare with one of my own. “I need you to answer something, and I need you to answer it honestly.”
“What is it, Astrid?”
I tried not to shudder at the way he said my name. Gods, why did it always get to me like that?
“Once we found out where the gem went, you instantly relaxed. It’s like you believe there’s no reason to worry. You don’t seem disappointed that you have to give it up for the dwarves to survive here, which means you must not plan on doing that. Tell me the truth, Tormund. Are you going to take the gem back to Azraak?”
He leaned forward and gazed at me with an intensity that made my toes curl. “No.”
“Really,” I said. Not a question, a statement. “You’re not going to take the Everstone home?”
“There are thousands of you. I’d never take away the one thing that means you can survive in your mountain.”
“But your dragon friend…”
He sighed. “I’ll find another way.”
“You said there was no other way,” I argued.
