Word would spread fast, if it hadn’t already. Every dwarf in the surrounding villages would know Astrid Balstad had finally found a partner. But it was bound to get out eventually, especially when Tormund moved in and started a life with me.
I beamed up at him. He beamed right back. “All of it’s true.”
“I knew it.” She clapped again, practically dancing down the length of the bridge. “The second you met him, I knew there was something about him you liked. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to get under your skin like that.” She laughed. “Trust me. I know all about that.”
“I’m sure you do.” I patted her arm. “Now go on. Find Rivelin. I’m sure he’s missing his dragon.”
She thanked me again and scurried off. Tormund and I approached the others. They all clapped us on the backs, thanking us for finding enough treasure to bargain with the other dwarves. Meral and Altan teased Tormund about me, then exclaimed with happiness when he showed them the gem that could help Tahir.
Others drifted over as we told everyone our story until it seemed like the entire village of Steingard had come to hear the tale. Kegs were brought out. Ale was passed around. And, funnily enough, moss cakes started making the rounds.
It was only Jostein who avoided the festivities. He remained on my stoop, watching the celebration with despondent eyes. While Tormund welcomed some new arrivals and filled them in on our adventures through the mines, I ambled over to Jostein.
I settled onto the stoop next to him. He wouldn’t even meet my eyes. “What’s going on, Jostein? With the way you’re acting, one might think you don’t want us to trade the coins for the Everstone.”
“No, no, I most definitely want that,” he said quickly, then sighed. “I just hate it was my fault we lost it, and I made you go off to find a fix.”
“I offered to do it,” I said. “I washappyto do it, in fact.”
“I know. You found a purpose. I always knew you would.” He gave me a sad smile. “And I can also see there’s something different about you now. There’s a light in your eyes that wasn’tthere before. Some might think it’s because of Tormund, but it’s not, is it?”
“He’s made me very happy, Jostein,” I said quietly.
“But there is something else.”
“Yes.” I propped my elbow on my knee and put my tankard on the floor by my feet. Jostein had been acting so oddly since the start of the competition. And if I thought back, he’d been acting oddly before it, too. I’d wanted to pretend otherwise. He was the father I’d never known, but this sadness, this regret… “You never wanted me to break my curse.”
He winced, his eyes trained on the daisies beside him. “No, I did not.”
Frustration rattled through me like a vicious wind, even though I’d suspected it. “Why? You knew I wanted it more than anything.”
“Because I am the one who asked the witch to gift you the curse,” he said tightly, his hands gripping the sides of the stoop.
I hissed and pulled back. Surely I’d heard him wrong.Surelythe man who’d raised me as his own wouldn’t have trapped me here without any hope of ever moving on. Surely, surely, surely. Jostein loved me like a daughter. Didn’t he?
“I’m so sorry, Astrid.” He dropped his head into his hands. “After your parents died, the witch appeared. She showed me a future where you wandered the world for decades, so lonely you cried yourself to sleep every night. I couldn’t bear it. And so I asked her to find a way to make you stay. Here with all of us, your dwarven community.”
“Jostein,” I whispered, my heart pounding.
“I know it was a terrible thing to do, and it’s caused you so much pain. I was just…I wanted you to behappy, and I thought you’d be happiest here, surrounded by all your friends and your plants. That’s why I fed them all that moss cake the other day. I thought if you saw how much they thrived here, you’d want tobe happy in Steingard.” He lifted his head to meet my eyes, and tears tracked down his cheeks. “I was wrong.”
I pressed my lips together. He had done a terrible thing, and a part of me wanted to hate him for it. But as I stared at his shaking shoulders and his genuine tears, I found I couldn’t. He’d only done what he did out of love.
“And the Everstone? The competition?” I asked him.
He sniffled. “I entered you. I thought if you competed for the ‘stone’ and lost, you might be able to give up your single-minded obsession with it. You were so focused on it, it seemed like you were missing out on life. All these years were passing by, and all you cared about was finding a way to break free of this place.”
“Oh, Jostein,” I sighed.
“I know you can never forgive me, and I know you’ll leave as soon as the Everstone is back in its rightful place, but—”
“I’m not leaving, Jostein,” I said quietly.
He looked up at me, raw hope in his eyes. “But you broke your curse. You’re not bound to the mountains any longer.”
“This is my home. I’m not leaving,” I said, louder this time and firm enough that he knew just how serious I was. “I mean, I’ll venture above to watch a sunset here and there, but I’m staying in Steingard.”
“You’re not leaving,” he repeated.
