I took his offered cake. The warmth of it soothed the chilly ache in my hands. “I know that. I’m not like Lilia, Jostein. She loves to wander. Her feet will always itch to roam. Mine don’t. I just…”
“Want to see the sun,” he finished for me.
“Yeah,” I said softly, then cleared my throat. “But right now, what I really want is to eat this moss cake. Is it your usual recipe?”
He nodded enthusiastically. “Beet sugar, rum, stalagmite milk, eggs, and cave wheat flour. And moss, of course.”
“My mouth is watering already. Can’t wait to have one.”
He passed the basket to me. “Take the whole lot of them. Eat up. You’re going to need the energy for these trials.”
“I won’t be trying that hard, but thank you. I’ll never say no to moss cakes.”
“Well, I’ll still be right in front to cheer you on tonight.”
I lowered my arm, and the basket hit my thigh. “Tonight?”
His brow furrowed. “Didn’t you know that’s when it starts? It’s all anyone has been talking about for weeks.”
“I’ve been focused on finding the Everstone. I had no intention of even watching this year’s trials.”
Lips set into a straight line, he plucked a moss cake from the basket and handed it to me. “You best get eating, then.”
4
TORMUND
It only took a few moments for me to realize Astrid had played a trick on me, clever little thing. And if it weren’t for the human-sized spider blocking my path, I might have appreciated the cunning strategy. Even if I made it past the creature, I clearly wouldn’t find the Everstone in this tunnel. It wasn’t here. It never had been. All this? It was nothing more than a trap.
“Be gone,” I said to the spider. His pincers clicked, his bulbous yellow eyes luminous yet cold, like distant snow-capped mountains lit by morning sunlight. Beautiful and majestic, but deadly if one wasn’t careful.
I sighed heavily when the creature didn’t move.
“I have no plans to continue forward. Be gone, and I’ll return from whence I came.”
The pincers snapped.
“I have some chocolate,” I tried. “Would you like a piece?”
As eager as I’d been to get my hands on a bar of chocolate, I’d only eaten two of the twelve squares, leaving the rest to enjoyin the evenings after the trials. I hated to part with one now, but better to lose a square of chocolate than a horn.
His pincers stilled. I took that to mean he’d gladly accept my offer of peace. Raising one hand before me, I reached into my pocket and snapped off a square of chocolate. Then I gently dropped it on the ground and backed away.
The spider lunged for it, his pincers snapping wildly. I took the opportunity to back down the length of the tunnel and return to where I’d last seen Astrid. There was no sign of her now, of course. She’d be long gone, and I had a pretty good suspicion the path on the right would no sooner lead me to the Everstone than the left one had. In fact, I wouldn’t be shocked to find more spiders down in its depths.
With a slight smile, I followed the path toward Steingard.
I’d never before seen a dwarven village, at least not one like this. Bright green daisies bloomed in flower boxes and lined every stone bridge that curved from one side of the chasm to the next, and the persistent—yet gentle—wind carried their fragrant scent. Sunstones were embedded along every ledge, lighting up the gloomy darkness. They even emitted a faint heat that seeped into my skin as I strode toward the stone cottages. Despite the looming chasm, Steingard felt more like a seaside haven than a damp mining cave.
It made my bones ache for home, even though Azraak was nothing like this. Underground? Yes. Cozy and welcoming? Not even a little.
As I crossed the bridge over the chasm, my gaze immediately found Astrid sitting on her stoop and nibbling on a vibrant greencake. She didn’t notice me at first. Her eyes were distant, like she was deep in thought. Perhaps she was imagining her little spider friend gobbling me up so I couldn’t find the Everstone first.
But there was something wistful in her expression.Longing, I thought. I’d felt that emotion deep in my gut so often that I understood it for what it was. And there was a watery sheen to her eyes, like she was barely holding tears at bay. I slowed my steps. Perhaps I should turn around and confront her another time. She might be my rival in every regard, but I’d never want to make her cry.
But then she stiffened, and her head snapped up. An expression of shock rolled like a wave across her face, then she quickly covered it up with a scowl. Ha! She hadn’t expected me to escape so easily.
I quirked my lips and strode toward her, my eyes drawn to her curves as she stood and brushed the crumbs from her trousers. Her thick thighs were to die for—or they would be, if she didn’t currently stand in the way of everything I wanted. I rolled back my shoulders.Ignore the thighs.
