Chapter 21

The route back to Steingard was long and arduous. I managed to scale the rope to the first hole's ledge, then use my weight combined with the rock to help Tormund follow. We wound up back in the tunnel where we'd been too busy staring at each other to notice the massive hole in the ground. It turned out that tunnel was a dead end, anyway, so we would have had to turn around and go back if we hadn't explored the holes.

Tormund spent a long time frowning at the dead end before trailing after me in the direction from whence we came. My limbs felt as heavy as my eyelids, and my mind was too frazzled to conjure thoughts. We were far enough away from the Endless Chasm that we wouldn't hear the dwarven bell that signalled sundown. I had no idea what time it was or how long I'd been awake. Judging by my staggering exhaustion, it was well past my bedtime.

Still, we carried on, shuffling down tunnel after tunnel—until finally, we walked out into the fresh breeze rolling through the Endless Chasm, the scent of daises wafting toward us. I squinted, trying to make out where we were, but shadows clung to every ledge, transforming the whole place into nothing more than stone smudges.

"Hmm," Tormund said from beside me. "I haven't been here long, but something tells me there's something very wrong with your sunstones."

I hadn't registered it until he said it. We'd spent so many hours in the darkness of the lower mines that the heavy shadows here seemed normal. But every sunstone along the many ledges lining the chasm was almost completely dark. All the bridges were dark, too. A tremor went down my spine. No one was out here replacing the stones, either, as far as I could tell.

It was so quiet, I could hear the distant trickle of cave water trailing down the walls.

"We can't live like this. Someone has to do something," I said quietly, resignation settling in my gut. "I can't go with you, Tormund. I need to help the mining efforts. We need more sunstones to replace all these."

"Astrid." He settled a warm, comforting hand on my shoulder. "I think we both know that's not going to help."

I closed my eyes, an uneasy breath rattling through me. Things had been off when we'd left. The sunstones at The Wet Beard had been fading. The ones along the bridge near my home had been, too. Even those we'd passed in the mines had seemed dimmer than usual, but I'd been so focused on our quest that I'd banished the problem from my mind.

Now the truth was impossible to ignore.

Something was very, very wrong with our sunstones.

"Come on." I tugged on his arm, letting my instincts lead the way. Without the sunstones, we had no light, no warmth, and no way to grow food. Our entire society depended on these gems, and if we didn't find a way to fix whatever was wrong with them, the dwarves would have to find another home.

The idea of it burned the back of my throat. The dwarves had lived here for so long. I couldn't imagine where else we could go.

The Wet Beard was dark and cold. No one sat at the tables. The bard stage was empty. Empty tankards lined the bar, and no one was in the back office. They'd cleaned up the smashed crate and washed the walls, but the scent of smoke still lingered. Tormund and I looked around for a while, then moved on to the arena where the first trial had been held.

Not a single soul stirred in the expansive space or in the circular stands.

"This is eerie," I whispered. My quiet voice bounced along the vaulted ceiling. Dust motes danced in the dim light filtering through the small cracks far above. It was the only light I'd seen since leaving the tunnels.

"Everyone's likely taken refuge in their homes," Tormund answered. "Many will be frightened."

"They are," a deep voice called out from behind us.

I turned to find Jostein emerging from the shadows, his gray brow slamming low over his eyes. He walked slowly, as if the simple act was almost too exhausting to bear. My heart beat painfully against my ribs. I could only imagine how rough the past day must have been, with all the lights blinking out. Jostein would have tried to make order out of chaos and field questions to which he did not know the answers.

"What's happening, Jostein?" I asked him.

He slowed to a stop, sighed, and tugged at his long beard. "Truth be told, Astrid, I have no idea. The sunstones have stopped working. Even the ones we've yet to mine. We can't replace any of the faded ones because there's none to replace them with. I don't understand why this has happened or how to fix it."

"I have an idea," I said grimly. The thought had been rattling around in my brain all the way from The Wet Beard to the arena. The sunstones had never failed us before. They'd burned brightly for so very long. There was no reason they should suddenly fade like this. Not unless something had changed.

And something very big had changed. Only one thing had, really.

The only problem was, I didn't want to be right about this. Because it meant both the end of Tormund's dream and mine.

Jostein arched his brow, waiting for my thought.

"It's the Everstone," I admitted. "I think removing it from the tunnels has caused this. It must be what powers the sunstones. It must be what has kept our community thriving the way it always has. And if we don't find it and put it back where it came from, well…then I think life as we know it is over. We'll have to move on to somewhere else."

I looked up at Tormund. He nodded, his lips set into a thin line. He'd come to the same conclusion I had.

"Ah, yes." Jostein shuffled his feet a bit. "About that. The, ah, Everstone prize isn't really the Everstone."

Tormund swore. "I bloody knew it."

Jostein gave him a look. "The one you saw is a powerful gemstone, but it's not the Everstone."

"What do you mean?" I asked with a frown.

He heaved a sigh. "Rockheim wanted the Everstone. They traded their emerald one for it. I didn't think it really mattered. This new gem is powerful enough. What do we need the Everstone for?"

"To power our whole bloomin' community, Jostein!" I shouted, my voice echoing through the arena. "You just gave away the source of our light, our heat, and the only way we're able to grow food down here in The Deep. Can that new gemstone do any of that? What's its power, anyway?"

Paling, he stared down at his feet. "I thought it was fairly impressive, Astrid. It can give its bearer endless gold."

My stomach bottomed out. The dragon and her lair. "Endless gold coins, perhaps?"

He lifted his eyes. "Yes, I suppose. If that's the form one wished it to take. A truly great prize for winning the Fittest Under the Mountain, don't you think?"

"Well, everything makes a lot more sense." Throwing up my hands, I walked away. I knew Jostein had meant well. To him, the gem was just a gem. He hadn't known the consequences of removing it from our world. And in his eyes, endless gold in the hands of one of our own was probably a good thing, as long as they weren't a greedy bastard like Galinn. And as I thought back to the first trial, I recognized Jostein had been all too willing to remove him from the competition when given the chance. He'd wanted someone else to win it. Maybe even me.

Still, none of that changed the facts. The Everstone was gone. And if we didn't get it back, the light would be gone forever.

Tormund rested his hand on my shoulder. I looked up into the concerned eyes of the only person in the world I wanted to see right now, strangely enough. He'd understand how I felt more than anyone else. He knew how important this was.

"Are you all right?" he murmured.

"I'm really bloomin' angry."

"Understandable. He gave away the one thing he knew could set you free."

"No, it's not about that." I shook my head, my bells jingling. "He should have talked to me about the Everstone, but not because of that. Giving it away was a big decision, and he just made it all on his own. I know he's the one who runs our community, not me. But…I'm just shocked he would hide something like that from me. From all of us."

"I don't want to defend him. He did a dumb thing. But he can't have known the damage it would cause the sunstones," he said. "That said, I fully support whatever you want to do. If you want to throw something at him, I'll hand you a rock." He grinned. "I hope you've been practicing your aim."

I giggled. I couldn't help myself. The tension and worry and anxiety of the past few days was finally catching up to me, and I sorely needed a release. And right now, Tormund and his dumb jokes felt the perfect source of that.

"Ah, that's a nice sound to hear." He tweaked my chin, winking at me. "Should I make another innuendo to keep it going?"

My chest warmed. "I actually wouldn't say no to that." Then I sighed. "I suppose it's time to go home and start packing up my things, what little of it there is."

He looked at me for a long moment, then asked, "Why would you go and do a thing like that?"

"The Everstone is gone. The northern dwarves will have to move. To where, I don't know, but we can't stay here. I suppose some of us will go up top. Others will head south to Rockheim. Maybe that's where I'll go, too. They're the ones with the Everstone, after all. I bet their sunstones work just fine."

"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."