Chapter 26

Everything hurt. Groaning, I lifted my head from the ground and peered around with blurry eyes. Rocks were scattered around me, consuming what had once been the pond where Astrid had so gloriously bathed herself.

Shock jolted me. I leapt to my feet and nearly fell flat on my face, rubble crumbling beneath my feet. But the one thought blaring through my mind kept me standing.

Where the fuck is Astrid?!

Horror twisted my guts as I spun in a slow, agonizing circle. There was nothing surrounding me but boulders. What had once been a cavernous space was a tiny little cave now. I dropped to my knees. Rocks punched through my trousers, but I barely felt the pain.

Unshed ears burned my eyes. My power had done this. It had caused the entire cave to come crashing down on us, and…

I choked. My worst nightmare had come true. I knew I shouldn't have gotten close to her. I knew it would only ever end in this.

"Tormund!" a beautiful, sweet, perfect voice called out, muffled behind all this rock. I threw myself toward the sound.

"Astrid!" I pressed my face against the nearest boulder, my voice more panicked than I'd ever heard it before. "Where are you? Are you hurt? Oh gods, I'm so sorry. I never should have lost control of myself like that."

"I'm still here beside the pond, Tormund. And I'm fine." A pause. "You're the one who's trapped."

Frowning, I eyed my surroundings again. What I'd thought was the pond was clearly nothing more than a pile of pebbles. In my panic, I'd seen things that weren't there. But none of that mattered. All I could imagine was Astrid shivering on the other side of these rocks, surrounded by boulders as big as a dragon.

"Are you're sure you're fine?" I called out. "You can still move around all right?"

"It's like you drew all the falling rocks to your own body," she answered. "Tormund, what happened?"

I closed my eyes, lowered myself to the ground, and dropped my head against the boulder. "I…I've accidentally caused something like this before. People got hurt that time. I've never been able to forgive myself, because deep down I knew it would happen again." Heaviness settled onto my shoulders. "And I was right."

"All right. I see. But can you tell me how it happened? I've never heard of shadow demons having this kind of power. You brought down hundreds of rocks."

"I wish I could explain," I muttered.

"What was that?"

I cleared my throat and raised my voice. "I wish I could, Astrid."

A long silence answered. I could picture her face in my mind, putting the pieces of the puzzle together. How I'd known so much about curses. How cagey I'd been about my power. How I'd pulled away when we got too close and never had a good explanation for it. Astrid was a smart woman, and she knew how curses worked all too well.

"Well," she eventually said. "What kind of curse amplifies powers?"

"The kind that wants me to go through life never fully letting go," I said. "I have to remain tense. I have to keep a tight leash on myself and my emotions. Because this…this is what happens when I don't. I destroy everything I love."

Love.The word spilled from my lips. I swallowed, wondering if Astrid had noticed.

"Then you have to find a way to accept your powers for what they are," she said, sounding far too calm about this entire situation. "That's how you break your curse."

I laughed bitterly. "Astrid, this is it for me. I'm surrounded by boulders and piles of rocks. What just happened completely sapped my power. It will return to me eventually, but it could take days. I'm not strong to move all this stuff out of the way."

"That's fine," came the reply. "I'll move them."

I closed my eyes. Of course she'd try to move all the rocks herself. It made me even more determined to protect her from me. "Astrid, you're better off without me in your life. Look what just happened. Next time, you could get hurt."

"I am not better off, thank you very much. You're just cursed, and we can bloomin' fix that," she snapped.

I frowned at the wall of stone separating us. "I don't want you to do this. The rocks could come crashing down on you if you try. Besides, you'd only be wasting your time. You need to get on with your quest for the sunstones. The dragon could be back inside her lair now."

"Ah, there it is." I could hear the smile in her voice. "You're trying to control everything. Well, you can't. I'm going to dig you out of there, whether you like it or not."

A scraping sound soon followed. I stood and paced the length of the cramped space, running my hands along the base of my horns. Astrid was better off without me. She didn't need my help to bake the moss cakes or deliver the treasure to Rockheim. In fact, she'd be safer without the threat of my powers crashing down on her—quite literally.

After a while, she called out, her voice a little closer now. "Have you thought about what I said?"

"I've been thinking that you're making a mistake."

She thumped the rocks. "No, we're not doing that. If I were you, what would you tell me?"

"Except I am not you, which is why I don't deserve you."

"You are a very infuriating demon."

"See? I don't deserve you."

"I can't wait to dig you out of these rocks, sit on top of you, and show you just how wrong you are."

My pulse pounded in my neck. Even in the midst of all of this, the thought of Astrid atop me, riding me, moaning at me, arching her back so her glorious breasts were in my face…it was almost enough for me to hope.

As if she'd picked up on that, she carried on. "I want to run my fingers along your horns and feel your tongue inside me."

"Fucking fates, Astrid," I muttered, going hard.

"But what's more, I want to wake up beside you every morning, nuzzle into your shoulder, and listen to your plans for the day. And then I want to come home to you after a long day in the mines. We can enjoy a nice home-cooked meal, trade stories, or just sit in comfortable silence from knowing each other so well. I want a future with you, Tormund, and I don't care if your powers are volatile. Because even when you lost control, you made sure I didn't get hurt. I think the truth is that your powers aren't as destructive as you believe they are."

My chest tightened. It felt like my heart wanted to leap out of me, shove the boulders out of the way, and run to her. Gods, what I would give to have everything she'd said. It was a nice, peaceful kind of life she dreamt of, one I could truly love. One where I could unravel all the twisted up pieces of myself and finally be free.

But how could I do that if my power would destroy everything?

"What happened if I did this in your cottage, Astrid? It would destroy your home and all your beloved plants," I said.

"Well, your power wouldn't do that if it's not powerful enough to do that, eh?" I could practically hear her rolling her eyes at me. "Listen to what I'm saying to you, you frustrating demon. Your power…it's only this strong because you believe it is. So stop bloomin' believing it!"