Chapter 4

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 enjoy in 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 green cake. 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.

"Overgrown spiders," I said when I reached her front stoop. "It was a good idea, though I'll admit I'm surprised. I thought the dwarves of The Glass Peaks were peaceful folk. You are part of the Isles the last time I checked, and they're famous for being a haven from violence and all things rotten in this bloody world."

"I'll remind you that it was your choice to go down that tunnel, not mine. In fact, I went in the opposite direction."

"And you wouldn't have felt even a flicker of guilt if the thing had killed me."

She laughed. It was a light, tinkling sound that jingled like the bells she wore in her hair, echoing all around us. Her eyes crinkled in the corners. Rose dusted her cheeks. Fate be damned, she looked beautiful like that. If I were a different sort of man with a different sort of goal, I could see how I might be tempted to do anything in my power to get her to laugh like that again. But I wasn't. Even if she wasn't my rival, I could never get involved.

And so I ignored her beauty and cocked a brow. "The idea of my death is funny, eh?"

"I'm just surprised that a muscly, cocky competitor would be afraid of a little old spider."

"Muscly? Did you just give me a compliment?" I took a step closer, grinning. "That might just make up for your attempt to kill me."

"Oh, trust me. That's not a compliment." She cocked her head, looking up at me. "And Daisy never would have killed you. He's pretty tame. All you have to do is give him some folk food, and he goes on his merry way."

"Ah." I nodded. "That explains his eagerness to eat my chocolate."

Her smile slipped. "Don't tell me you wasted that cocoa on a spider."

"I thought he was going to eat me. Giving up the chocolate seemed like the better option at the time."

She rolled her eyes and threw up her hands. "See? You know nothing about these dwarven lands. And I bet you think you'll win Fittest Under the Mountain despite it."

"Think it? No." My smile widened. "I know I'll win."

"I have truly never met anyone with a bigger ego than yours, and that's saying something," she said flatly.

"If I don't believe in myself, why would anyone else?" I shrugged. "I learned a long time ago I have to back myself in everything I do. Which is why…" I leaned in and snatched a cake from her basket. "…I'm also going to find the Everstone."

"Not if I have anything to do with it," she snapped.

"Why do you want it so badly? As far as I can tell, no one else seems that bothered by it anymore. No one but you."

"I could ask you the same question."

I chuckled.

"If you're not going to tell me, give me back my cake." She reached out for the green morsel, but I held it over my horns and out of her reach. Glowering, she folded her arms.

"Tell me where you think the Everstone is, and I'll gladly give you this weird glowing thing you call food."

"It's really quite tasty," she countered.

"Somehow, I doubt that," I replied, holding the thing before me. Up close, it did look like cake, but it was hard to ignore the very vibrant green of it. "It looks like grass."

She sighed and turned away. "Right. Grass."

I frowned as she opened the door and shuffled into her cave cottage. For a moment, I hesitated, dumbstruck by her sudden change in attitude. She was no longer the annoying miner who'd tried to send me into the pincers of an oversized spider and was back to the girl who'd sat on her stoop, nearly crying.

As if driven forward out of their own volition, my feet followed Astrid inside, and my horns scraped the low stone ceiling. Astrid plopped down at a tiny wooden table in the center of the room. Moss, vines, and flowers consumed the entire space, blooming from the walls and climbing through the cracks around the window frames. I stepped past it all—careful not to crush anything—and joined her at the table. She didn't even look up when the chair creaked.

"Why in fate's name does grass make you so sad? You seem to love greenery." I gestured around her small yet comfortable home. "And if you don't, I have some bad news for you. There are plants everywhere in your house. In fact, I think they're taking over, and I doubt you'll ever get rid of them all. Might be time to move."

She sighed again and shoved an entire cake into her mouth. For a moment, silence descended as she chewed. A few crumbs dropped to the table, and she brushed them aside absentmindedly, that faraway look in her eyes again.

When she finished eating the moss cake, she said, "I'm afraid I can't tell you. But you should know it's why I'm hunting the Everstone."

"Ah. Right. Of course you won't tell me a damn thing. That would make things far too easy."

"No, I mean, I really can't tell you."

"Yes, I realize that. You see me as a stranger from another land who is trying to steal your prize and—"

"No, I quite literally can't speak of it. I can dance around it, of course, but I can't say the words directly." She shrugged, pulled out another cake, and then waved it around. Crumbs sprayed the wall. "It's part of the whole thing."

I sat up a little straighter. Back in my homeland, curses happened often enough that I understood the signs. The trouble was, we were not in my homeland. We were in the Isles, where this kind of thing wasn't supposed to happen. I didn't even know witches came here.

"You're cursed," I said.

She squinted at me. "How did you know that?"

I let out a hollow laugh. "This isn't my first encounter with a cursed woman. How did it happen?"

Her gaze narrowed. "I don't think I like that term."

"What term? Cursed woman? I might as well say it how it is, even if you can't."

"It just sounds so…" She wrinkled her nose.

"Interesting? Oh yes, I agree. You have a curse, and you need the Everstone to break it. And I'm here to throw a wrench into your plans. Quite the quandary you have there. No wonder you sent me straight into the jaws of that beast."

She folded her arms and glared at me. "You're getting way too much amusement out of this."

I grinned at her. But inside, my heart twisted. Truth was, I felt for the girl. Curses were nasty little things, and no telling what kind of turmoil this one caused her. No wonder she was so determined to find the Everstone. Its power was great enough to free her from whatever magical bonds were wrapped around her wrists. For a moment, I actually considered walking away from all of it.

But I couldn't let myself think like that. Astrid looked well enough. She had a roof over her head, plenty of food, and friends to keep her company. Empathy was dangerous. It would make me hesitate when I needed to move forward with fierce determination.

"I've had enough. You can go now," she said. "And don't let the door hit your arse on the way out."

I widened my smile to hide my thoughts. "My muscled arse, according to you."

"You are the most insufferable man I've ever met. Has anyone ever told you that?"

"Demon. And I appreciate the compliment. It's the second one you've gifted me."

She groaned. "Get out, Tormund. That is a bound order."

Magic seized me by the back of the neck and tugged me to my feet. And then it started dragging me toward Astrid's open door. Before I got too far away from the table, I snatched one of those moss cakes from the basket. As disgusting as they looked, I had to show the others.

"Surprised you know how to get rid of a shadow demon," I called out over my shoulder.

"Good. I hope you keep underestimating me. It'll make it far more satisfying when I beat you."

"At the competition or to the Everstone?" Magic heaved me out onto her stoop and dropped me there. Bloody bound orders. When the goddess Freya gave shadow demons this weakness, I didn't think she intended it to be used this way. It was supposed to keep humans safe at night from those of us who used our allure to tempt them into bed. Instead, Astrid, who was very much not human and not being tempted, was doing it to make a point.

Astrid smiled serenely from her kitchen table. "You'll find out soon enough."

And with that, a gust of wind slammed the door in my face, and the lock tumbled shut.