Page 28 of A Tale of Ice and Ash
“No, I mean… why are youstillhere? You came of age well over a year ago. Why didn’t you go back to Florin and become king?”
“Maybe I like it here.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“It’s complicated,” he said. “And I don’t feel like going into it just yet.” He dug into his pocket and fished out the necklace that had been sitting in it since yesterday, tossing it towards her. “Are you going to sell it?” he asked.
Eirwen shrugged. “Maybe.” She said. “Come… come on. I’m going to show you something.”
She tugged his arm and drew him out of the hut and into a cellar underneath the main residence. Its roof was painfully low. Inside were various bags of grain, casks of ale and crates of supplies, but a corner was taken up with what must have been other loot from the mountain. There were small bags of gems, a few chalices, a couple of bracelets and a handful of rings.
Snow took out the necklace, fastened it, and shaped it into a circle. She moved one of the chalices inside the ring created by the chain. The stone at the centre blackened. She sighed, pushing it away.
“The necklace doesn’t just work on people,” she explained. “Objects can carry curses, too. I don’t sell anything that isn’t safe, or could be used for evil.”
“How… how do you know all this?” he said. “About Under the Mountain, these items that have been lost for centuries…”
“Onyx, mainly. He’s the leader here.”
“How does he know?”
“Word of mouth? Old dwarven legends? Age? He’s never told me.”
Cole knew what it was like to live with someone with secrets. He didn’t push it.
“What about you?” she continued. “How did you find out about necklace?”
“I first heard of it in a book–” he started.
“You can read?” Eirwen clutched her hands together in shock.
“Ah, yes,that’sthe Eirwen I remember. I’ve missed the teasing.”
“Really?”
“No.”
She scowled at him, which just made him want to laugh. Even knowing she could put up a fight, she looked about as threatening as a mouse. He wanted to poke her cheeks.
He carried on with his story instead. It was a safer option.
“Thought it was a myth, at first, but then there’s always been a lot of rumours about Under the Mountain. I did some research, some digging, alotof reading, poring through old maps and records. It took me weeks, months even.”
“Are you trying to impress me?”
“Is it working?”
“No.”
He snorted. “What does the chalice do, do you think?”
“I don’t know,” said Snow, testing the other pieces and sorting them into piles. “It could poison anyone who drinks from it, might just give them terrible hair. Not worth putting it out on the market.”
“What about the other bits?”
“Not sure about most of them. The ring casts a fairy glamour, though. I’m not very good at using it.” She picked it up, sliding it onto her finger and turning the jewel in the centre. Her hair turned ice-white. “I should be able to transform into anyone, but either it’s a bit broken or my imagination is terrible.” She slid it off again and put it down.
“That’s amazing! Why wouldn’t you sell it? You could fetch a great price–”
