Eir's POV
"Break it!"
Drifta's hoarse coaxing rumbled through my head as I absentmindedly stared at the little neckless. Flickering light from the dancing flames shone through the little glass pendant; warm yellow light pierced through the cold night shadows like tiny sunrays.
"What do you think it is?"
I whispered back, ignoring her request.
"It looks like glass- better even, crystal or diamond. It was perfect, and the edge was smooth and delicate, but what's inside? One minute, it looks like gold, liqueur, or powder, but the next I swear it's nothing there."
Slowly, I tilted my head from one side to the other, fascinated by the little neckless swaying gently by the movements. The thin chain wrapped around my hand as I held it up in front of me.
"So, break it! Let us find out instead of this stupid glaring and guessing game!"
Her impatience felt like electricity through my veins, but not even Drifta could hide her curiosity. Small threads of golden light moved like lightning and arrows through the thick darkness; only the sizzling sound from the burning wood and crickets filled the dense silence of the night.
"It looks like a tiny piece of the sun is captured inside!"
I whispered into the dark.
"Or melted gold! Or…"
Drifta's voice faded, and her trail of thoughts disappeared into nothing.
"Or what?"
After a long silence, I barked back and realized that Drifta, for the first time, had forcefully cut me out of her mind. Hid her thoughts from me. But I still felt her, the turmoil inside her, and frankly, it irritated me more than I first thought. My voice was harsher and louder than I planned.
"Fáfnir's tears... The cursed dragon, the dwarf, was punished for his greed. The one tear he ever cried, his tears of greed, despair, and hatred. The last on an only tear, one said to be of the purest gold ever to exist, as part of his punishment. The perfect piece of gold, the tiny drop worth more than all the gold in the human realm."
"Fáfnir.."
I scoffed.
"Sounded like something got stuck in your throat, and you tried to hide a cough. I've never heard of this cursed dwarf dragon!"
"Well, he is rarely mentioned in your uncultivated brain's defense. Why would he? A greedy dwarf, cursed into a dragon that could never leave the underworld. However, the gold tear is just a myth, and coming from a world like mine, where all your myths are reality, it should tell you everything. The dwarfs themselves created the story of the gold tear to taunt the memories of their fallen comrade and scare their children from taking the same route. The story even caught Freya's attention at one point, you know, the goddess of love, beauty, fertility, battle, and gold. Odin, Thor, and Loki searched for it; nothing but stories appeared. It never existed, nothing but a tale."
With a deep sigh, I leaned back in the moist grass while locking the little neckless inside in my palm. I clenched my fist while my eyes rested on the night sky, mindlessly staring at the dark skies as they blocked one star after another on their way. For a second, I debated whether to crush it, let the glass shatter in my palm, or let the sunshine, dragon tear, pixie dust, or whatever it was, soak up in my skin.
But the dark and cold calm came after the rush of brute and childish thoughts. A wave of intrusive thoughts never meant to be anything but just that, thoughts now faded back into the deep.
"I'm not breaking it. It is just a necklace. Maybe it's his?"
"The one who slaughtered everyone in the old Lilifolia day castle? Maybe, but why would Betty have that? And not only having it but wearing it too? Because, that is strange, right?"
"Right..."
I nodded.
"Yeah, that would be a strange thing to do. It could be hers. I mean, just an important family jewel passed down to her by her mother?"
"But, if it is, why give it to me? She hates me almost as much as I hate her and everything she stood for!"
Drifta scoffed in response,
"How should I know? But..."
She paused, and so did I. There was no need for words. We both felt it, my doubts are her doubts, her fears mine. We had no idea where we were going, not even if we were going in the right direction. Drifta is convinced she would have recognized a familiar bond if we saw our sister. Smelled her, felt the blood connection, and there was nothing at the castle.
"I would have known, and you would have known if we met her."
"But they were all dead…"
My heartbeat slowly increased, and suddenly it felt stronger. The feeling grew in my chest and my throat burned as I whispered the words. The horrible truth too much to accept, the grotesque scenes we experienced in that castle. Biting cold memories crept over my skin, making my skin itching and numb. Slaughter. Bloody, gruesome, and evil.
"Yeah... Eir, we found over 30 bodies. 30! And only a handful of them looked like they died fighting, or at least defeating themselves."
"They were executed."
"No... That would have meant they died a merciful death. Quick and somehow humane! That was just evil. Murder in cold blood. With as much fear and pain as possible. Two, maybe three people did this all on their own. In each room, I could smell his warriors, too many to separate one from another. But it was enough to tell me where they stood, lined up against the walls. They just watched."
The silence that followed grew thicker and deeper like a cold shadow pressing around me. My breath deepened and slowed down and with it my heart. We don't have time to waste here, we need to push all feelings aside and think more rationally. Our sister was not there, she might have been at one point, but not now. Did the unknown group take her with them? And in that case, why? Had they targeted her? Because she was an unmated female? For being human?
The little glass sun felt warm against my skin. While pondering and discussing with Drifta, my mind had been elsewhere, and now I was wearing the necklace. But I didn't mind. I'll keep it for a while, for later. Right now, our focus is on finding our sister. Ditching our plan for a quick nap after eating, I put the fire out and covered it with dirt. This was the perfect time for hunting! I felt calm and collected, my focus heightened while Drifta's night sight manifested in my eyes. I never felt more capable and ready to track down whoever was in front of us. If my sisters are not there, we need a new plan.
A low growl forced up my throat as I fell forward, my eyes glued to the path ahead in the dark. Drifta's body forced mine back and before we disappeared in between the threes, out of the moonlight that lit up the little clearing her full form glimmered in the cold light.