Page 7 of Stealing the Troll’s Heart

“It wasn’t that ugly,” I say reflexively. Deleran scowls even deeper. “It got me out of the situation intact, didn’t it?”

“I’m sure there are other ways you could’ve gone about it.”

But I don’t care what he thinks. It worked. And I even liked it, just a little bit.

“You know,” he says after another swig. “You’ve always been kind of a freak, Telise. So somehow shocked, but also not surprised.”

“He’s the only reason I’m not dead right now,” I say. “I could be just a sack of bones hanging from a post.”

Deleran doesn’t respond right away. “Yeah,” he finally says, staring down into his cup. “I am glad you’re still alive, even if it’s only because you kissed a damn trollkin right on the mouth. He must have a crush on you now.”

Without my permission, my heartjumps a little. What if he does? While I’ve been revisiting the moment that I kissed him over and over, has he been thinking about me, too?

“You didn’t realize?” Deleran asks, noting my surprise. “The troll only let you go because it has a thing for you now.”

Huh. Why does that tickle me in a place deep down? I like the idea of him desiring me. I wonder if kissing him sent off a whole chain reaction of events in his mind.

“Guess it’s a good thing I did what I did, isn’t it?” I grin at him. “It was even a little hot.”

Deleran’s face turns red. “You have to be joking.” He shakes his head in deep disapproval. “Telise, I can’t wrap my mind around you.”

“Guess I am a freak.”

Deleran did help me and my leopard hide get home safely, so I owe it to him to be a little nice.

“Did you get some good ass while I was gone?” I ask.

“It was all right.” But it doesn’t look like his heart is in it.

“I made you something.” I had the whole trip back on the ship to do some arts and crafts. I pull out a pair of boots, the ankles rimmed with generic rabbit fur, and set them on the table in front of him.

His eyes light up. He grabs the boots and holds them up, evaluating the shape of the foot, studying my stitch work. If I know anything about my best friend, it’s that he appreciates fashion. And these boots are fashion.

“For me?” He immediately rips off his shoes and puts the new boots on. “Wow. Lined, too?”

“Can’t have you freezing or anything.” Winter is approaching soon, and I plan on staying on my feet. I hope that he’ll come with me—I’m a little more wary of traveling alone now.

“Are you dragging me up north?” he asks, now obviously impatient with me. “Is this a bribe?”

“It’s a gift!” I do my best to appear put out by his accusation. But Deleran simply doesn’t speak, giving me astop lying to my facelook instead. “I want to get some bear, okay? People are all about bear right now. And beaver. There’s only one place I can get that.”

With a dramatic sigh, Deleran drops his head to the table. “I should never have left Great Oak with you.”

“Didn’t think you’d get dragged all over the world, huh?” I smile. “We’ll go by train. I hear the trip is lovely.”

Chapter 4

Raz’jin

Finally, we’re back in civilization. I usually don’t mind the isolation of life as a prospector but roughing it does get old after a while. I wouldn’t mind a beer, a meal, and a soft bed once we sell off our gold.

I’ve forgotten how smelly this place can get, though. Unwashed trollkin of all kinds, with all their various foods and farm animals, stink up the streets and alleyways. There’s not much sense to the organization of Kalishagg, but you learn your way around eventually. It started as a single troll settlement and expanded upon itself from there, one clay building and sagging tent at a time.

We find our guy’s shop up on the second level, across a rickety wooden bridge. Old Magna’s shop is exactly the same as the previous dozen times I’ve visited with a bag full of unprocessed, raw ore.

“Only 560?” Blizzek is incensed by Magna’s price after he weighs it.

“Sorry,” he says. “The value of gold has gone down. You’d have been better off with silver.”

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