34. Chapter 34
Chapter 34
A fter lunch, I head straight for Dryden’s workshop. I’m still sad about upsetting Jaeger, but she made it clear to me she needed space. And Nuala tells me Dryden is still struggling with the compass, so I set on a quest to at least try to make myself useful.
“How’s it going?” I ask as soon as I enter the workshop, finding Dryden hunched over the table with heaps of books and tools lying around.
“I’ve managed to fix the mechanism,” he tells me without looking up, “but the thing is still refusing to work.”
It’s only once I walk over to him that he lifts his head to lock eyes with me. I almost stumble back.
He looks so tired and grumpy, more so than I’ve ever seen him. “Are you alright, Dryden?” I demand, leaning in with a frown.
He shakes his head. “I’m fine.” He motions at the chair next to him and I take a seat. “It’s just what happens when you try to use it.”
He shows me the aged-silver octagonal compass with a green dragon’s eye embedded into the center of the lid. Then he demonstrates opening and moving it in a circle.
When I look up at him, he looks even worse. “It drains you,” I conclude under my breath.
He nods.
I frown. “You should take a break,” I tell him adamantly.
He shakes his head again. “No, but I’d really like it if you stuck around for a while.”
My gaze softens when I see the plea in his eyes. “Of course.”
He nods contently and gets back to work, saying, “Talk to me about something, please.”
I think for a second. “I just had lunch in the Main Hall. Nuala was talking to Jaeger about freshening the menu up a bit.”
His lips tug into a slight smile.
Encouraged, I keep blabbing. “It’s heartwarming, how close you all seem to be. I’m grateful to be part of your team.”
He looks up to give me a wider smile.
When he goes back to his work, Jaeger pops into my head again. I fail to resist the urge to sniff around. “Even Jaeger and de Groot seem to be getting along,” I say cautiously.
He doesn’t seem to find it suspicious. He just lets out a little chuckle. “I’ve never known anyone who gets along with de Groot, but sure.”
My eyebrows pull down. I keep talking, changing the subject, but soon all my focus shifts onto the compass.
And the more I look at it, the more I have this odd feeling.
“Can I try?” I ask abruptly, reaching my hand out.
He turns at the waist, throwing me a curious look. Then he frowns and shakes his head.
“Come on,” I insist.
He relents, however reluctantly.
I take the thing in my hand, open the lid and try to picture the Aesir iron. Almost instantly, the compass starts draining my energy, but there’s something else as well. This feeling that there’s something it wants .
“See,” I hear Dryden say sharply. “You’re only going to get yourself hurt.”
I lift my eyes to look at him, but I don’t let go, a realization hitting me. “No,” I say with a shake of my head. “Let me try something, please.”
He hesitates, but he gives me a nod.
I take the knife out of my pocket, prick my finger and feed the compass a drop of my blood.
Instantly, it emits this glow, the dial starting to move.
“How did you do that?” I hear Dryden ask with surprise in his voice.
I shrug. “It seemed to call for blood.”
When I look up at him, I see his face lighting up. “You got it to work, Anna,” he whispers excitedly.
Smiling, I look down. Then I frown. “Yeah, but it’s just spinning around.” I look up again. “What does that mean, Dryden?”
He’s pressing his lips tight, frowning. “It means the metal is not here after all.”