bad things never neglect me

"You labor in the forge day and night," Halbrand says, his voice sharp, "and yet you refuse my aid. You, of all people, understand the stakes, Mirdania."

Before she can respond, he seizes her wrist with a firm grip. Her skin is cold against his hand, damp from the rain. He presses her palm against the tattered remnants of his shirt, the rough fabric smearing the coal stain off her glowing skin.

A small, unbidden sound escapes her-a half-caught breath.

Her brows knit into a frown, but her pink lips part in unmistakable longing.

Only the faint rustle of animals shifting in the hay is heard- precarious stillness engulfs them; the prey's last chance to run.

-

To forge the Rings, Sauron must enter Eregion-but there is a price to pay.