The Goblin Warrior (Beneath Sands Book 2) by Emma Hamm (100 books to read txt) 📕

and her head at the same time. On that day, you will see why I will continue to trust her.”

His eyes followed his Queen as she walked away from him. Strange how she had always managed to remain wise and confuse him at the same time. Her words would echo in his head for the rest of the day.

4

“You want me to what?”

Jane had only just managed to sneak back into the cave by the time Ruric returned. Her arms were still scratched and her head ached from where it had hit against the hard stone.

However, she was feeling a sense of exhilaration just by seeing the moons. She felt lighter than she had in months.

She was still breathing hard when Ruric swept into their cave.

“We need you to follow him. And if he gets into the City, we need you to stop him.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think you understand, Ruric. The City is not as easy to get into as your people think. I can’t walk in there and expect them to welcome me with open arms. It’s not like here.”

Ruric shrugged. His green tinged skin seemed to glow in the blue lights of the cave. Even through everything that they had done, Jane still found him strangely attractive. It was the strength in him. The power that called to her because she felt an answering echo within her own breast.

“Micah has said you will succeed.”

“Oh!” She laughed though the sound was much darker than happiness. “And because Micah believes in me, your people will now trust me with their future in my hands? Somehow I seriously doubt that Ruric.”

He placed a hand at the small of her back and guided her towards the small carpets that filled the cave. She saw every step of the way clearly as there were many globes lighting their way. No other goblin had so many lights to chase away the shadows. But he knew that she preferred them.

The lights were too bright for this conversation. He remembered all too well the heaviness that had weighed upon the council members.

He would be lucky if she did not feel the same pressure.

“I will be going with you.”

His words seemed to echo slightly in the cave. He watched as her eyes widened in shock.

“You don’t know how dangerous that will be.”

“No.”

“Has a goblin ever been above ground?”

“Not that we know of.”

She growled with frustration. “Then it is foolish to go with me. You could die within hours or days. It is too much of a risk.”

“It is the only risk we can afford to take.” His growl had more presence than hers, but was no more intimidating. “You have to go. You have to stop him. Or do you wish to see him return with an army?”

“I have never wished that.” She said quietly. For a moment her head dropped to look at her hands. Her open palms were tilted towards the ceiling. There were no more callouses on her hands, just smooth skin. Jane had never experienced such a luxury before she was taken here.

Finally she looked back up at him, the expression on her face one of complete and utter loss. “I cannot promise that I can stop him. Even if I make it into the City, there are too many unknowns. If we go, there is no guarantee that we will be able to stop him.”

His spine straightened. His expression was cool and confident. “I have led many raids. I have killed many creatures. If you get us into the City, I will stop him.”

“I do not question your strength, Ruric. I question whether or not the plans he has put into motion can ever be stopped.”

And there it was. The real guilt that had eaten away at her since the humans had killed so many. Whether it was her fault or not meant nothing to the future. Jane had not helped them kill nor had she helped them escape. But she had not attempted to stop them. This in itself meant that she was responsible for the future of this hidden world.

They were all slowly sinking into a pit of quicksand. She couldn’t stop the rush of time. Whether that was an army or a small group of men that were going to attempt to kill the creatures she now considered her own, it was likely something was going to happen.

“Jane.” Ruric leaned forward, though he did not touch her. “We do not have a choice. We must go now. We have to try.”

She slowly nodded.

“There’s no way to know that we’re going to succeed.”

Ruric shook his head at her. “We have to succeed.”

Therein lay the problem. Jane couldn’t promise that they would. The City was a vast expanse of unexplored land to her. She wasn’t even certain she would be able to get in through the walls.

She owed these people. They had shown her such kindness and their world was too fragile to threaten. Most of the goblins here didn’t want to fight or even knew how to fight.

The same could not be said about the human slaves that had lost their lives rebelling against these creatures. The goblins had a lot of work to do before they understood that humans were the same as them. The humans had a lot of work to do before they were capable of understanding that there was an intelligent race that lived below them.

She feared that no matter what she and Ruric accomplished, the cork had been wiggled free. Humans were bound to find out about the goblins eventually. But they had more weapons, more abilities to kill than the goblins could understand.

“I can agree to try.” She whispered.

Once more she looked at him and met the pitch black gaze of his eyes. Once they had terrified her. His eyes had seemed soulless when they stared at her. But now she understood that looking upon them was the same feeling as looking up at