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

He twisted against her hand. “That is not your place. I will be fine-”

Jane interrupted him with a finger against his mouth. His sharp teeth pricked at her hand.

“Let me take care of you.”

She shouldn’t even want to. She should be planning her escape while they were incapable of following her. After everything that had happened, Jane was certain she would be justified in her actions. Yet even so, there was a tight knot around her soul that was connected to his now.

Not for some fantastical reason of romantic love or even that she felt that she owed him. But because Jane cared about him as though he was family. In such a short amount of time he had become important to her. No matter the mistakes either of them had made, they were forever bound.

She fantasized at night what her family would think of him. Willow would surely like him. Her little sister had always been the one to welcome adventure. The goblins would be nothing short of a new challenge. Luther, however, would likely be appalled that she was anywhere near them. He had never been the type to accept such differences.

Her lips curved into a smile as she thought about the shocked expression on her brother’s face. Both Willow and she had spent countless hours plotting how they were going to horrify him next. Jane was supposed to be the mature one because of she was the oldest. She had taken on the role of mother, after all. But it was too much of a temptation to not indulge her sister in her pranks. Luther had been an easy target.

“You’re smiling.” Ruric’s voice burst through the bubble of her thoughts. His hand rose to gently touch against her lips.

She caught his hand in hers and laughed. “How did you know?”

“I always know.” His fingers moved slightly in her grasp as he attempted to free himself.

“You can’t always know when I’m smiling.” She teased. “And you are blindfolded.”

“I know because your heart skips a beat whenever you are happy.” He reached out to touch a single claw to her cheek. Lazily it drifted down her lips, her chin, her throat, until his hand could spread between her breasts and press hard against the bone. “Your heart always lets me know what your thoughts are.”

She shook her head. “You cannot hear my heart beating.”

“I can. The sound soothes me to sleep and reassures me when I wake.”

She would never understand how such a hardened warrior could speak words of poetry to her. Her shoulders relaxed on a long sigh and she stretched herself out next to him.

They did not touch other than his hand laying warm against her ribs. Her head pillowed against an arm, she reached out to touch a finger to his chin.

Jane wanted to ask how they were going to continue on. She wanted to know the answer to so many things. What were they now? Did he think they could fix this? Was part of this mission to throw them back together? She didn’t know if she even believed they could stitch the hole torn in the past few weeks.

But she did not ask these questions. It was neither the time nor place for such talk.

“Do you think we will find him?”

“I hope so.” And though she could see him clear as day, Jane felt as though they needed to speak in hushed whispers. As though they were curled in bed on a dark night.

“What will happen if we don’t?”

“I have no way of knowing. I do not wish to think of it.”

“Oh.” She whispered.

There was a long pause before Jane spoke once more.

“Are you still in pain?”

“Yes.”

“Can you sleep?”

“I don’t know.”

She shifted slightly until her hand was resting over his heart. She did not move closer to him. Jane was not prepared for that yet. But she could at least be next to him.

“Sleep well warrior.”

“Dream of our cave, Bright one.”

As much as she tried to dream of good things that night, Jane found that she could not dream at all. Her mind was as still as one of the glassy pools in the caves that Ruric had shown her so long ago.

Jane found that frightened her far more than any nightmare she had ever had.

6

“She does not know where she is going.”

“I think she might.”

“Look behind us. Our tracks are nothing short of wandering. We need to consult the map again.”

“Shusar.” Ruric turned abruptly. “We just consulted the map.”

The other goblin harrumphed loudly. “We have travelled since that time.”

“We have travelled but a few steps!”

They were all starting to get tired of each other. The goblins had been pleased to find that when the sun drifted down and darkness fell once more, they were still able to see. Unfortunately the pain continued to linger. A deep pounding behind their eyes plagued the three goblins that followed Jane.

She was a bright stream of light in front of them. Her blonde hair whipped behind her and her lily white skin shone like a beacon in the moonlight. Ruric had never seen her quite so stunning. Here she was no longer the ethereal otherworldly creature. She was more real in this land. His hands itched to touch her. To possess some small part of this world so different than his own.

“I still don’t think she knows what she’s doing.”

Shusar continued to grumble until they caught up with Jane who refused to stop moving. If they had taken their eyes off her, she might have disappeared over a sand dune and never been seen again.

Ruric shot a censoring look towards Shusar and picked up speed. “Jane!”

She didn’t appear to listening to him. Her brows were furrowed in concentration and as he watched she started to run.

Her long legs ate up considerable ground. What started as a jog soon turned into a sprint. She was running from them.

He heard angry growls from behind him.