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

system. And of course, I don’t need to mention the rewards when you both forgive each other.”

“What forgiveness? It’s nearly been a month!” He growled. “Not to mention there is no forgiveness I need from her. She is the one being punished.”

Micah’s cane thumped against the ground in a soft rhythm. The echo in the tunnel created a soothing rhythm. “Somehow I believe it is you who is feeling the brunt of this punishment. She has every reason to be angry with you.”

“Even goblins don’t hold grudges this long,” Ruric grumbled in response. “She’s not going to give up any time soon. I have resigned myself to a life of silence.”

“Oh hush. She’ll come around.” Micah patted the goblin on the shoulder. “You did turn her into the goblin equivalent of a slave. That’s going to smart for a while.”

“I do not treat her as one!” Ruric’s hands lifted and dropped in annoyance. “I have done everything I can to prove to her that she is not a slave and that nothing has changed between the two of us. Instead she has refused to leave our cave. She throws things whenever I try to touch her, and I still have a bite mark on my shoulder from when I tried to get into our bed. To sleep!”

Micah watched as the bigger man rubbed his shoulder. “Really Ruric. Her pride was dealt a massive blow when she realized what you had done. She thinks these people hate her. By the way, they still do because you haven’t given them any reason not to. You need to reassure everyone.”

“Exactly how am I supposed to do that?”

The other man shrugged in the same infuriating way he always did. “You’re a smart boy. You’ll figure it out.”

Ruric watched as Micah picked his way away from him. A small globe guided him, but sometimes Ruric thought that the other man knew his way as well as the goblins.

He knew better than to cast aside Micah’s opinion. There was a point to all his nonsense. Jane had refused to leave the cave for a while now. He had never seen her like this before. To be fair, he hadn’t known her long enough to say this behavior was not like her.

Jane was too proud for her own good. That pride was causing trouble for both of them and he was exhausted by it.

He had to admit that this was partly his fault. He had been the one to label her as a slave. She had been part of their family. A goblin by every right. He had taken all of that away from her because he thought she had tried to help her own people. That was something he understood. Like him, she was a warrior first. Jane seemed to think with her heart before she thought with her head.

In the heat of the moment, he had been angry with her. Ruric had made decisions he was not proud of, but he had apologized for them. He could have picked a less humiliating punishment but he hadn’t been able to stand the thought of hurting her. At the time, it had been a beating or the chaining.

He had chosen the chaining. He vividly remembered the violent flash of worry that a beating wouldn’t have been enough for some on the council. He worried they would have called for more. Now he thought that a beating might have made both of them feel better. He could tan her hide for being such an idiot and she could feel as though she had been properly punished.

The situation was a giant mess that he couldn’t fix easily. But he did know that living through another month of this nonsense was going to be the end of him. He wanted to go back to the soft touches and lingering smiles. Those three weeks of bliss were worth fighting for. They had been happy and not many goblins saw that in their lifetime.

As Ruric made his way through the archways and ledges that made up the path to his home, he realized how cherished this place was to him. Small goblin boys hung from their ankles on woven bridges, their hands pulling their cheeks into teeth baring grimaces.

The elderly remained close to the mouth of their caves. Though their bones were aching, they would still sit out and watch those that passed by. All goblins who walked past them would trail hands across their shoulders or leave small gifts at their feet.

This was a place of kindness. It was never meant to see bloodshed as it had a month ago. The safety of the people here laid heavy upon his shoulders.

He paused in front of the opening to their cave, steeling himself for the angry woman that lurked in the darkness. She would scream, probably toss something at him, and then she would retreat to the back of the cave.

His hands itched to hold her. He would have settled just to touch her braid. Any reassurance that he had not shattered everything between them. As much as he loved his people, as much as he respected their customs, he had never wanted to cause a rift between Jane and him. What he felt was certainly love. It burned within his chest and scorched his very soul.

Sighing, he walked into the cave only to be greeted by silence for the first time in a month.

Brow arched, he began to search for her. Considering the usual treatment he had returned to, Ruric was prepared for her to jump out at him with a rock in her hand. Jane was anything but inventive. She was all blunt force and anger.

She wanted to go home more than ever now. The tracks of her tears on her face had proven that to him every day. Jane attempted to hide them from him. Ruric knew her pride stung every time she showed him weakness. He remembered all too well how difficult it was to earn her trust