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

Shusar laughed as he dragged a claw down a scar that bisected his eye. “Perhaps ‘ugly one’, but I’m not old yet. I remember you sneaking away when you were young. Get going and you might catch her before she loses herself in the tunnels.”

He wasn’t about to argue. The other goblin should have told him immediately when he saw her sneaking away. There were too many ways for Jane to hurt herself in these tunnels. And if she was going where he thought she was… Well the dangers of climbing down stone cliffs without decent light were too many to count.

He left the cave as calmly as he could, though his blood was boiling. He wanted to run, to burst from the cave and throw himself towards her. He liked to have everything he needed to protect close. It was unnerving to know that he was more worried about her than his own people.

As he dropped over the edge and sunk his claws into the stone, he was already formulating an argument. He knew very well that it would be an argument when he saw her. She would yell and he was going to have his say this time.

It was a good thing that she had managed to come out from the cave. But she couldn’t go rushing into dangerous situations without letting anyone know. She could die doing something like this. Ruric would not know. The goblins would not know. She might not even know before she hit the ground.

There were too many things that could happen to her that he could not control. Ruric was a goblin that liked control. He wanted to know everything that she was doing at all times, and it was reassuring to know that she was in his cave.

That was likely not the best thing to say to her when he found her.

The woman was pigheaded and arrogant. That much he understood. Ruric dropped down onto the stone at the bottom of the crevice hard. Ankles and knees protesting, he straightened and shook the globe at his waist. Even goblins needed extra light this far in the depths.

“Foolish woman.” He said angrily, picking his way through the stones that made the floor jagged. “Do you always have to make decisions on your own? Did you learn nothing from past mistakes?”

He continued to mutter until he found the entrance to the “secret” cave. No longer secret, as it appeared others had known about Ruric’s safe haven. This place had always been special to him. When he was upset as a child, Ruric had made his way down here. The quiet had calmed his soul.

If he wasn’t so angry, he would have appreciated that this place had become sacred to her as well.

His broad shoulders squeezed through the crevice that opened into the small cave. He could hear the water that ran through the center. The burble echoed slightly as the sound bounced off smooth walls. The bioluminescent algae glowed in streaks all around him where her hands had lingered.

They always entered this cave as though it had a heart that beat. Their hands would stroke the stone alive around them before they would settle at the stream. The water was cold but they had never been able to keep themselves from the gentle eddies and swirls.

He could see her silhouette from where he stood. The soft outline of her body that was so different from his kind. He had once thought that they would never be compatible. Now the memories of the time they had together were always close to the surface of his mind.

Ruric could almost taste her on his tongue. He remembered every moment when his claws had touched her skin. He remembered every soft word and barking laughter that had made his ears ring.

“Jane.”

He had meant to yell at her. His voice should have been like the harsh crack of stone against stone. She had been foolish and made him worry. Instead, his voice was hesitant. There was a fragility to this moment that he could not stand to break. Her shoulders were curved in delicate arches toward her chest and her spine arched in a line that begged to be touched.

She shifted only slightly, her head turning until he could see the delicate dips and valleys of her face. “I came down here to be alone Ruric.”

“You are always alone. You have not left the cave for weeks.” He replied to her quietly.

“I do not feel alone there.”

He could hear the soft swish of her feet in the water, followed by the burst of light as she stirred the algae there. His memory would always be of her like this. She was a bright creature sent to him by the sun who refused to be swallowed by darkness.

The urge to fight with her drifted away. “Jane.” He stepped towards her. “We cannot keep doing this, bright one.”

“I’m not sure what we’re doing anymore, Ruric.”

“Jane, let me see your face.” He could not read human expressions well, but he had always found it easier to speak with her when he could see her.

She shook her head. “This isn’t right.”

“You have been forgiven.” Slowly, he approached her. Somehow it felt very much like she was some kind of wild animal he needed to treat with care. She would run from him if he did not force her to stay still.

“There is nothing to forgive. I did not want for any of this to happen Ruric. I never wished for people to die.” He wouldn’t have heard her say anything if he hadn’t been listening so hard. “I don’t know how to say that any more clearly.”

He reached her side and settled himself onto the stones beside her. He did not know what to say, so he remained silent. His large form dwarfed hers, yet Ruric felt as though he was more uncomfortable than her.

“How did we ever think this was going to work?” Tension seemed to ease out of her until