The Goblin Bride (Beneath Sands Book 1) by Emma Hamm (good short books TXT) 📕

“That’s it?” She asked quietly.

He looked down at her and arched a brow, those large eyes seemingly amused.

“Yes.”

“There’s nothing… else?” There had to be something else.

“No.”

“Really?”

He was looking at her strangely now.

“I just thought that it would be more involved. That could have been done anywhere and certainly didn’t need all the work put into it.”

Ruric shrugged, and for a moment she wondered if he understood her at all. Just saying a couple words could have been done without the gathering, and it certainly could have been done without all the fuss. It made no sense that the goblins would go through all this trouble just to have it end… like this.

A voice from behind her spoke up. “The goblins are not much for official ceremonies or functions.”

“Micah,” She said in response, turning to the man she thought she might have liked Above.

“This is very different from our world. They don’t take hours to do one thing when they believe that a union between two is the female’s choice.”

“Oh.” She said angrily, one hip cocking to the side. “Yet I told the queen no and she offered me a bargain. Could I have insisted I did not want this?”

“Well no.” He replied. “You are certainly a different case, but a goblin woman could have refused him. They lead a different life than the women you are used to.”

“I’m starting to see that.” She said quietly, looking out over the goblins that were slowly disappearing out of the cave and back down into the crevices that they lived in. “It all seems like a lot of work for thirty seconds of murmuring over bound hands.”

“Ah, that’s because you haven’t seen the best part. Goblins may not be one for ceremonies, but they do enjoy the festivities afterwards.”

Micah held out an arm, a true gentleman if she had ever seen one. Ruric started forward from their side, allowing the old man to guide her when it likely should have been his place. Instead he stayed a few feet in front of them. With his wide shoulders and powerful stance, she wondered if he was taking up a position of protection.

As they reached the edge of the cliff, she realized that it was no longer a dark hole. The small path of lights that had guided her here were now illuminated brighter than she had ever seen before.

Every light the goblins could get their hands on was lit, hanging haphazardly in as many places as they could reach. Hundreds of goblins moved across the ladders, some pulled what looked like woven chairs out in front of their caves and others leaping from ladder to ladder.

She watched with wide eyes as one goblin hooked a clawed hand on the bottom of a ladder, dangling for a moment before he let himself drop to the next.

A drum beat started. A few of the goblins that had dragged out chairs started drumming upon skins stretched over wooden frames. The more she looked, the more details popped out at her. There were gourds of drink being passed around, music starting, light from every corner.

It was shocking. These people had always seemed so stoic to her. A lost race that was dying out and desperate for help. But this… This brought them to life.

Again she remembered the first time she had ever seen these creatures. The vibrant colors, the delicate cloths, and the dignity at which the queen had held herself. She was starting to understand that even though these creatures were dying out, that they were enjoying life to its fullest.

This was a stark contrast to the life she remembered from Above.

“Come.” Ruric held his hand out for her to take, the curved claws no longer making her heart jump in her throat.

She looked back at Micah, a question in her eyes that her head had not yet recognized.

“Go on, child. Enjoy, be merry. You might not have expected to become a goblin bride, but you are one now. These are your people as much as they are his.”

It was with that reassurance that she slid her hand into Ruric’s.

CHAPTER TEN

THE MOMENT THEY started down the cliff they were surrounded by goblins. They treated her as one of their own. Claps on the back were firm for Ruric, soft hugs for her. It was uncomfortable for Jane who had never been a very physical person. Yet these people wanted nothing more than to touch her.

Many fingered her long braid. They were fascinated by that part of her. She watched as a goblin turned it this way and that in the light. It appeared that they had never seen hair like this before.

She was suddenly trustworthy simply because she was bound to Ruric. They smiled at her with their sharp teeth. They touched her where they had not before, hands stroking against the tan lines on her skin and tugging lightly at her braid.

Boundaries were no longer there. She was, in essence, a goblin now. They saw her as one of them, though oddly shaped. She could not speak to them and they did their best to help her to understand. Her fragility was beguiling to them.

Down they went, passing by caves that held people who danced as she had never seen before. Their bodies were made for battle. Claws and teeth that could deliver death on a silver platter. But they moved with the grace and fluidity of water. She had never seen anything so beautiful in her entire life.

Eventually they stopped, walking into a much larger cave that seemed to be the lowest point. She guessed this was usually used for political things. There was another version of the throne that was held at the top of another peak, and a few of the smaller ones that always seemed to accompany it.

“Where are we?” She asked.

Ruric reached down to unpeel the hand that had been clutching his forearm. He