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

a habit she was finding endearing. He always wanted her to take that last step, to allow her to choose whether or not she followed him. There was no grabbing, no forcing her to do anything.

As strange as it seemed, she was starting to view this goblin as a friend.

“I used to go playing in the sands when I was little.” She said quietly as he guided her through a small opening in the stones. She had to turn her head and body to the side, sliding through the small gap and trying not to breathe.

“I have seen sand.” She heard his voice from the other side of the gap. “It falls through sometimes.”

“Oh yeah?” The fabric of her dress caught on a stone behind her, and she had to pause to reach back and tear it loose. “What did you think of it?”

“Small crushed stones.”

She chuckled, yanking hard and banging her hand against the stones accidently. “Yeah I guess that is basically what sand is, huh.”

Finally she popped out of the crevice. She took a deep breath of air as she reminded herself that claustrophobia was a terrible thing to have in a cave system. She was going to have to deal with small spaces, at least until she was sent home.

Jane didn’t have it in her believe that she might never go home.

“This is what I found.” He said quietly.

For the first time she looked around. The ground dappled into what looked like moss from where she was, and as he moved she was able to see more. It was, in fact, a moss covered cave. How it was growing without sunlight she didn’t understand.

Ruric moved around the edges of the cave quickly, dragging his feet as he went and his hands against the walls of the caves. Soon it was painted in streaks of color, allowing her to see the rest of it.

Moss covered the stones, a bright blue now glittering on a few of them. Through the center was a small stream, bubbling up and over the rocks it had smoothed in its course. Here and there she could see gemstones breaking through the soft crust of the moss. It was beautiful, a small haven in a world that was mostly grey stone and hard angles.

“This is beautiful.” She felt as though she had to speak quietly.

“Yes.” He stood in the center of the small cave, feet planted next to the stream. “Come see.”

It felt strange to walk through something so beautiful. Jane had lingered near the crevice, not wanting to harm anything in this room. She was not a soft nor delicate woman. Fragile things were broken so easily in her hands.

He had walked through it though. If something so large could walk across this soft ground then surely she could as well. It was an excuse for her to not doubt herself. To not think for the moment that she could be treading across something terribly fragile.

Once she reached him he knelt, his hands gliding down her legs to gently pull her foot onto his bent knee. He made quick work of the soft shoes that had been tied onto her feet. One and then the other was set aside until her bare feet could wiggle in the moss. She had never felt anything like it before.

“It is not dry.” He said, looking up at her with a wry grin. Those teeth would never fail to make her uncomfortable, but she knew that he was teasing her.

“No it is very different from the sand.”

Her toes curled in the moss, bright colors peaking through the gaps between them. She had expected the moss to be chilled, but it was fairly warm in the cave. Likely it had something to do with the water running through it that seemed to be warmer than she would have expected.

“Sit.” He said, patting the ground next to him in plumes of bright light.

He was fascinated once again as she settled next to him, the moss blinking as she found herself a comfortable position. She had never been more beautiful than she was in this moment. The beautiful fabric his people had decorated her with that smeared with dirt and algae, ripped in some places from their journey here. But she was strong, she was capable, and he had never seen anything like her before.

Ruric truly was a lucky goblin to be bound to her, whether that lasted for more than 12 months or not. The others could not understand the beauty of the creature that was beneath her oddities.

“Why here?” She asked him quietly, those strange eyes turning to stare at him.

He nodded towards the stream. “Look.”

And he watched as she leaned forward, careful to keep the fabric tight around her body as she leaned over a stone to peer into the dark depths of the stream. He leaned over her, one strong arm bunching as the other reached over her head to tap his claw gently against the surface of the water.

It came alive at his touch. Sparking tendrils of blue light swirling through the eddying pools until it revealed its hidden wonders. Schools of fish scattered and bunched in the waters. Their bodies were translucent and within their centers tiny red lights burst into life. Each heartbeat could be seen as they breathed in the water. It created tiny specks of moving lights that scattered through the slow moving stream.

The first time he had seen it, he had been fearful. Surely something such as this was the reason why these caves were cursed. Surely this was the reason why none would travel Below.

But the lights had captivated him. Ruric had returned again and again until he realized that this was one of the breeding grounds for the fish he and his people ate. They schooled here in the warm waters, safe from predators and harm.

“Wow.” The word was breathless, shocked, and perhaps a little reverent as she stared into the water. Her fingers curled around the edges