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

she was left nearly limp. “You kill my kind. I am a slave to your people.”

If she had said those words a month ago, he would have had a very different answer for her. He would have said she was correct, however they both had a duty to fulfill. They were tasked with a job. They had no choice in the matter.

Now, things were different. He knew her courage and her kindness. He knew how to read the thoughts that flashed behind her eyes and every whorl of her fingerprint. She had become a part of him in a very short amount of time.

“Why does any of that matter? I know I how I feel about you.”

“Because there is nowhere to go from here, Ruric.” The words caught in her throat. “You think I am a liar and I will always see blood on your hands.”

“My hands hold no blood on them. They are clean.” He said quietly as he slowly raised his hand.

When she did not flinch from him, Ruric gently ran his hand through her hair. He had missed touching her so much. The strands of hair felt like the finest silk his people could ever make. The golden color was nothing short of remarkable. His claw slid through the length until it caught on the tie at the base of her braid. The sharp edge snagged on the thin material and ripped through it.

“I cannot close my eyes without seeing you holding a knife above kneeling humans.”

His claws raked through her hair, freeing it from the confines of her braid. “It was not the same as before.”

“That changes nothing.”

Gently, he tugged on the strands of her hair. Her head tilted backwards and her gaze finally met his. Ruric stooped to press his lips gently against her forehead. “I looked into their eyes and I saw you there. You are changing the way I see the world, bright one.”

“Changing the way you see does not change your actions.”

Frustrated, he pressed his forehead against hers firmly. “I was doing my duty. I must be strong for my people, and that includes putting down the humans that are no longer useful.”

“And there is the problem.” She tried to sit up, though his hand held her in place. “Your people will always want to kill mine.”

“They do not want to kill you.” He said firmly, finally putting his hands on her waist so that he could tug her towards him. He had missed feeling her warmth against him. She was allowing his touch for the time being and he was going to enjoy it. “I have not touched you in a month. I have not heard your voice speak in anything other than anger for the same amount of time. If I can forgive you for your choices, you who made a fool of me, then surely you can forgive me.”

“I cannot.”

Her words made him freeze. He leaned back to look at her and smoothed his thumb over the wrinkles on her brow. They remained no matter how hard he tried to rub them from her skin. “Why?”

“I am no different than the men you killed.” She said quietly. “The same blood runs in my veins. I refuse to be treated so well when they are treated like animals.”

He shook his head at her. “You are female.”

“And where I come from that means nothing.” Jane could see she was getting nowhere with this argument. “Humans are one and the same Ruric. Male, female, there is no difference.”

“Jane.” He said quietly, his hands holding her face gently. He was losing control of the situation. “We will fix this together.”

She shook her head. “How can I live by your side when I know I am only treated so well because I am female?”

She did not understand that he loved her for everything she had become. He loved her for the grace of her body and the quick wit of her mind. He loved her for the beauty she found in the caves she had been forced to live in.

He loved her for everything she was and would be, not because she was human.

“You must prove to them that you are worthy to return to the tribe. All will be well.” Ruric finally managed to say.

Her hand raised to touch his cheek. Ruric had not realized how much he had come to rely on such simple contact. Her skin had smoothed since the first time she had touched him. Then her palm had been decorated by callouses and showing the signs of hard labor. Now her hands were as smooth as a river stone.

Ruric could not decide which touch he liked better.

“I do not know if I want to be part of the tribe anymore.” Jane said. “I fear there is nothing but heartbreak and judgement in our future.”

He slowly nodded. “I fear the same.”

They held each other then. He allowed himself to feel for the moment that she had missed him as well. That perhaps she had desired his touch in the same way that he desired hers. Not for any physical fulfillment but for peace of mind.

Both remained quiet and still in the slowly dimming light. Their thoughts were wild but none were voiced. Their future together was unstable at best.

2

Jane took a deep breath as she stood at the opening to their cave. Stepping foot outside the walls felt as though she was escaping from a prison. They did not want her wandering on her own, nor did they really want to see her.

However, this was her home. Ruric had emphasized that to her. He had said that the goblins were her people as well as his own. A mistake could not change that. Jane had given up on telling him that she hadn’t done anything wrong. There were only so many times she could shout the facts into an ear that could not hear her.

He understood that she would continue saying that she