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

was innocent. Whether or not she let the humans out at this point was irrelevant. They had gotten out. She had been there. If she had cut the chains herself or simply stood by and allowed the chains to be broken didn’t matter anymore. She was guilty by being in the same room. She was guilty because she was human.

It certainly wasn’t fair. Even he could see that, though he could not believe her words. Jane refused to lower herself to begging for forgiveness. She had done nothing wrong. Silence became her weapon, and Ruric was finding it was a very sharp blade.

Her silence allowed her to contemplate what her life had become. The longer she was underground, the weaker she became. Her body craved the sun. Jane didn’t know whether it was an illness or depression that made her wish to sleep for hours on end.

She didn’t want to go home. She did not miss the sands or the heat that used to blister the skin on her arms and neck. But she did miss the sun. Not the midday sun that burned, but the rays at the end of the day when everything started to cool down. She missed the bright splashes of pink and red that would streak the clouds.

In a way, she was homesick. She did not long for her tent or the hollow faced people who lived around the mines. She missed the bright specks of memory that burst in her mind when she thought of home. The laughter of children as they raced passed her. The grit of warm sand between her toes. The rare feeling of rain upon her face.

Slowly she had begun to feel as though she was rotting away in the darkness. The shiny new quality of a species she had never seen was wearing off. The unusual lights and strange sights became every day.

Even worse, Jane lost her love of the place as she hid herself away from her own reality.

She had to get outside. She couldn’t remain in this cave for a moment longer or she would burst free from her skin. The cave that had once felt like a home had now become her tomb.

Her foot hovered above the ground to leave, but she lingered in the darkness.

Ruric would be angry with her if she left again. He had made it clear last time that she should not be outside without him. Yet he said as well that the other goblins did not hate her.

“Contradictions and lies.” She muttered to herself.

Still her foot hovered above the ground.

“Get on with it, Penderghast.” Taking a step outside a cave shouldn’t have been that hard.

Jane couldn’t bring herself to do it. She didn’t want to cause ripples in an already tense relationship. Even more so, she was afraid. Jane didn’t know what the other goblins would do if they found her.

Rocks skittered as something moved in the darkness outside the cave. Her instant reaction was to flinch back, but she brought herself to the door again. Whether the goblins now hated her or not, Jane had done nothing wrong. Her pride could not allow the goblins to know she was frightened of them.

A slim leg stepped into the bubble of light that surrounded her. A frayed loincloth and spindly arms completed the wide eyed vision of the small boy that stood before her. His ears were too large for his head and his face was mostly eyes.

She pressed a hand against her chest. “You startled me.”

Of course, the child couldn’t understand her. He did not know her language. None of them did.

Jane wished in that moment that she could be frustrated with them. She wished that she could grow angry that they could not lower themselves to learn her language. Except she did not know theirs either.

The boy’s head cocked to the side as he stared at her. His hands raised and motioned across his neck, gesturing towards her and raising his palms in question.

She knew what he was asking. The question was likely being asked by every goblin in this cave system.

Had she really done it.

For a moment she didn’t move. It was the first time any goblin other than Ruric had asked her what had happened. She didn’t know how to answer.

Of course she knew the truth. Jane was the only one who knew the truth. She had not cut those chains. She had not meant for the massacre or the blood that had streaked the cave walls for days afterwards.

Slowly, she shook her head. She told the truth to the boy even though it was likely he would not believe her. The real story was a hard knot in the base of her stomach that she wanted to vomit free. Yet this boy could not understand her. It was likely he wouldn’t want to believe her even if he could.

The boy took another step closer to her, his widened pupils contracting only the smallest amount as he drew closer to the light. It seemed as though they were both holding their breath as their eyes met. He was silent as he moved, and she was frozen.

He reached out to touch her hand. He wasn’t afraid of her nor did he seem to condemn her for the things that she had done.

Jane reached out a hand for him to take. He turned it over, looking at the soft skin of her palms and the blunt nails at the ends of her fingers. Jane could see the emotions playing across his face.

He thought she was odd. They all thought she was odd and yet they were fascinated with the differences between them.

She jumped when his nails trailed down the palm of her hand. A small smile was startled out of her as the light touch tickled.

“Don’t do that.” She said on a small chuckle. “It tickles.”

An answering smile flashed upon the boy’s face before he held her hand firmly. He turned then, pulling her with him.

“I don’t know what you