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

intent to help them. If she had to knock some sense into the goblins then she’d do just that. She was a big enough woman. She might not get away without a few cuts and scrapes, but she had to do this. They had welcomed her with open arms, how was she any different from those men?

Likely the emotions came from the lingering effects of homesickness. These people had welcomed her into their society with open arms, and she might be falling in love with Ruric. But Jane could not stand by and watch her own kind get treated this way. She was human. She was one of them.

She didn’t get far. A strong arm wrapped around her waist, hoisted her up and into the air. No matter how much she slapped or kicked her legs, Ruric wasn’t letting her go charging into what could easily be a death sentence for her.

He struggled to get her into the cave. She braced her legs against the entrance. Once again he was startled by the strength she could suddenly show. She would make a good goblin mother, perhaps just as stunning as she was a goblin bride.

But she was no match for him. He whipped them both around and backed through the opening of their cave.

“Let me go!”

She was shouting now, loud enough that he had to slap a hand over her lips to keep her quiet. Damned woman knew she could use her voice against him. It hurt when she shouted directly into his ear.

She did have an impressive set of lungs on her though.

“Ruric let me go!”

Apparently she could also manage to talk through his hand. He stared down at her, frustrated that she had made a scene. “No. You cannot help them Jane. You have to say here.”

She sunk her teeth into the meat of his hand. He pulled back quickly, hissing through his teeth at the pain. Blood was already dripping out of the wound. It was his own fault really, he should have guessed that she wasn’t going to let him overpower her without a fight. Goblin bride indeed.

“Let go!” She struggled away from him, wrenching her arm from his grasp. His claws caught on her skin and he was horrified to see red ribbons track down the soft flesh. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her.

Jane on the other hand, barely even noticed that there was blood starting to break free from her skin. She pointed angrily out the door, though she did lower her voice.

“Those are my people out there Ruric. My people. And they are being treated like animals. I cannot stand by and watch them be paraded through your home as though they are nothing better than the food you eat.”

He growled at her. “You think I don’t understand that? To goblins they are nothing but slaves. We can do what we wish with them. You are not going to change their minds with a foolish decision. You have to stay here.”

“I will do no such thing.” She replied, just as angry as he was. “Where are they being led Ruric? What are they going to do to them?”

He remained silent, his arms crossed firmly over his chest as he placed himself in between her and the opening. Obviously she wanted a fight and Ruric was not going to give her one. She should have been afraid of him. He could hurt her worse than he already had. His Jane was brave though, she would never be afraid of him.

“Ruric!” Her voice echoed in the cave slightly. “They were sick. I could see some of them were wounded. They need to be taken care of.”

She was starting to recognize goblin expressions and she knew one that he was making did not bode well. Whatever was going to come out of his mouth next was not going to make her happy. In fact, it was probably going to infuriate her.

“They can no longer work.” His tone betrayed just how frustrated he was as well. “There is no more use for them.”

“No more use?” She shouted, having to pause and take a deep breath when he winced and held a hand to his ear. “Those are humans. My kind. Has having me here not changed anything about the way you people see us?”

  “You people?” His eyes flashed at her, anger starting to grow in their depths. That was what she wanted from him. She wanted him to shout back at her and argue. She wanted to pound sense into him with her fists so that he would finally understand what she meant. She was hurting and she needed him to understand that.

“Yes you people! You are not human, Ruric. I am not goblin. That does not make either of us less.”

“And yet you treat us less!” He shouted back, the loudest she had ever heard his voice. “We have given you everything we have to give. I give you every attention that I can. My people bring you gifts. They want nothing more than to make you happy. And yet you treat us like we are beneath you!”

“You are!”

They both froze for a moment at her angered words, chests heaving as they stared each other down. It wasn’t fair of her to say that. She did not believe those words. She had lived here for long enough to know that Micah was right. They were not animals. They were sometimes more civilized than the people she had grown up with. But that didn’t mean that their actions towards her species didn’t make her think less of them.

“We’re beneath you.” He repeated. She watched as his shoulders bunched, the tell tale sign that he was trying to control himself.

“Yes.” It was the wrong thing to say. Pride wouldn’t let her apologize.

Ruric was exhausted by his attempts to make her feel welcome. He was tired of feeling as though there was a chasm between the two of them because there was a slight different