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

“You’re too young to look that smug.” She growled at him.

His expressions were not the same as hers, but Jane swore in that moment he arched an eyebrow at her and pointed directly up.

“What?” Her lips pursed. “What are you trying to-”

Her words slipped out of her mind as sand falling through her fingertips.

The light that flooded the cave was not from the globe at her side or rattled crystals upon the ceiling.

As Jane raised her head, she was looking directly into the comforting sight of the moons.

Her face relaxed into an expression of awe as she stared into the light. The stars sparkled around the twin orbs. She stepped into the shaft of silver light and bathed in the welcoming arms of the sky.

The goblin stood back to watch her, his thin arms crossed firmly over his chest. The light was nearly too bright for his eyes. Still, he had to watch her.

Her bright gold hair turned white in the moonlight. She fairly glowed as the light danced over her skin. The goblins all found her to be a prize among their ranks. She was beautiful. Strange. Odd. But compared to them she was a gemstone glittering among common stones.

“I thought you might want to go home.” He told her in the goblin language. He knew she wouldn’t understand him. Humans could barely hear some of the words that they said in high pitched tones.

She turned towards him, though her eyes constantly strayed towards the light.

He remained in the shadows. Slowly he sank onto his haunches and picked up a handful of sand. The small granules fell in a waterfall from his fingertips. Black eyes looked back at her and he pointed towards the opening.

Jane followed the line of his fingertip as he pointed outside then pointed out the foot holes to get there.

He was telling her how to leave.

Her gaze broke from the sight of the sky to stare at him. Somehow she doubted that any other goblin knew what he was doing. They wouldn’t simply let her go, not after everything she had done.

Ruric wouldn’t let her go. He wouldn’t have let someone take her away from him without saying goodbye. Even though they were no longer the same as before, he would never have let her go.

Would he?

Jane paused to think. This was her chance to leave. This was her chance to return home, to find her family, to forget about the bloodbath that had happened beneath the sands she grew up in.

She stared down at her palms. The sudden realization that she now held her future in her own palms for the first time in a very long time was overwhelming. This was her choice and no one else’s.

“Should I go?” She whispered.

The goblin remained silent as he watched her.

Jane looked up at him and met that odd gaze. “Why did you bring me here? Why are you giving me this choice?”

Predictably, the young goblin did not reply.

Her head tilted back to stare up at the moon again. She missed the wide open sky and bright stars that sparkled. She missed the sands and the sun.

But even as she thought of all these things, Jane realized there were other memories that she would miss if she left.

The warmth of Ruric’s arms at night. The sound of his awkward chortling laughter. The sight of green creatures with polite smiles and nods that followed her wherever she went.

No matter what her choice was, Jane would always miss something. She was always going to be stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Slowly her head dropped and her shoulders curved inward.

“Let’s go home.” She said quietly. Jane met the goblin’s gaze once more and gestured towards the crevice.

The goblin seemed to start at that, and once more he trilled towards her. She did not understand what he said, but she knew a question when she heard it.

“I can’t leave.” She answered. “I can’t leave this place and I can’t leave him.”

Jane cast one more glance up to look at her last sight of the moon.

“Not like this.”

The goblin was already leaving the small cavern. Jane decided she would remember how to get here so that someday she could see the sky again.

She turned away from the light and stared into the darkness of the caves. Her pupils were so contracted from even the small light of the moon that she could no longer see through the shadows.

3

From within a cave far beneath the others, the council members met. The Queen and her most trusted members were gathered. They each sat upon high crystal chairs, each higher than the next.

Ruric and Micah had both been invited to this meeting. It was not unusual for Ruric to be there. He was frequently required as matters of war and defense could not be discussed without him. However, Micah was not a face that was usually seen in this room.

Though he was meant to be paying attention, Ruric found his mind continued to wander to a particular person who was holed up in his cave.

Ruric did not know what to do with Jane. He couldn’t force her to come out of the cave. He was not a barbarian that forced women to do what he wished. He didn’t think of her as a slave, and as such he treated her as he would a goblin woman. When she told him to do something he jumped to do it. She did not appreciate this, it seemed.

When he entered into the cave, she became nothing more than a shadow. Quiet, unassuming, she would merely nod or shake her head when he asked her a question. And though she allowed him in their bed once more, she did not move nor respond to him.

His mind should not be wandering. The goblin council had met many times over the actions that had occurred. The humans had escaped yes, but the goblins were still counting their own numbers.

It came