Heart Of The Goblin King (The Realm Trilogy Book 1)

by Lisa Manifold

  Drake threw up his hands, rolling his eyes at the ceiling. “All right. I agree to watch over her, not only to ensure she doesn’t try to harm you, but so she doesn’t come to any harm. Not because you’re right,” he gave Brennan the hard eye in return, “But because I do think you have feelings for the girl, and it’s good for you to figure out what they mean. As long as they don’t get you killed.”

  “Thank you for such support,” Brennan said, unable to keep the sarcasm at bay.

  “Of course, your gracious lordship.”

  “Shall I bring Iris to you, Your Majesty?” Taranath rose, ending the conversation.

  Brennan nodded. “Until…things…are settled, I don’t want her away from me.”

  “Convenient.”

  “Be quiet, Drake.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Iris

  I finished my drink and leaned back against the cushions. Fairy Xanax, indeed. I felt far more relaxed than I’d been since…since I’d come here the first time. That Taranath, he made a mean drink.

  Brennan was safe. Drake still had homicidal tendencies, but Brennan was safe. Up walking and talking, in spite of the horrid wound I’d seen him receive. He was safe.

  I wasn’t sure what contributed more to my feeling of contentment—that he was safe, or the whatever Taranath had added to the drink.

  The door opened and Taranath breezed in. As before, I noted how graceful his entrance was. Not the same sort of grace Brennan possessed, but his own. A more serene sort of thing.

  He sat across from me. “How do you feel?”

  “Better.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m okay. Drake didn’t kill me, and Brennan…Brennan is okay.”

  Taranath smiled. “All very true. Drake will not attempt to harm you again. As I said, he is most fierce in his concern for Brennan.”

  I nodded. It didn’t seem quite as bad now, with a little distance from the whole affair. “I’m willing to let it go. I admire his devotion, although I wish he didn’t point a knife at me.”

  “You will be safe, even from Drake,” Taranath actually laughed a little. “Can you move about on your own? Brennan wants you to stay close to him.”

  My whole body felt as though someone had turned on a light switch within. “Why?” I tried to keep my question calm.

  “Because he acknowledges, as you do, that something has brought you here that needs to be addressed. Given what happened during your time here before, he wants to ensure you don’t fall ill.”

  I would get to be with Brennan! That made the knife business with Drake worth it.

  “All right. Let’s go. One thing, though, Taranath.”

  “Yes?” He asked, rising up and offering me a hand.

  I took it as I stood up, taking my time, testing my balance. I could walk. Good. Doing better than before. “I want to see more than just all the couches in the place.”

  Taranath stared at me for a moment, and then burst into laughter. “I think we can accommodate that.”

  “Lead on, MacDuff.”

  “Who is MacDuff?” He asked as we walked through the door.

  “Oh, it’s…never mind. It’s from a play, by Shakespeare. I’ll explain later.”

  As we walked along the corridor, I took the time to look around. It helped that Taranath still held my hand, as though I were some great lady he escorted. He also walked slowly. I appreciated this subtle allowance for my overall state.

  The stone walls gleamed, and there were heraldic shields placed along them. We came to a part of the corridor where five arched windows in a row looked out from the castle.

  “Can we stop for a minute?”

  “Of course,” Taranath let me walk to one of the windows.

  This must be an outer wall, because I could see grounds out in front of me, and there were a few goblins bent over plants. Further out was a line of trees, and in the distance I could see a town or village or something like that.

  “You see the center of the Goblin Realm. Brennan’s castle sits in the middle. That is the largest town within our realm.”

  “It’s prettier than I expected,” I said. “Not what I expect from a goblin kingdom.”

  “What did you expect?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. But the idea of goblins doesn’t really bring up images of clean castles and attractive gardens,” I gestured towards the window. “It usually puts one in mind of dark and dirty, and…you know.”

  “Fascinating. Where do you get such ideas?”

  I looked at him to see if he made fun of me, but his face indicated nothing outside of genuine interest. I’d forgotten he was a scientist at heart.

  “I don’t know. That’s how our world tends to see them.”

  “Well, I am sure there are misconceptions through all the realms.” He put a little pressure on my hand to move me forward. “Let us take you to the king…who is neither dark nor dirty.” I could hear the mirth in his tone at the idea.

  “Oh, god, don’t tell him I said that! I’ve got enough problems!” I pleaded.

  That sobered him. “Indeed you do. You have to promise me, Iris that should you feel weak or as you did previously, you will tell Brennan or myself immediately.”

  “So I don’t die?” I asked, trying to be brave.

  “Well, there is that, although I have to tell you that I don’t think you’re going to. I think what happened with your mother has altered you. Brought your fae side to the forefront.” His brow furrowed as he looked at me, and I felt like a specimen again.

  I could have gone years without bringing that up. “I think you might be reaching.”

  He shook his head. “How do you feel?”

  I laughed. “After the fairy Xanax? I feel just fine.”

  “What is Xanax?”

  “A drug that relaxes your body, helps you let go of stress.”

  “Ah…fairy Xanax?” He laughed with me as comprehension hit. “You have an unending sense of humor, Iris.”

  “It’s a nice thing to have. You all should try and get one.”

  He chuckled. “I think you might be trying to change the unchangeable.”

  “That’s me, the trailblazer.”

  “Here,” he led me to a door.

  I felt shy. I didn’t know why, but I hesitated.

  “All will be well, Iris. Fear not,” Taranath’s voice in my ear propelled me forward as he opened the latch.

  “Your Majesty, I’ve brought her.”

  Two sets of eyes burned into me. For entirely different reasons.

  Drake looked like he wanted to say something. Say a lot, actually. He stood, nodded at Brennan. “I’ll see what I can find, Bren.”

  He looked at me intently as he passed.

  I stepped into the room.

  “Welcome back, Iris. Please join me,” Brennan gestured to the chairs that sat around him.

  “I will return later,” Taranath bowed, and before I knew it, had left the room and closed the door behind him.

  I gave the closed door a look of despair. I didn’t expect to be so summarily abandoned. Knowing you felt a certain way, and having to face the object of those feelings were two entirely different things. I also hadn’t quite gotten a handle on said feelings. It made me uncomfortable.

  “It’s all right, Iris,” Brennan’s spoke what I would refer to as normally. “You’re safe here. I won’t bite.”

  I swiveled back to see him giving me a half-grin.

  Some of the shyness and reserve I’d felt before walking in fell away. I walked towards him and sat in the chair closest to him. “You’d better hope I feel the same.” I wondered if anyone had told him I’d bitten Drake, too.

  He laughed, quietly. “I do indeed hope that. Being bitten is not on my list of further things to experience today.” His face sobered. “I find that I owe you thanks,” he said.

  “For what?”

  “For my life. I understand from Drake that you and he helped Taranath bring me back from my wounds.”


  “How do you feel now?”

  He gave that half-grin again. “Not my best, but not dead, either.”

  It felt like the sun came out. “Did you just make a joke?”

  “Oh, I doubt it. Not me, the Goblin King.”

  His eyes met mine, and we both laughed.

  “So what happens now?” I asked. How is it I had no fear and only comfort? I didn’t even worry about my mom or dad, my family—nothing. I sat with Brennan, and our shared laugh did more than the fairy Xanax, which said something.

  What was happening here? Taranath was right. This time in Fae, things were different. I was different. I didn’t feel any of the stress or anger or anything that I’d felt when I’d been with Brennan previously.

  “You and I have some sort of tie. There is no other explanation for what happened today.”

  I cast my eyes down. “I know. My grandmother told me the same thing.”

  “She would know. I’m not sure it is the best thing for you, but you risked your life to come help me keep mine, so I shall keep you safe. You are, of course, welcome to return to your home at any time.”

  I couldn’t look at him. “I don’t think that’s what I want.” Leaving Fae, when I’d only just gotten here…no. Definitely not what I wanted.

  Silence greeted my words.

  “I don’t think that’s the best idea. However, Taranath seems to think otherwise, so you’ll stay here.”

  I didn’t care why. I just wanted to stay, and now I could. That was the only thing that mattered.

  I found the courage to meet his eyes. They were focused on me with blazing intensity, and I nearly looked away. “I’m glad.”

  His brows went up. “Are you? I worry that something will happen that we cannot help or heal. You have to understand the risks.”

  I nodded. “I do.”

  Brennan tilted his head, not looking away from me.

  “Oh, all right. I think I do. But…” I struggled to find the words that wouldn’t give me away entirely. “I think this is the right thing. It feels right.”

  “That’s all you have? A feeling?”

  I shrugged. “That’s it. I wish I had more. I prefer facts, but that’s all I have at the moment.”

  He smiled, and it took my breath away. “Then we’ll go on that. My facts differ from yours, but I, too, feel you are where you need to be for the time being. In spite of my worry, and concern.”

  Again with the immense feeling of relief. I wouldn’t be sent away like an unwanted puppy.

  “Thank you for not sending me back. And for keeping me safe.”

  “It is my pleasure, Iris.”

  I heard something in his voice I hadn’t heard before.

  “So…what do we do now?”

  “Are you hungry? I find that coming back from the brink of death is hungry business.”

  I considered. “I could eat.”

  He got up and went into another room. I leaned forward, trying to see. He came back and sat down once more.

  “Food will be here shortly.”

  “How do you do that? I didn’t hear you talk to anyone.”

  “My close servants are never far. There’s usually one in my chambers, in case I should have need of something.”

  That didn’t explain a thing, but I could tell I wouldn’t get any more from him.

  “Who attacked you?”

  His face darkened. Okay, maybe not the best conversational choice. I had to ask, though. I hadn’t seen that. Only that he fell.

  “I don’t know. I will tell you that the man who did is the same man who sent Drake and I to your world.”

  “Oh! The uh…” I tried to remember how he’d described the bad guy. “Scarred! That’s it. The guy had a scar on his face. Is that weird enough to stand out?”

  Brennan nodded, his mouth twisting in a wry grin. “Or as you so aptly named him, Scarry McScarface.”

  I stared. “I did not. When did I ever say such a stupid thing?”

  He laughed, and I felt something inside of me soar at the sound of it. “Indeed you did. When we first brought you to Fae, you were…”

  Oh, that’s right. “Drugged. One of you did something to me and made me go,” I smiled sweetly. “Away with the fairies.” That could not have been any more perfect.

  The smile instantly disappeared. Okay, maybe needling him wasn’t such a good idea but it was right there! I had to. I squared my shoulders and waited.

  “No wings. Not fairies,” He said politely. I saw a muscle jump in his jaw. Why did this bring out the jerk in him? It was funny.

  He stared at the wall behind me, and I could feel the return of all kinds of tension. Okay, really. He needed to lighten up. I threw up my hands. “Ease up, Brennan! I am teasing you. No need to go to Defcon one when I do. I mean really,” I smiled as he finally deigned to meet my eyes. “I can clearly see that you have no wings.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Do you laugh at everything?”

  “Do you laugh at anything?”

  He glared, and then sighed. “No, I don’t laugh at much.”

  “That’s pretty sad, Brennan.”

  “Why is it sad? Life is not often amusing.” He looked down as he spoke.

  “No, it’s not. But that doesn’t mean it’s not amazing, Brennan.” I stared at him. How could he not see that?

  “You think that, even with all that you have dealt with?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Your mother nearly died.” He spoke as though this clinched things.

  “But she didn’t. If she had, I would have had to live with it.”

  Brennan leveled what I thought of as the Goblin King stink eye. “You were not so calm and matter-of-fact about that before we helped her.”

  I shrugged. “I had accepted it, although not really well, before I had a reason to hope. My crazy came from hoping.”

  Brennan didn’t answer right away. “What would you have felt had you not met Drake and I? And Taranath? How did you handle knowing she would be gone?”

  His expression suggested that maybe he asked about something more than my mom. I gave the question some thought. I couldn’t explain why, but I knew I needed to get this right. What right meant, I didn’t really know. “I didn’t handle it for a while. When we came back to the States so I could go to college, we’d planned to live on the boat, and maybe I’d get an apartment. We hadn’t gotten that far yet when Mom went to the doctor, and we found out about the cancer. That changed everything. And then,” I remembered that trip where we laid it on the line, “We went out on the boat, and my mom said that she was pissed about how things had happened, but she wanted Dad and I to keep living after she was gone.” I smiled at the memory of her wanting the Not Dead Yet tee shirt.

  I glanced over.

  “That’s it? A trip out on a boat and you accepted it?”

  I rolled my eyes. “No, that wasn’t it. We talked, you know, communicated? Shared feelings? Opened up about how we all felt?”

  He just looked at me.

  I threw up my hands. “Don’t you communicate, or talk with someone about how you really feel? Drake, maybe?”

  He frowned. “What is there to talk about? How I feel generally doesn’t make a difference in how things need to be addressed.”

  Brennan

  Brennan couldn’t make sense of Iris. It astounded him that so much of what she did seemed led by how she felt. That she placed so much importance on feelings. No wonder humans only lived to be one hundred years or less. Feelings could kill. Emotion, the kind that Iris had no problems with, did nothing other than make things messy. If everyone lived through it.

  “What do you mean, Brennan? Are you saying you never take into account the way you feel about something when making a decision?”

  “What is there to feel, Iris? You make a decision based on what is the best choice for you, your people. Those around you that you care about.”

  “You didn’t answer me before. Don’t you talk to anyo
ne? Not even Drake?”

  He thought about how Drake had confronted him on the castle walk, and how Drake forced him to think on things he’d rather not.

  “Drake talks. I listen,” He admitted grudgingly.

  “You’re lucky to have him,” she sat back in her chair.

  Brennan could agree with that. “I am. He’s the most loyal of all those around me. That’s why,” He took advantage of the fact that she didn’t seem combative as she had previously, “You will need to forgive him for threatening you. It was not personal, other than his concern for me.”

  She appeared to consider his words. Brennan found that he liked watching even something as mundane as her thinking. What was wrong with him? Everything she did had grace and charm for him. It made him feel good that she sat with him and seemed to enjoy his company.

  “I’ll think about it. How forgiving are you to people who put a knife to your throat?”

  The expression on her face made him laugh. She glared, which made him laugh more. He calmed himself and said, “Point well taken. I’m very unforgiving. But those who have threatened me actually wanted to hurt me. Drake wanted to protect me, not hurt you. Intent matters.”

  “Humph,” she said, frowning, “That’s your opinion.”

  Why did her frown look so charming? He didn’t want to look away. She enthralled him.

  Enthralled him? The idea sat poorly with him. He couldn’t afford to allow someone—anyone—to sidetrack him like this.

  He stood. “Food will be here shortly. Please don’t wait for me. I need to go and see Drake.”

  “But you said you’d stay with me!”

  Brennan had to work to ignore the tone in her voice. She wanted to be with him. What he really wanted to do was sit back down and not leave for days.

  “I’ll be back when I can.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Iris

  What the hell? He just left? The door closed behind him. So yes, he just left.

  I knew my mouth hung open. When he’d been sitting with me, talking like a normal guy, I felt warm. Comfortable. Safe. Cared for.

  Just as I started to relax, and feel good, he kicked that feeling directly in the damn shin and rolled right on out.