The Goblin's Crown

Chapter Twenty Three: Surprise

"You think there's a way back up the way we came?" He scoffed. "Even if I still had my wings, I'd die of exhaustion before I reached The Hollow's branches. How do you fathom that we'll get out without wings? Last I checked, humans couldn't fly."

"I have an idea." I flashed him a very Knut like grin as I let the downy feather fall. "If you want out, you'll just have to trust me." He frowned at me. "It's not like you have any other choice. And what else do you have to do?"

"Fine." He relented. He stalked to the Unseelie and yanked his arrow out of his ruined eye socket. "I'll guide you. I don't have anything to lose." He wiped the arrow's bloody tip against the rags wound around his bottom half. "The name's Aris, by the way. Oberon is my father. I'm one of many s-"

"I don't care who you are," I cut him off before he gave me the entire spiel. I was ready and eager to move on. "Just that you can help me find Knut." I urged my feet to move as quickly as they were able, taking long strides into the resistant black. It was like walking into the ocean with waves constantly pushing against you. My guide watched his distance as he could easily leave me in the dust just by casually walking. He moved far more easily than I did. He was more used to it. He'd had years of practice.

Aris chuckled. Slowing down to a snail's pace so that we were side by side. "I think I see what Knut likes about you. Why he married a human is beginning to make a bit more sense."

"People keep saying that. Let me guess, "I'm a human with a goblin soul", or some such nonsense?"

"There's that...." He flashed his perfect teeth. When he smiled, I really did see the resemblance in him and Oberon. If he hadn't been starved in The Pit, I imagined he'd look like a warrior god, all muscle with that golden hair and bronzed skin. "But there's also your lack of fear towards fae. I mean, most humans would scream or faint at least just from being in our presence. Most go insane. I just told you that I'm son of Oberon and you're not even slightly impressed."

I did scream...a lot...when I first met Knut, but I kept that little secret to myself. "What's there to be impressed about? The man has more bastards than he can keep track of. I met your father, and he isn't someone that inspires awe. I dislike him, actually. The same goes for most of the fae I've met. If you didn't have your uses, I'd dislike you too."

"Really? Not even after I saved you?" He stuck out his bottom lip in a boyish pout. "That kind of hurts my feelings."

"Stop saying that. No one asked you to save me. You did that on your own."

"If the roles were reversed, you would have done the same." He said.

"Of course." I lied through a sweet smile. "I could never leave you like that. You're far too handsome." I'd have left you there to distract them while I got away. I don't trust pretty men. They're snakes and I've been bitten one too many times. I thought to myself. He looked back at me with a strange frigidness, his gaze as penetrating as a well-sharpened blade. My heart flipped as panic set in. Could he see through my horrendous lie?

"Oh, so you think I'm handsome?" The frightening look in those green orbs shifted from cold focus to flirtatious as they flitted up and down my frame, lingering at my chest that he knew lay bare beneath his tattered cloak. The spark of charm returned so quickly I thought perhaps I'd imagined things.

I rolled my eyes. I was beginning to think that all male fae were perverts at their core. Knut included in that assessment. "That wasn't a compliment. It was a joke. And stop looking at me like that. I'm married to the goblin king, remember?" I fisted the opening of the cloak, making sure it was securely closed.