The Goblin's Crown

Chapter Sixty Four: More

I turned my head at the sound of his laugh and watched his curving mouth until the rip sealed completely shut. His lips moved subtly, mouthing goblin tongue.

"Only fools invite rats to a feast." He snickered as he vanished from sight.

My heart thundered in my chest as his voice echoed in my ears. It was a message. A message meant solely for me. I bent again over the railing, pretending to retch to cover a chuckle of pride. I was not the only one with a scheme up their sleeve. I was not the one he was referring to.

I was the mouse.

He was the rat.

My nails dug into the marble of the railing. I bared my teeth, eager to bite and draw blood. They could chain him up, beat him, stab him, cut out his eye, but they could not stop the wheels of his mind from turning. His mind was free even if he was not. I didn't know what he was planning, but I could not wait to find out and see him prove once and for all that he was more than the beast they thought him to be.

"We'll gut that witch." Snorri suddenly hissed in my ear. "I'd like to chain her up and stick an iron knife in, twist it around. We'll see how she likes it." He mirrored my own expression baring his teeth, licking his chops hungrily as he eyed Mab's cackling face.

The goblins had gathered around me, to comfort me in their own way.

Llinos sat on the railing, perching like a bird. "You noticed his message, didn't you?" He whispered, smirking beneath his beakish nose. "Our Lord's got a plan. All will be well." He handed me a handkerchief from the pocket of my magic cloak. "So wipe the vomit from your lips. It ruins your snarl."

I cleaned myself up as Ebbe wrapped his small arms around my leg, hugging me. "Poor king. Poor poor king." Ebbe sniffled, rubbing his snout into my skirt. I kicked him off, stifling a hiss behind my handkerchief.

Agi climbed up my arm to sit on my shoulder. Its naked tail wrapped affectionately around my neck.

"Agi, what do you think would be the worst way for a faerie to die?" I asked, scratching the disgusting little beast behind a floppy ear.

Its beady eyes shifted towards me and its tongue lolled out of its mouth, releasing the stench of rotting flesh. "Faeries as powerful as her are long-lived creatures. Hard to kill. Eating them alive is always fun. They keep breathing even while we chew on their entrails. They writhe and scream for a long, long time."

"Good to know," I whispered back. When I finally did kill her, it would not be quick. She was going to suffer tenfold what she'd put Knut through.

I felt Snorri tug at my elbow. "We have company." He whispered. He nodded towards the two women approaching us with a roll of his eyes.

Titania strode towards us, gliding across the floor elegantly, her pearl-colored gown billowing in the salty breeze that flowed through the palace's open rooms. Just steps behind her Tova followed, her lithe body covered in a second skin of flower petals and her long hair pleated along her temples. She had learned what my intentions for visiting her were evidently for she was glaring at me with nearly the same intensity at her master.

"Leave us, goblins." Titania spat, coming to a stop just out of arm's reach of me, keeping well out of the range of my teeth. "I need to speak with your mistress."

"Do not command my goblins," I growled beneath my breath. "They aren't your slaves."

Titania's lips pressed into an even tighter line, nearly disappearing altogether. "Then command them to leave yourself, goblin queen, but I must speak with you alone."