The Goblin's Heir

Chapter Seventeen: Lazarus

So this was it.

It was over.

We were over.

The ground beneath me suddenly felt like water. My legs buckled, but someone grabbed hold of me by my elbow, keeping me from falling down. I turned toward them, no knowing whether I wanted to thank them or rip my arm away, only to see the same despair ripping through my soul reflected in Ib's unnaturally handsome features. 

"I don't know if I can do this." I moaned, quivering like a frightened animal in his grip. It was the only thing saving me from crumbling. I'd never noticed how strong he was before.

"You can." He said so very gently in a low and quiet voice. "You must." He glanced towards the two young Seelie trailing behind them, both wearing somber faces. The tears in her eyes made Neasa's strange irises look even less real. "Would you like to sit with us? I imagine sitting with the brides on the royal mushroom would only make this even more unpleasant." He asked.

I hadn't even thought of the brides or how eager they were for the fight ahead. They would cheer for their champion, sing for spilled blood. 

"That would probably be best," I mumbled. 

Slowly, he eased my arm around the bend of his own. He kept a firm grasp on me as we entered The Hollow. All around us the mushroom seats and the space around the edges of the arena were packed with goblins, humans, and faerie alike, all biting at the bit to see a goblin king's coronation. Though they churned with excitement, no one spoke. There was no sound but the goblin drums. They throbbed like the rhythm of a heartbeat, breathing life into the hollowed-out tree.

At the center of the arena, Knut waited for his challengers to arrive in a seat carved from twisted petrified wood looking as happy as a child about to receive a gift. I wished I could go to his side, my place for almost thirty years, but that was not where I was needed. Not on that day. I clung to Ib's arm, let him guide me as my eyes remained trained on my husband. He helped me up a staircase of servants to the seat across the arena from the royal mushroom. We settled there, side by side, Aurora's children taking up the space on his other side.

The intensity of the drums exploded when my brood finally arrived. They marched into the arena single file from eldest to youngest, beginning with Cat. They wore the identical leather skirts studded with bits of bone, with the exception of Cat who was allowed a sleeveless leather tunic, more for modesty than protection. The leather skirt she wore was studded purely with iron to aid her in her fight with Knut... if she ever saw the second round. They spread out around Knut, forming a circle. There was a vulnerable quality to their appearance. Their differences, their strengths, and weaknesses were laid bare for all to see. Floki somehow managed to be intimidating. With the bulk of him dressed up in traditional goblin armor, his hair tied back in a braid, he looked like a real warrior. You almost didn't notice how he was nervously biting at his lips. Would he be able to do what was necessary? Frit looked strong and excited. He was bouncing on his feet, calling to mind memories of his much younger self. The little boy who could never sit still. I worried his excitement would rob him of his focus.  An eerie stillness had come over Odd. A hunter listening for prey. His face was painted with dark paint that intensified the hollowness of his eye sockets and the sharpness of his cheekbones and chin. He looked more like a goblin born of the seed than one born of me. He certainly had what the others lacked, a focus and desperate hunger, but his cockiness might very well get the better of him. Anything could happen in this arena. Out of the lot, Cat stood out the most, though it was for more than just her humanness and gender. She was wearing goblin armor and her hair had been tied up so it would be out of the way for the fight. Her hands were already curled into tight fists, ready for the battle ahead, but she looked so small next to the boys. Even Odd seemed to dwarf her, despite them being nearly the same height. Her weakness was one that could never be corrected. As changed as she was, she was still too horribly mortal.