Just… tolerated.
I drew in a steady breath and stepped forward.
Because there was no turning back now. We had to get to Gideon.
Chapter Eight
Clusters of little goblins stared at us, whispering as we passed. I glanced over at Twobble, who looked as if he expected nothing less. I noticed a female goblin, clothed in a beautiful yellow dress, give what sounded like a giggle and a small wave at Twobble. His cheeks immediately flushed.
Everything seemed like it had before when I was in the UnderLoom, with the cute little storefronts, small carts with goblins selling their wares, and tiny homes dotted throughout.
But the one thing that I felt was missing was the judging eyes. There were no goblins rushing up to Twobble, telling him to get us out of here, and that was different. I wasn't sure why, but I assumed it had to do with everything on the line. Keegan reached for my hand and gently squeezed it, but I didn't let go.
There was so much at stake with this meeting. Gideon could have done this in Stonewick Village or at Keegan's Inn, but he chose to leave with the stone.
He'd come to our aid many times recently, and I wanted to believe that it erased all the times he'd caused harm. Or worse.
But it didn't. I couldn’t just forget all the damage he’d caused, not just to my family, but all of Stonewick. He knew a lot was riding on this, and I chose to believe that was why he leftStonewick. As he had said before, he didn't want to make us a target.
Keegan looked down, still holding my hand as we walked. “You doing okay?”
I gave him a faint smile and nodded. “At this point, I don't think I'd know if I was or wasn't.”
We continued walking, following Twobble until the town disappeared behind us, and several sets of tunnels lay before us.
“So we're not going through UnderSoot?” I asked.
Twobble turned around and shook his head. “I think we should avoid anything connected to Shadowick, even though I trust my goblin cousins immensely.”
Keegan nodded his head. “Agreed.”
Twobble puffed out his chest just a little at that, like agreement from Keegan carried a weight he wasn’t about to admit out loud, and then he turned back toward the tunnels with a small, thoughtful hum.
“Well then,” he said, glancing between the three paths in front of us.
Each one curved away from town in its own quiet direction.
He spun around to us and dusted his palms. “We’ll take the middle. It’s less traveled, which means fewer questions and fewer opportunities for anyone to tattle.”
“That sounds reassuring,” Stella said lightly, though her eyes moved carefully over the stone as if she were memorizing every turn already.
Nova stepped a little closer to the entrance, her gaze narrowing just slightly. “It also means we won’t have much warning if something is off.”
“Nothing is ever off in goblin tunnels,” Twobble replied. “Everything is exactly as it is meant to be, even when it isn’t.”
I blinked at him. “That didn’t help.”
“It wasn’t meant to.” He shrugged. “We know what’s what and that’s all that matters.”
Keegan gave a quiet grumble under his breath and squeezed my hand again before we started forward. The group tightened slightly as we moved into the center tunnel.
As we stepped inside, golden veins in the walls thinned out. They were replaced by something softer, nearly translucent, with a brilliance I recognized. It reminded me of goblin gold.
Our footsteps echoed differently here as if the tunnel was listening, but I kept my gaze forward, only stopping briefly when my attention flicked to the small alcoves and shadowed corners. I halfway expected something to crawl out.
“Relax,” Twobble called back without turning around. “If something wanted to jump out at us, it would have done so already.”
“That’s not exactly what I wanted to hear,” I said.
