Page 191 of Bound (A Faery Story 1)

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caves.”

Cian shook his head. He knew all about the goblins. It was

expected that they would show up. In a way, it was a good thing.

Bound

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They were good for the trade they brought. The goblins lived on the

plane and had chosen to do business with the village, but they were

not here to pay court to the kings and their queen. They were

Unseelie. They were potentially very dangerous. “You aren’t meeting

the goblins, my lover.”

“Why not? I’ve met everyone else,” Meg pointed out with a

breezy lack of concern.

It was a huge change from the worried girl he’d met a few days

ago. Meg had settled in nicely. She was growing in confidence and

proving herself a good partner. She was polite when she needed to be,

and she had good instincts as to when a little show of temper was

required. Patience and gentleness worked with the brownies and

gnomes, but he’d been proud when Meg slapped one of the cave

dwarves silly. The dwarf been downright rude about humans being a

bit lacking in the brain department. Meg had smacked his little head.

“Sorry,” she had said with an innocent smile. “I’m not smart enough

to control my impulses.”

The dwarves had all watched their tongues since. It was now

being said that the queen could be viciously brutal when she wanted

to be. It was a compliment coming from the dwarves.

Cian watched the cookies go into a basket. There were a whole lot

of cookies. The goblins might not even like them. His wife certainly

wouldn’t be wandering into a goblin cave with her pretty smile and

basket of treats. The goblins would just as likely eat her. “The goblins

aren’t here to meet you, lover. They come because of all the trade that

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