CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Astaroth
Goblins scurried about my feet in the Great Hall, bustling in and out of the kitchen to create the perfect welcome dinner for Calista. I couldn’t remember the last time we utilized this space for anything significant enough to give it its title. It set me on an edge I wasn’t aware I had. Toppling from it could be catastrophic to the one who pushed me over. That was all it would take. A slight nudge, an exhalation….
A dish clattered onto the floor and berries rolled in every which direction. I rounded the table as the goblin who carried it popped onto her knees from where she tripped. She crawled about scooping them back onto the tray. When she noticed me watching, she froze and dropped her chin.
“Apologies, sire. I will get fresh berries from the kitchen.”
“See that you do.” When she didn’t move from her spot, I raised my voice. “Quickly!”
She jerked to her feet and ran for the cloaked doorway, disappearing inside the tapestry that hung from the wall. The quick departure saved her from my wrath as my next step squished a forgotten berry against the floor.
I lifted my foot. A purple splat marked the spot. The skin of the berry oozed off the sole of my boot.
“Your Highness, please sit.”
I glared down at Abe—short for some ridiculously long name that even he couldn’t remember after being here longer than I have been alive—and refused to budge.
He quivered, then bent to clean up the mess. “With the utmost respect, sire, you are making the staff fearful.”
“They should be. This is the beginning of many important events in all our lives. We can only make a first impression once. It needs to be perfect.”
“Yes, bu-but—”
“Perfect, Abe.”
“If they are tizzied, they will not be able to complete their duties before the bell tolls.”
We stared at one another. Energy rolled off me with enough force the space around me wavered. Nothing was going as I planned.
The other goblins fumbled with their items as they set up the room, their nervous eyes flicking in my direction for a reaction.
“I will sit,” I stated. Abe sighed in relief. “For now.”
“Of course, Your Highness.” He struggled to pull out the heavy chair at the head of the table before gesturing to it with his stubby little arm.
I sat and stared down the length of the table. What was once a lonely, silent view was now lively and exciting. It wasn’t always that way, but when they declared me their king, I became…unapproachable. The evenings full of fun antics, music and dance, and getting drunk with my brethren ceased. My friends, whom I considered family, became dutiful servants to a cause. It took many inches of growth to comprehend the change that had swept the realm. Had I known what would occur and where that would lead us, the younger version of myself would have refused. Alas, I became accustomed to the distance from them and from myself.
Once I settled in, the servants visibly relaxed and picked up their steady pace of hanging silks and setting the table that I would finally share with someone. My stomach felt sour amid the chaotic energy.
Calista was finally here. As exhilarating as it was, she wouldn’t have come unless I took her. She would have fought me given the chance. That rebellious spark from her youth lingered. I could sense it waking up. The devastation and realization on her face when I declared she’d have my child…. Calista’s hatred for me grew, of that I had no doubt. It flowed to me through the stone without having to tap it. At least she had finally gotten out of bed and ate something. That seemed to make her feel better.
I caught her out on the balcony again, wearing the same clothes she arrived in. They were wrinkled and her hair was tangled and oily. I couldn’t take my eyes off her as she studied the happenings around the castle, probably planning an escape that I would have to save her from. I smirked.
“Sire,” a quiet voice prodded. Thadeus, one of the newborns among us, stood at my side. “The bell tolled.”
Disoriented, I sat up straighter. Kitchen staff stood around the room waiting for my critique. I’d never gotten lost so deeply in my thoughts around others and hoped I never would again.
The room was almost complete. Silks hung wrinkle-free, bunched at the bottoms with dead vines from the garden. Large platters ran down the middle of the table waiting for the foodbeing prepared with decor in between. I frowned when I realized they set Calista’s place at the far end instead of next to me. I had to tilt my head to see around the awful candelabra in the center blocking my view.
“You must prepare.”
“Prepare,” I mumbled. On more levels than one, that was certain.
“Sire?”
I patted Thadeus’ bald head, and he beamed like the child he was when I coaxed him into this soul sucking realm. Worry and curiosity ate at me when I wondered for the millionth time what would happen to him and the others when we took back our rightful places in this world.
