The goblins looked around at their starving children, their sick family members, and the vote was almost unanimous. Nothing seemed out of place, and it seemed easy enough. Anything was worth saving them.
After the agreement and after Miryn took over the realm, she began her draft. Goblins of age would be sent through the mirror portals to the human world. She even relished watching the spark leave Wren’s face as she, too, had to work for her. Their task was to lure humans back to the realm with them and hand them over to her, where she would drain them of their beauty and their lives. The goblins, of course, didn’t know what the end result was, just that they were bringing the humans to Miryn.
They were free to lure the humans in however they felt was necessary. Kindness. Friendship. The promise of wealth and health, seduction, even kidnapping.
The one rule, however, was that they were not to fall in love with, nor breed with, a human. If they did, they would be held to the greatest extent of punishment.
Death.
At first, it seemed simple enough. Goblins were somewhat disgusted by the humans, but the humans were entranced by the goblins. They always assumed the goblins were small, ugly little creatures, but they weren’t. Goblins were some of the most beautiful beings they had seen. Their skin varied in shades of green, and they had beauty marks and freckles the color of shining moonstones. They came in all body shapes and sizes, and were a sight to behold in general. It was easy for the humans to be lured back to the realm.
Slowly, though, some goblins started returning the advances from humans. They would draw out the task given to them, craving time with those they had started developing feelings for. Some even committed the ultimate betrayal to Miryn.
It started with one pregnancy. The one that threw Miryn over the edge and was the catalyst for what would follow.
When the queen overheard Thalaric, her favorite consort to play with, telling another that a mortal had his child, she went mad. She found goblins willing to do a deeper dive and secretly find out how many of these children had been created, and started “taking care” of the situation. When she confronted Thalaric, he refused to give up the name of his lover or his child. She killed Thalaric herself.
“Thalaric knew that something was going on. He begged Evara to take their baby and run. He feared they would be killed. When Miryn tracked Evara down, there was no infant to be found.”
I’m on the edge of my seat at this point, completely entranced by this entire story, still stuck between this being reality or adream, and wondering what it has to do with me. “Where was the baby?” I ask breathlessly, wanting to know the ending.
“Evara had found a trusted person whom Thalaric told her to seek out. Evara begged her to take the infant and hide her in the human realm, somewhere far away, where Miryn wouldn’t find her.”
“Did she take her?” I’m impatient for Veyra to get to the point.
“Yes. I took her to the mortal realm, where I found an orphanage. I left her with no name, no identifying information, and no way to trace her back to the goblin realm.”
“Wait- you took her? You’re the trusted source? And to an orphanage of all fucking places?” Veyra flinches at my anger. My mind is going a hundred miles an hour, worried for the baby because I know what it’s like to grow up in an orphanage. “Well? What happened to Evara?”
“Miryn tortured her. For days. Asking her every hour where the baby was. Evara told the truth each time- she didn’t know. She never told Miryn I took the baby, and I never told Evara where I had taken her.”
My heart breaks for Evara. Losing her love, her baby, and being tortured all at the same time. Veyra continues.
“Miryn finally understood she wasn’t going to tell her where the child was. She killed Evara, swearing she would find the baby one day, bring her back to the goblin realm, and make her pay for the sins of her parents.”
“Did she find her?”
“No, dear Claudia. Instead, you found us.”
My mug hits the floor and shatters into a million pieces, right next to my heart.
Chapter Six
“You are one of the two surviving mirror children,” Veyra says softly.
My brain hurts. My heart hurts. My thighs hurt, too, but that’s a minor issue in comparison. “And the other?”
Finnick clears his throat and gives me an awkward little wave. “That would be me,” he admits.
I sit completely still for a bit so I can process everything going on. I’ve determined that I am absolutely not dreaming. This is real. There’s no way my subconscious could concoct all of this very specific bullshit. Trust me, I’ve tried writing before, and I couldn’t do it.
“I think I would like to lie down now,” I say, swallowing down the giant lump in my throat. Veyra smiles at me with understanding, and Finnick stands up quickly, rushing over to help me up. He goes to leave the blanket on the chair, but I protest weakly. He understands and immediately wraps it around my shoulders again.
“If you’re up for it, I will explain more tomorrow,” Veyra offers. I nod and let Finnick lead me out of the room.
We are completely silent through the halls. I have no idea where I am at this point, and would have no idea which way to go to get back to the room we were just in. Again, zero lessons learned from any of my podcast episodes.
I’m still in a daze when Finnick steps in front of me and pushes open a large, heavy wooden door. The room opens before me, and even though I know I’m absolutely in awe of it, I can’t bring myself to show it.