Page 19 of Goblins Don't Count
"And that's why you have an entire identity your family and coven don't know about?"
I shrugged. “I never said my life was perfect, or that I was perfect.”
He leaned back and crossed his arms, a shadow in the shadows. "Your humanity can be restored, but it's likely a worse alternative to becoming green."
"Stop trying to sound dramatic. Just tell me. Who can turn me human?"
“The Goblin King.”
I stared at that shadow, frowning in confusion. “There isn’t a king, just the Goblin Authority.”
“Yes, but to stop the progression to goblin, you would need the Goblin King.”
I threw up my hands. “There isn’t a Goblin King.”
“That’s right.”
“But I’d need the Goblin King to fix this mess?”
“Exactly.”
“So…I’d have to convince the Goblin Authority that he was the Goblin King?”
“The Goblin Authority would have to claim the position of Goblin King, yes.”
“But that’s not enlightened.”
“No, it’s not.”
I slumped back in my chair while a headache grew behind my temples. “Are you trying to drive me crazy, Sashimi? Because if you are, it’s absolutely working.”
“You wouldn’t only need the Goblin King to claim his place, you’d need him to date you.”
I choked on air, and coughed and hacked until he handed me a bottle of water. I took a swallow and then choked on water for a few seconds until I got it under control.
I finally took a deep breath, placed the bottle squarely on the table in front of me and stared at the goblin in the shadows. “There is no goblin king, only the goblin authority, and I have to date him? Impossible.”
“Then you have no chance to maintain your humanity.”
“How would dating the goblin king keep me human? and why would he date me? What would the price be? Oh. That’s what you said, that I’d be used by someone else. What would he use me for?”
He stood up, picking up the empty box. “Exactly. You can't trust a goblin, particularly one in denial about his own nature.”
“It's not that I don't trust him. He's always been fair. I just doubt he'd be interested. I know he wouldn’t be interested. I used to write to him, but, well, he’s not interested.”
He hesitated and then patted my head. Weird. I was so weirded out, I didn’t do anything other than stare at the shadowed face.
“He makes a point of going against whatever the Magga does, so you have that in your favor. He has an office at the bank, the Granite. He'll be there during business hours tomorrow. He might have another solution for you. Who knows? He's supposed to be very clever."
He started walking away.
I jumped up and grabbed his wrist, yanking it up behind his back in a hold he shouldn’t have been able to get out of, and held him down against the table.
“What are you doing?” he asked, sounding curious, amused, and relaxed.
“You didn’t pay for the sushi. Also, I need more information. What will convince the Grand Authority to become the Goblin King so he can keep me human? What’s he like? Do you know him? Seriously. I’m not the best with people, particularly people in power.”
“Hm,” he said, his cheek squished against the wood. “I did leave bills, you just didn’t notice. More information? If you’ve written to him, had his words, then you likely know him better than anyone else. Are you trying to spar with me, or just practicing your hold? Perhaps those are the same thing. Either way…” He slipped out of my hold and then spun me so that I was stuck, my arm at an impossible position with my cheek against the table with him bent over me so his shampoo hair swished over my skin. “Do you see the problem?”
