The Warder’s Leprechaun by Viola Grace Read Free Book Online

floor again. "You were trying to stop her."
    He straightened his shirt and knelt at her side. "You were convulsing."
    "Not convulsing, digesting. Nathi soup is the equivalent of an energy boost for goblins. It has everything we need in its most easily consumed form." She shrugged. "It is a bit revolting for most races, but for a goblin, it can bring us back from death. If Elhara had been awake for a little longer, we would have given her some so we could have looked into her issues at home."
    "My dearest, I am glad to see you are feeling better, but your breath is horrible." He pressed a kiss to her temple and she laughed.
    With a grunt, she boosted herself out of the chair and went to brush her teeth. When she returned, a proper meal was sitting on the table and Carrag was beaming.
    "You look much better, Lady."
    "I feel much better. Thank you for being so quick with the dose." She leaned forward and hugged the housekeeper.
    Hugging a goblin was always a risky venture, but Carrag released her without trying to bite. It was in a goblin's nature to bite when a goblin of another bloodline got too close.
    Asha smiled and took a seat at the table.
    Carrag left with her head high, beaming happily.
    "You have her happier than I have ever seen her. Now, what was in that soup?"
    Asha winced. "Well, do you have a weak stomach?"
    He shook his head and tucked into his dinner.
    "Good. If she prepared the soup like my Gran does, then she ground the proper insects into a paste, slit her arm to start the broth and then brought up bile from her second stomach. Everything was heated to boiling and then cooled with more bile. It takes a proficient about five minutes and she was very proficient."
    He looked a little peaked, but he continued to eat. "How many times have you had to drink that?"
    "Four in my lifetime. Each time involved the same convulsing and forcible restraint."
    "How unpleasant."
    The understatement was enough to give her a grin that lasted through her salad as well as the bread and meat courses. She finally told him, "In each case, my life was in imminent danger."
    He looked surprised. "I would have known if you were in danger."
    "This was before I made that wish. I did have a life before I met you, you know." A jaw cracking yawn broke free as she sipped some water.
    "Time you get you into bed, my bride."
    She yawned again and he waved his hand at her, shifting her dress and jacket into a nightgown of gauzy blue. Asha found herself tucked into bed in under three minutes and he pressed a kiss to her forehead before he left her alone. Sleep came quickly, but she woke up when he slipped in next to her and wrapped his deep green arms around her. A smile curved her lips as she breathed in his scent of wilderness and masculine musk.
    He was next to her where he should be and when she was feeling better, she was going to tell him all about how he couldn't sneak off for High Lord business while she slept. That was not acceptable and he was going to have to learn sooner rather than later.

    Chapter Eight
    In the bright light of morning, Asha took a quick bath and dressed in another green gown, but this one had a sapphire imprint along the hem and neckline. It contrasted nicely with her new red hair. Her jacket was also sapphire blue with gold embroidery and she felt quite smart as she stepped into the dining room where Tuartha was working on some documents.
    "This habit you have of leaving me to attend to business is going to have to stop. I will feel a little neglected if you leave me alone in bed again." She put her hands on her hips and scowled at him.
    He looked up at her and did a double take. She had braided a lock of her hair and used it to bind the rest of it into a cascading pony tail. Her slightly pointed goblin ears were obvious with her hair pulled back.
    Tuartha put his papers down and came over to give her a kiss. His own hair was still damp from a bath that he must have taken while she slept. "I am sorry. I was working on