“It’s trickier keeping hold of live ones, of course,” the goblin continued. If he had noticed that Otsoa and I were distracted, he didn’t show it. “Keeping them fed, giving them the sunlight they need, all those sorts of things.”
A flash of anger boiled up in me, but I made sure I controlled the expression on my face before I turned back to him. “And then there’s the madness, of course.”
He paused and looked back at me, making everyone in the group stop. I thought the guards held their breath. “Are you feeling alright, my dear? The effects are not so strong in the city, and I had hoped we’d been giving you enough mask time to mitigate that.” He cupped my chin in his hand and looked into my eyes.
“I’m feeling fine.” I smiled my brightest, and he smiled back showing all his brilliant whit
