Page 60 of Claimed By the Alien Barbarian

“It won’t hurt you,” he said with a smile. “Some would say it’s welcoming you.”

“Since it’s stone, I expected it to be cold.”

“The gods live all around us and within the stone. Many are warm.”

“Do this clan’s gods ever take physical form?”

“Not so far,” he said. “The only physical god I know of is my clan’s wood god, Helena.”

“Yet you know the gods are here.” I couldn’t fathom this, but sometimes, life was easier if you went with it and didn’t question things that couldn’t be explained.

He swept his arm out. “They’re everywhere on the islands, deeply embedded in the rocks that give the land stability. When the first settlers started building their homes here long, long ago, the gods produced stones in the exact sizes needed. They gifted this first clan with everything stone related, including sharp weapons and tools, furniture, plus provided clothing and food.”

Still stunned by all this, I gave him a weak smile. “Do we tell the stone what we want and wait for it to appear?”

“Yes.” His smile widened. He was enjoying my discomfort, though in a teasing way. “What would you like to eat, pretty mate?”

“I’m not a coffee drinker, though I enjoy iced tea in the morning.”

“They may not be able to—”

A mug oozed up through the sapphire surface.

I reeled backward, not used to seeing things magically appear in front of me despite what I’d seen at the clothing shop the day before and the food appearing in the house where we were staying.

“That must be your tea,” he said. “Try it and see if it tastes like you remember.”

I lifted the mug and sniffed it. “It smells like tea.” How amazing if it was. A sip confirmed it. “This is delicious.”

The stone glowed before darkening once more.

Ah, yes. The gods enjoyed praise. Well, who didn’t?

“In addition to tea, I’d love to eat . . .” If I could choose my favorite breakfast item, what would it be? Protein would fill me up and keep me satisfied longer, but damn, I loved sweets.

Nevarn watched me with an indulgent smile. How did he end up so cute and loveable? I wanted to drag him back to our snug little AirBnB and lounge in bed with him for the rest of the day. But we had investigative work to do and for that . . .

“I’d love an omelet with cheese, if you have it. Any kind of cheese. And a side of bacon and . . .” Sweets feed the soul, right? “A cinnamon roll if you know what that is.”

A plate shimmered and slowly appeared on the stone surface, and my breath caught as I took in the steaming omelet, bacon, and the ginormous cinnamon roll. I wanted to hug the plate, the countertop. Even the wall.

“I’ll have the same,” Nevarn said, and his plate appeared beside mine. “I’m not sure what any of it is, but if you enjoy it, I will too.”

This guy was as sweet as the cinnamon roll I was dying to consume.

A mug of tea appeared beside his plate, and we carried our food over to an empty table made up of a stone surface and stone-topped stools, sitting across from each other.

Two guys sitting at the table next to ours crooked their heads around to stare at us, and I recognized Melwarn, the clothing shopkeeper, though not the other male. After giving us polite nods, they turned back to continue eating.

Nevarn and I sat opposite each other.

His brow furrowed, Nevarn studied his food.

A fork conveniently appeared beside our plates.

Lifting it, I stabbed my egg and scooped up a bite, stuffing it into my mouth and moaning and wiggling as the flavors burst across my tongue. The cheese felt a bit odd between my teeth, kind of rubbery, as if it was fat-free stuff back home, but the flavor was there. I chewed and swallowed, lifting a slice of bacon to bite into that.

My teeth basically clanged when they hit the bacon that was not actually bacon, but stone.

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