Page 23 of The Jorogumo

"That's the lunch bell. Would you like to eat in the dining room with everyone? Or here?"

"By everyone, do you mean all the residents of the Sanctuary?"

Haruto pursed his lips thoughtfully, then shook his head. "Almost all of them. Shade can't leave his area, and some ofthe others prefer to eat in their areas. But you'll meet most of them."

Excitement sparked through me at the thought of meeting more supes, and I smiled widely. "I'd like to eat with everyone then."

Haruto smiled, then wrapped his arms around my waist. "Hold on."

I grabbed his shoulders, then grinned as he carried me back down effortlessly. Seriously, I loved how strong he was. I'd met very few people who could match my size and strength, and none who were stronger than me. At least none I'd been interested in romantically.

But Haruto? He was everything I could've ever wanted in a man, and I tried really hard to keep him from seeing exactly how much I liked being carted around by him.

Once we were on solid ground again, he released me, and I slowly stepped back, meeting dark eyes that seemed to see more than I wanted to reveal.

Haruto didn't say anything, just held his hand out, and I took it quickly, allowing him to lead me out of his house. He didn't lock the door behind him, which, fair. He knew everyone here, and obviously, no one was going to try to rob him.

We left the Forest area, then walked down the hallway, and I saw the doors to the other areas Haruto had mentioned before. Darkness was pretty self-explanatory, and Haruto had said only one guy lived there, Shade, and he couldn't leave. I wondered how he didn't get lonely. He must, right? I could not imagine spending my life trapped in one place and no one to share it with.

Haruto pushed open a door labeled 'Dining Room,' and sound burst out as if the door—with the help of some magic, surely—had been the only thing blocking it.

I followed after Haruto, then jerked to a halt as I took in the large room. I knew I shouldn't stare, but was that a green horse with invisible legstalking? Andthatwas very much a dwarf.

I spotted Dustin, who waved at me, and finally managed to stop myself from gawking. At least until I waved back at Dustin and followed Haruto to the counter, where a buffet was set up.

And where a being stood behind the counter, filling plates with food with their many, many limbs. Octopus limbs. Tentacles. They hadtentacles.

"That's Jacinta. They're a cecaelia."

As if they'd heard Haruto's whispered introduction, they glanced up, sharp blue eyes pinning me to the floor as they took me in.

Then they grinned, showing off some very pointy-looking teeth, and waved me over. "You're Haruto's boo. Liam, right?"

My cheeks flushed at being called someone'sboo, but I nodded, which made their grin widen.

"I was a bit annoyed when humans started joining the Sanctuary, but I've realized it adds a certain...flavorto our group that we need."

Before I could even begin to figure out what they meant, a man—a human, I thought—with a scar on one side of his face came over with two empty plates, rolling his eyes at Jacinta.

"Stop with the human-eating puns, J. They're never funny."

He glanced over at me, and I realized he was the guy who'd dropped Haruto off at the shop earlier today.

"Bellamy," he introduced himself, and I nodded, giving him a smile.

"Liam."

Humming, he turned back to Jacinta, who filled Haruto's, my, and both of Bellamy's plates all at once before waving us off with a fifth tentacle, and I watched Bellamy walk through the crowds to the horse with invisible legs, pressing a kiss to his cheek as he placed their plates on a table before them.

"Are those two..."

"Together? Yeah. Alaric is a kelpie."

Kelpie? I might've read about them. Horse-like beings who lived in lakes and lured humans to their death. According to the humans, anyway. Wow. Did I really just think that like I wasn't also a human?

I followed Haruto to the table where Dustin, Khush, Keoni, Touya, Silas, Zamir, and the dwarf sat or stood, and Haruto stood to one side as I took the empty chair beside him.

"Oh, Liam, you didn't meet Draven earlier because he was working on something," Keoni said, gesturing toward the dwarf. "Draven is the genius who made my cart and the wheelchairs, among other things."

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