Page 26 of Stranded with the Kraken
“We have found a human,” he announces finally.
I blink. “You’ve found a human?”
“Gods,” Jasper curses. “What do you mean, you found her?”
The gargoyle crosses his arms over his chest. “She was in the woods alone just before the snowstorm hit,” he explains. “Klaus found her and brought her to our roost.”
Jasper narrows his eyes. “He just took a woman from the forest?”
Emmerich nods gravely. “She would have died. Humans are weak.”
“And did she…want to be taken?” I venture carefully. “To your roost, I mean. Or did she want to be brought to her home?”
Jasper’s hand tightens on my shoulder, and for a moment, I think he wants me to shut up, but he rephrases my question more directly.
“Did Klaus kidnap someone, Emmerich?” he demands. “Is that why you’re here?”
Emmerich’s dark eyes flare wide. “No!”
His wings snap to the sides, and he takes out a glass of water left on the coffee table. It tumbles to the blankets and spills but luckily doesn’t break. Still, the gargoyle quickly tugs his wings back in and hangs his head. I notice his tail for the first time, swishing anxiously behind him.
“She wants to be at the roost,” he says. “She said so herself. Klaus offered to fly her to safety, but she doesn’t want to leave.”
I furrow my eyebrows, more confused than ever. “Do you need Jasper’s help in getting her out of your home?”
“No,” the gargoyle says again, grinning now. “She is our mate.”
Jasper’s eyebrows climb up. “Uh, congratulations?”
I meet his gaze, and he shrugs, as if he’s just as lost as I am as to why Emmerich is here instead of celebrating Christmas with his newfound partner. To break the tension, I pick up the fallen water glass and hang the wet blanket over a kitchen chair to dry. By the time I return to Jasper’s side, my kraken has settled on the couch, and Emmerich is crouched in the middle of the living room, looking a lot like a Gothic statue.
“We need help,” Emmerich says finally when I sit next to Jasper. “Our roost is not equipped for a human.”
“Ah.” Jasper’s posture relaxes, and he leans back against the pillows. “Right, that could be a problem.”
“Why?” I ask.
Emmerich inclines his head toward me. “Your mate’s home is very beautiful. Ours is…”
“A stone fortress in the middle of the forest,” Jasper supplies.
I try to think of a fortress in the vicinity of Clearwater. “You mean the old watchtower on top of Blarney Hill? I thought that place was haunted.”
Jasper glances at me, his lips pressed together. He’s fighting a smile, and it takes me a moment to understand why.
“Ohh.” The place is haunted, all right, only it’s gargoyles, not ghosts, who have taken up residence, it seems.
But I see Emmerich’s issue. If he and this Klaus guy he mentioned are content to stay at a ruin like that, I’m sure a human would be less than comfortable. Especially in the middle of a massive snowstorm.
“What do you need?” Jasper asks.
Emmerich’s forehead furrows. “Blankets, water, and some food. I would have put on a glamor and gone to the shops, but…”
It’s Christmas Eve. All the shops in Clearwater must have closed at noon.
“We have a fridge full of food,” I blurt out. “And I saw some clean blankets in one of the guest bedrooms.”
I don’t think he and his partners would appreciate the ones that smell like sex. Then I realize I offered up Jasper’s belongings like I own them. I swivel to him, an apology on my lips, but he’s looking down at me with a soft smile.
