Page 43 of Claimed By Stone
“Was it the woman I saw in the hall earlier with Callie?”
I nodded.
“And she was a statue?”
I gestured to the statueless base on the floor above us.
Frema’s mouth dropped open, and Khuldruk’s brow furrowed.
“Only you could find a mate holed up in your study,” Frema said, amused. Khulkdruk let out a hearty laugh, seemingly amused as well.
“And you still don’t know anything about her origins or the magic that kept her trapped there?” she asked.
“We are working on it?” I said. “We’ve found some Godling magic that would be able to trap someone in stone, but we’ve yet to find out the specifics.”
“What does she have to say about it?” She asked.
“Well, she doesn’t remember much. It wasn’t until the feast that she didn’t return to stone in the morning, but it was also the night she finally remembered her name. Please just give us some time.”
Frema nodded as her brow furrowed in thought. “And you trust her?”
“I do.”
She turned to Khuldruk, as if he had the final say, and it made anger flare inside of me. No one would hurt her, I knew for sure of that.
“I do have questions … but –”
“Wait!” Frema exclaimed. “Is she your mate? Is that why you said that about the ceremony?”
Both of their eyes snapped to me. My mouth dropped as I searched for words. Was she my mate? I didn’t know. I was beginning to believe it, but there was still so much we didn't know. So many unanswered questions.
“Brother,” Khuldruk said gently. “Is she your mate?”
“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know. I thought once you found your mate, you knew at once. How can you not know?”
“Well, I’m sorry if it doesn't make sense to you. Believe it or not, I’m struggling with that too,” I snapped at her before standing to pace. “In all of these books,” I growled and gestured to the books that lined the upper level, “there is nothing on what to do if a statue comes to life, let alone if you think that statue might be your mate. So, I’m sorry if I need some time to wrap my head around all of this.”
“You’re right,” Frema said quietly. “We’re here for you, brother. Whatever you need.” She cleared her throat. “I’m going to go speak with Ragnor about the possibility of training a spy.”
She gave them each a slight nod and turned on her heel and headed out of the room, leaving him alone with Khuldruk.
“Don’t say it,” I said. I knew he wanted to talk about the possibility of her being my mate, but I just wasn’t ready.
“I won’t. But I will say that mate or not, we need to know what kind of magic did this,” he said in a calm tone.
“In that we are agreed.”
“Good. I will leave you to your books.”
With a sigh of relief, I turned to make my way to the stairs.
“But, Thavros, please be open to the possibility.”
As I turned back to him, our eyes connected before I dipped my head in a slight nod. He returned the nod before turning to leave.
When the door shut behind him, I let out a long breath. She was my mate. I was almost sure of it, but what that meant for us, I wasn’t sure yet. With so many unknowns, I wasn’t certain what our next move should be.
