Page 47 of The Krampus's First Christmas Gift

Jasper shook his head. “I’m fine.”

The snow crunched surprisingly loudly beneath Jasper’s boots. But Kraghol supposed that although Jasper had a very slight frame, he had never been taught to move stealthily like Kraghol had.

He held Jasper’s gloved hand within his own. Still, he could feel the heat of Jasper’s skin through the material.

He smiled down at Jasper. He’d smiled so infrequently in his life. He’d had very little to smile about. At first, the expression had felt alien on his face, the muscle movements strange. Now it felt, well, not normal, but over the past few days, he had grown more accustomed to it.

Is this what happiness feels like?

He couldn’t remember ever having felt anything like this before. Before Jasper, there’d just been an aching loneliness stretching back as long as he could remember.

Except for his time with Kali, that was. That had been a respite from his lifelong loneliness. Then she’d left to be with Jasper.

Being around his own kind never made him feel any less lonely. In fact, being around them strangely made him feel even more isolated. When he gathered with his kin, he became so aware of how he didn’t fit or belong amongst them.

Now he walked with Jasper and Kali, and he didn’t feel alone.

He knew it couldn’t last. No chance of that. Once the bond faded, Jasper’s attachment and interest in him would fade too. Jasper would stop visiting and brightening Kraghol’s world. Kraghol would once again be plunged into darkness and loneliness.

He swallowed, shoving aside those sombre thoughts. He did not need to dwell on those today. Today Jasper was beside him. Today he had a reason to smile.

“It will be Krampus Night in a couple of days,” Jasper said.

Kraghol’s smile vanished in an instant. “Yes.”

“Will you take part?”

“I must.”

“You must?” Jasper’s brows drew together.

“It is expected.” His lips twitched. “If I do not go, my grandmother, sister, and probably even my parents will have something to say. It is the most important event in the year for krampuses. So I must attend. It is my duty.”

Jasper did not speak for several moments. “You don’t like Krampus Night.”

“I—” Kraghol exhaled. “No. I have never liked it.”

“But you still take part every year?”

Kraghol nodded. “It is a part of who we krampuses are. I grew up on stories of it. On Krampus Night, we descend on the city, reminding people to behave and be good. If they do not,they will face the wrath and terror of the monsters that lurk in the shadows.

“In my youth, I wondered whywehad to be the ones to fulfil this wretched role,” Kraghol said, throat tight. “Why we had to be the threat.”

Kali trotted ahead, leaving small paw prints in the blanket of white snow that lay untouched before them.

“But even as a young krampus, I knew better than to voice my feelings. My grandmother would have been horrified.” His shoulders tensed. “It would have resulted in scoldings and punishments.”

Kraghol took a deep breath. “Grandmother believes in our purpose. She believes we should be the monsters who instil fear in the hearts of all. She relishes that role. She raised me and my sister to be fearsome and terrifying krampuses.”

Jasper squeezed his hand as they passed a frozen river.

“My sister is a proper krampus. I am not. Grandmother has always been disappointed in me. I have always known this.” Kraghol hesitated. “And my sister is disappointed in me too.”

“I’m sorry. That all sounds so horrible.”

Perhaps Kraghol should not have spoken those words. After all, his grandmother had been the one to raise him. She’d done her duty by him. His sister, too, had always cared for him. He should not be ungrateful and present them in a bad light.

Still, for the first time, he was speaking aloud the words he’d so often felt. It relieved a little of the pressure that had been building inside him since childhood.