Page 59 of Beneath the Watching

“It's just....I know I’m weird. But I don’t mind it, I like myself.” I took a deep breath. “But no one else does.”

Suddenly, I was overwhelmed with the confirmation of my parents’ death, the impossible situation with Kiara and my lack of ability to do anything about it, having gotten lost in the woods and screwed around with by a witch, having a magical voice in my head, and the depths of my feelings for the man who’d brought me here.

He looked dumbfounded. “What does that have to do with anything?”

I slapped his hand, startling him. Out of anything I could’ve done, I think he expected that the least. “You asked,” I bit out.Thiswas why I didn’t make myself vulnerable.

Stefan’s hand fell to his side. “Look at me, Mabel,” he growled, his tone such that I didn’t dare do anything but what he said. “What are you thinking? Do you not want to know what’s going on around you? I know you like to stay on the fringes, but you need to know certain things if I’m going to help you. You can’t close me out, I won’t let you.”

He backed away and reached under a built-in cabinet and grabbed a bottle of water which he handed to me. “I know you’re not scared,” he smirked. “Not of the voice.”

“I am, but not what you’d think.”

Something in my tone must have affected him. He placed the bottle on the stand next to the bed and kneeled in front of me, holding my hands in his own and brushing his thumbs over my knuckles.

Slowly, I softened. My breathing calmed down and my shoulders stopped trying to reach my earlobes. Stefan moved a hand to the side of my neck and guided me forward, resting his forehead against mine. “Narrow is the way which leadeth until life, and few there be that find it.”

“Mm,” I murmured, unsure why he was quoting what sounded like a Bible verse or some sort of esoteric poetry.

“My narrow ways led me to you,” he said, surprising me. He stood up while I stared at him. “Your narrow ways led you to me,” he said, his voice barely audible. “I fell in love with you just as you are.”

He wasn’t wrong. It felt like everything had led up to this and aligned everything perfectly to bring me here, now. If I’d lived my life like a normal, healthy young woman, all of this would be completely unknown to me, including his dark, obsessive love.

“You understand we are staying here in the Fourth Realm, right?” He waited for me to acknowledge what he was saying and I gently nodded. “This clairaudience ability of yours is a bearer of secrets, secrets that some, I’m sure, would prefer stayed locked away. Others may try to force things out of you.”

Stefan waited while I let that absorb before he continued, “Another thing with this sort of gift is that the information may not always be reliable.”

“Why not?” I reached for the water bottle he’d placed beside the bed and took a sip.

“The spirits are tricky. They may purposely mislead for entertainment’s sake just as much as they may not see things the same way others do, so the meaning may get lost in translation.”

“That makes sense.” I took a deep breath, letting my worries fade away.

He waved a hand at me. “Sit back. I’m going to teach you how to guard yourself. This should be easy since you do yoga.”

I glanced at him quickly. “How do you know I did yoga? More like I try to do yoga. I’m not actually sure what I’m doing when I do it.” He looked very pleased with himself and didn’t answer.

We spent the next couple hours with Stefan alternating between showing me how to build a shield around my mind and my spirit, teaching me how to expand and contract it, along with some breathing exercises for calming.

Time seemed to pass quickly, and the day of the Celebration Ball for Kiara was finally here. I spent hours trying to figure out how to convince Stefan to let me talk to her, or at least pass her a note. Nothing I’d come up with worked. My whole rescue-my-friend plan was failing spectacularly.

“Seriously? Do you know what someone could do with your handwriting should a note fall in the wrong hands?” He’d practically snarled at me.

I didn’t know about handwriting being dangerous. I was still learning this stuff while also grappling with the idea that Big Foot is real....and he lives in these woods. Lots of Big Foots. He reassured me it wouldn’t be likely I’d run into one which helped me feel a bit better. Barely.

Instead of distracting myself with further thoughts of cryptids, I asked, “What could they do with a note?”

Stefan sat down in a leather armchair and pinched his nose before shaking his head. “I still have a lot to tell you. I’m sorry I’ve been so busy.”

Tension had been running high with so many unknowns looming between Kiara and Josiah and I knew he was on edge. One thing we had on our side was Julian’s inability to ever reach the Fourth Realm. I didn’t question it, not wanting to tempt fate. Not once had he ever set foot in the Realm, and he never would if things remained as they were.

I could tell he was beyond stressed, and there was also the matter of the High Court demanding I be delivered to them—an occasion we both dreaded.

I’d stayed busy, making good use of a servant’s kitchen, and had started making experimental cupcakes and cookies rather than just bread with kale, mushroom, green bean, and fruit mixtures which provided much entertainment for the castle’s cooks.

“It's okay,” I said softly.

He shook his head again. “It's not. If this is going to work between us, you need to be informed.”

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