Page 67 of Beneath the Watching

“I am,” I answered, meeting Josiah’s eyes before turning back to Stefan. “I’m fine, he kept me safe.”

“I’ll deal with you later,” he warned me. He snagged my arm and pushed me behind him.

Josiah took a deep breath. “As I said, our business with her is done. I’ll be in touch, eventually.” He disappeared instantly, as if he’d never been standing before us.

Stefan whirled around. “What did he want with you?” I relayed what had happened and shuddered. “We need to go inside and stay inside,” Stefan ordered.

23

MABEL

“He said Kiara’s there,in the Second Realm,” I said as Stefan brought us back into his rooms. Benjamin and Jack scowled at me as we passed them before softening their expressions.

“I liked the Brussel sprout orange blossom cupcakes you made the other day; those were good,” Jack said, rubbing his belly.

“Yeah, those were bangin’,” Benjamin agreed.

Stefan tossed a dirty look their way. “I’ll bang you if you don’t shut up.”

I bit back a laugh and then said, “I don’t think that means what you think it means.”

Benjamin winked at me, and Stefan pinched the bridge of his nose like he did whenever he was annoyed.

He couldn’t justifiably get as angry with the men as he would’ve liked, and we all knew it. They’d been off somewhere with him, stuck in a meeting or perhaps performing any number of errands.

Stefan led me down the hall and into our room, slamming the door shut. “The Second Realm. Do you know exactly where he brought you?”

I perched on the edge of the bed. “A living room? We were indoors the whole time.” I stood up and walked over to the bathroom to wash my hands. They were still sticky with pine sap and now had dirt stuck in the glue.

“He told me something,” I started and took a deep breath. “He knew my father. He’s the one who brought me to the Third Realm after my parents were killed.”

Shock rolled over Stefan’s features as he was rendered speechless.

“He said it was no fault of their own, but he wouldn’t tell me anything else. He must’ve done something, interfered with the foster care system because not once was I placed with any normal family, always with the very rich.”

Finally, he spoke, “His intentions were good, then.”

He still looked as if he didn’t know what to think, and he knew what I’d gone through with those families. “Maybe he didn’t know they were abusive people?” I asked. Each family had been the same, in their care of me, with their expectations with very little deviation.

“Vampire standards can be different, more exacting, but I don’t see why he’d want you to be harmed in any way if he had been friends with your family.”

“Yeah...”

Stefan moved behind me, placing his hands on my waist and leaned forward. I heard his deep inhale. “He touched you,” he snarled.

Drying my hands on a small towel, I replied, “He had to, to bring me there and back.”

He eyed me, staring at the reflection in the mirror, searching for deception. I remembered what he’d told me about his family. “He didn’t touch me in any kind of way that wasn’t for transportation. Well, that and these creepy ghost-things. Theseghosts came through the walls, and he couldn’t fight them off and then he brought me back.”

“Ghosts?” Stefan paled. “What did they look like?”

His hands dropped from my waist as I turned around. “Skeletons. With old crumbly robes. They had weird eyes, too. He tried to use his magic but all he could do was hold them off so he could get us away.”

I followed him out of the room. “Sounds like wraiths. They aren’t usually that powerful, he should’ve been able to defeat them, easily.” Stefan scratched his chin. “I wonder....”

He began pacing and stopped by the window and crossed his arms. “This would explain so many things.”

“What are you talking about?”

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