Page 79 of Beneath the Watching

Stefan whirled around, placing his hands on either side of my neck. “Do not ever say ‘Ilya’ and ‘sexy’ in the same sentence again,” he ordered. I glanced at Ilya, trying not to laugh.

“It's inevitable, quit while you’re ahead,” Ilya goaded him. I watched as Stefan’s eyes shuttered, but he kept his mouth shut.

A nurse, or healer as they were called here, walked in with a small canvas pouch, and handed it to our injured friend.

“This will help with the scarring but I’m afraid, as you know, the blade was spelled. There will be permanent effects.” She gave him a sympathetic look and nodded at Stefan and I before taking her leave.

“Spelled blade?” I asked, peering between the two men.

Ilya pressed his lips together. “Yes.”

“How does that happen?” I stared at him.

Ilya looked at Stefan, as if asking for permission to talk to me. Something unspoken passed between the two of them before Ilya answered me, “You know she’s a very powerful witch, the strongest I’ve ever heard of or met. I know you know what effect magic has on creatures like me, or even Stefan.”

My eyes slid to the man by my side. I didn’t miss Ilya’s subtle reference to Stefan’s lack of full demon blood. I knew demons fed on people’s energy; Stefan had done that with me several times. It was barely perceptible when it occurred and not a big part of our lives. As he’d told me, he retrieved what he needed from the air around us.

“Are you saying she overpowered you?” I asked carefully.

Ilya’s eyes burned brightly with anger for a moment before he answered. “I’m saying your friend possesses powerful, injurious magic.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him she was obviously stronger than him but I kept my mouth shut. With everything I’d heard about Ramone wanting to feed on Kiara and drain hermagic, it didn’t take long for me to figure out how Ilya ended up taking a knife to the face.

Anyone with a brain could see Kiara wilting away—exercise regime or not.

“I’m going to go find her,” I announced. “I need to make sure she’s okay.”

Stefan grabbed my upper arm as I turned to walk away. “No, wait. I’ll send someone with you.”

“No, I’ll be fine,” I stated, wrenching my arm away.

He moved to block my exit. “You can’t be wandering around by yourself, just hang on a minute.”

“How did bullying work out for Ilya?” I snapped at him. Bullying was probably the wrong term, but it was clear to me that I could do this on my own. “I’ve handled a crazy lady in the woods, that guy, Josiah...”

Crap.

He wasn’t supposed to be mentioned.

Unease ran through me, and shame trickled through my blood. If I couldn’t even keep my mouth shut, how was I supposed to get anything else done? When push came to shove, I’d already screwed up and mentioned something I’d been explicably told not to.

Ilya darted a quick look at Stefan who shook his head. “Don’t ask,” he snapped at his friend.

Steeling my spine and taking a deep breath, I announced, “I’m going.”

I didn’t wait to see what Stefan would do and walked out.

28

MABEL

There wasno way Ilya would betray Stefan’s confidence so after a short internal pep talk, I brushed off my mistake. I was bound to make them, right?

My unfamiliarity with the castle slowed my search but eventually I found Kiara in the library. The room was vast, the biggest I’d ever seen. It was hard to believe so many books were in existence, but here I was, in a sanctum bigger than even the entire Holyoke Mall back in Massachusetts.

Quickly, I realized it was not one, singular room, but many. Connected by staircases and platforms, the wooden racks stretched in several directions. Considering what my friend was going through, when I found a plaque stating, “Studies of the Esoteric.” I followed the arrows.

Kiara was perched in a chair with her legs tucked to the side in a parlor-like area, staring out a window.

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