Beneath the Watching

14. Mabel

14

MABEL

Stefan had been gone for a while. It was hard to tell how much time went by, with the sun rising and setting at such odd times. Speaking of which, not a single clock or timepiece made any sense despite how often I tried to coordinate them, setting them all to twelve. They seemed to have a mind of their own and when I’d go back and look, one would read three, another ten, and some didn’t move at all despite the ticking sound indicating they should’ve been working properly.

Benjamin and Jack attempted to entertain and keep me company and I found myself completing crossword puzzles with them. I couldn’t get into the crazy tabloids they loved but I may have read at least twenty issues of National Geographic and now knew way more about the Serengeti than I’d ever expected.

As hard as I tried, I couldn’t figure out a way to get past them and sneak out to find someone who may know where Kiara was. Stefan had remained tight-lipped on the subject, and Benjamin and Jack didn’t know a thing about her, really, and just peered at me sadly when I danced around the subject trying to see what they knew.

Both men were enthusiastic about my green bean bread, thanks to Stefan’s violation of my privacy and his clandestine intrusion into my kitchen back home. They also fully supported my resurrected idea of opening a bakery, which endeared them to me.

Currently, I was dumping piles of cooked broccoli into a blender to mash it to baby food consistency. With this new creation, I was torn between adding flaxseeds or chia seeds and orange extract or coconut for added flavor. I couldn’t decide and settled on making extra bread rather than only two so I could try it all.

The two men had been playing a rousing game of Go Fish when Benjamin accused Jack of cheating, so they decided to take the argument “outside,” whatever that meant. I kind of expected them to return covered with dirt from a mudpie fight and that had inspired me to consider baking an edible one. Didn’t fulvic acid come from dirt? It was supposed to be good for you.

I was certain I could only get away with baking with discarded organic matter here, in this place called the Fourth Realm where everything was pure and fresh, and the dirt looked like chocolate cake crumbles. I had at least two men who would happily sample it if I was crazy enough to go through with the idea.

Yes, I was fully aware I was a preschooler when it came to the culinary arts. But no one ever had a breakthrough by playing it safe in the kitchen and wherever I was, it wasn’t real. Not real like my home, the Third Realm. No, everything was magical and clean and fresh here in this place.

Honestly, my green bean bread was pretty darn good, and I’d started writing all my recipes down so I wouldn’t lose or mess up a single one I wanted to recreate.

Lifting my hand-written notes from the counter, I took my other hand off the blenders’ button and turned around.

“Oh,” I said, surprised. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“How are you, child?” Lucian casually strolled up to the kitchen island, placing his hands on the cool, stone counter.

I’m not a child, I wanted to say, but held myself back .

“I’m good, thanks.” I glanced at him quickly and shoved my list into my pocket before I began to measure my broccoli mash.

“How are you adjusting?”

I set the empty pitcher down and began adding my flour blend to the mixing bowl I’d set on the counter. “Good,” I said with more confidence than I felt.

“You remind me of my daughter, with your dark hair,” Lucian said, dragging his hands from the counter. “I hear you have some natural talents, too, as she does.”

My guard went up instantly. “What makes you think I do?” While I hadn’t heard any more voices for a while, I’d heard the mysterious music for almost five minutes the night before. I didn’t mind it at all, though the voices had been a bit off-putting.

My eyes narrowed in suspicion, and I looked away, attempting to hide my reaction. I didn’t remember Stefan telling anyone other than his friend Ilya about my so-called clairaudience.

Lucian’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “As king, it's important I have ears to the ground. You’d be surprised what I know.”

He began picking up my baking equipment, examining the pieces, and placing the items back down. “Please don’t touch my stuff,” I complained. He was giving me anxiety and throwing off my routine.

The man set down the last bowl and wiped his hands on his pants before turning toward me. “Kiara has proven quite difficult. She lets the monster get into her head and her bed, she drives everyone mad, and I’m not certain how to fix everything.”

He hung his head. “She is my daughter, and I love her, but she needs a mother.” Lucian puffed out his chest a bit, setting his hands on his lower hips with his fingers splayed.

A crawling sensation trickled down the back of my neck as I continued to listen to him. I didn’t know him, and he was disclosing very personal information.

“In a few days, we’ll be leaving and heading north to my fortress.” Lucian slowly came around the counter before standing directly behind me. I felt his breath stirring my hair. “Would you like to be reunited with your friend? Have guaranteed fellowship with her due to your station in my court?”

I sucked in a breath but didn’t dare move for fear of touching the man. He hadn’t really done anything or said anything outright and I wasn’t sure if I was picking up on something weird or not. His words could’ve meant anything.

No one will believe you if you say anything, not you.

It was Lucian’s voice I’d just heard in my head. Not my own, and not the mysterious atmospheric voice. It was his voice, right? Can the other voice sound like other people? My blood turned ice cold and my pulse thundered in my veins.

Instantly, I dropped my mixing bowl and bolted, leaving the sound of china crashing to the floor behind me. I darted out the door of the apartment blindly, and took off, not having any clue where I was going. Shoving servants and other individuals out of the way, I headed for the end of the hallway, skidding to a stop before peering right and left and choosing a random direction.

In the distance behind me, I heard voices yelling. I was frozen in place, completely unfamiliar with my surroundings when I heard the disembodied voice in my head, the one that’d spoken of stolen babies and change.

It screeched at me, Left. Run!

I obeyed, taking the direction with my feet pounding on the floor. Turning my shoulders, I slid through a pair of the Black Guards before shoving my hands against a large set of wooden doors. After I barreled through the exit, I flew down the steps and found myself halfway across a stone bridge when I finally stopped, gasping for breath with my hands on my knees.

Glancing down at my feet, I noticed I yet again did not have appropriate footwear. My flip-flops mocked me with the remembrance of the last time I’d found myself without a clue as to what to do. There was no reason I could think of that I should’ve been able to run the way I just did, not with these shoes, and not with some sort of Olympic athletic ability. All I could think was it was due to the pure air.

Twisting my head, I glanced back at the doors. My heart thumped angrily behind my ribs while I swallowed as much air as I could.

Run, get going. Move.

Again, I obeyed.

Sprinting to the edge of the bridge, I careened down the road and took another left, barely taking note of Stefan’s gothic-style church. Sunlight poured through the branches overhead as my sandals slapped in the dirt, kicking up tiny pebbles and leaving small indents behind. After several minutes, I slowed down to take in my surroundings and listen to the woods around me.

The forest was silent save for the chirping of birds and a gentle breeze dancing in the leaves. It was odd I wasn’t being pursued and I was grateful, but I couldn’t let my guard down. It was certain to be only a matter of time.

Where had Benjamin and Jack gone? I almost felt sorry for them, knowing they’d be subject to my captor’s wrath when he found out what happened. But then again, they’d let Lucian in unsupervised.

Or had they?

The whole situation was a glaring reminder of just how unimportant I was, how malleable for others, and risk-free. I posed a threat to no one. Had I, I would never have made it outside of Stefan’s living quarters.

It was impossible to make myself believe I didn’t mean anything at all to Stefan and yet he, too, had underestimated me. He’d left me with inferior protection; despite saying I was in danger. What was he thinking? That nobody would bother me when I was in this supposed danger? It hurt to think he thought so little of me.

But then I remembered the way he looked at me, as if I were the only thing to exist. And the way he touched me, it was like I was the most precious thing in the world. My head was a mess of jumbled and confusing thoughts, and I had no idea what to believe.

But then I did. I could choose to shut out the disparaging thoughts, the mindless ramblings that tried to convince me what I felt and experienced wasn’t true and I consciously made that choice. It was sobering realizing I was applying the same logic to Stefan that I applied to myself, assuming he devalued me when he’d done anything but that.

He should’ve been back already; it felt like he’d been gone for weeks. He had been stressed about being called to this High Court and I feared the worst. It seemed unlikely he’d have left me behind if he could’ve made a different decision.

Self-doubt creeped in as I debated whether Lucian had been trying to say what I suspected he was. There was no way I’d be my friend’s mother, or his queen, and to suggest that I would was disgusting.

And then he’d mocked me in my own head, pushing past my boundaries to let me know I’d be laughed at should I speak up. Or was that my imagination? It could’ve all been assumption on my part, combined with the disembodied voice.

What on earth did Kiara get herself into? I hadn’t asked for any of this, and I started to wonder if it’d been the same for Kiara. Who would choose this?

“What do I do? I don’t know what to think,” I said aloud.

Keep walking .

Voices. I had voices in my head. I chuckled at the thought. This was the territory of those thought to be ill in the head. As it was, people already thought I was a little different. This was just the icing on the cake, with that extra bonus.

Realizing I had an ear to ear grin stretched across my face, I quickly corrected the expression with a sigh, attempting to look normal.

Who knew who or what was out here in these woods?