Beneath the Watching

33. Stefan

33

STEFAN

We took care of everything for Mabel, she didn’t have to worry about a thing. She was justified in defending herself, but in the Fourth Realm, one never knew how something may be perceived. Especially when it came to the actions of one gifted with magic.

Ilya and I crafted a story about a man so burdened with remorse over the loss of his stolen daughter that he’d been unable to continue, and we held a funeral for him. Unlike Kiara, the man’s body disintegrated rather than disappeared. Mabel asked if he’d be joined with her friend in death, reunited, but I had no answer for her. There was no telling where he went, just that we wouldn’t see him again.

Mabel had many questions about the death process, which I was doing my best to answer.

“So, you don’t think he’d just be extinguished?” she asked.

“He was human. Other beings are extinguished, usually under dire circumstances.”

She was rewriting her recipes with magical ink on card stock. I’d procured a glittering black ink for her, much to her delight. She stared at the liquid as it appeared to undulate on its own with a lack of interference on either of our parts. “Will that happen to you?”

“Are you anticipating danger?”

“I’m going to place some of these in the display case,” she stated, lifting one of the cards and blowing on the ink to speed the drying process. “This whole place is dangerous.”

She said that, but she was unbothered by the fact that it was true. “The only thing you need to be wary of is me,” I announced.

Mabel giggled, shifting in her seat, and reminding me of the marks I’d left on her sweet flesh an hour earlier. “Eh you never scared me.”

I grinned at her. Tomorrow, her bake shop would open to the public. Magic Bean Bakery. Her and her friend Tiffany had worked hard to get the little store ready, and I was proud of her. Benjamin or Jack would act as security while Mabel baked and served, ensuring her safety and they couldn’t be happier with the assignment.

It would seem most threats were eliminated but with Lucian gone, it’d left a gap. Ilya filled in where he could, as well as the captain of the Black Guard, Leo. Unfortunately, my best friend was forced to spend more and more time in the Third Realm, his and Ramone’s company demanding his full attention as of recently.

“It's been nice and quiet,” Mabel said after a moment, sliding off her stool. She stacked the recipes into a pile, using the surface of the counter to line up the edges. “Do you think we’ll hear from Josiah again?”

I hadn’t thought much about him, he’d given me the impression anything he’d want from the two of us would be off in the undefined future. “I think we’re fine for now. He had the opportunity to kill us, and he didn’t take it. His sort isn’t one for mercy so if he wanted to end either of us, he would’ve already.”

Mabel nodded. “He seemed okay, to me.” She shrugged, brushing the thought away.

“I’m proud of you, my love,” I took her in my arms and her pretty eyes glanced up at me as she smiled.

“I’m proud of me, too.”