10. Ben

10

BEN

I should have told her.

But what exactly should I have said? That I may not know what Stoneheart is planning but when he threatened me last night it was with the care of a lover? A seducer. That only begs more questions, and I could have been mistaken.

I should have said something , anything to dispel this tightness in my throat.

I’m back in the reading chair watching Stella work. It’s all I can do to keep from blabbing things I don’t understand.

I’m here to be helpful, not to add more confusion.

It would be a distraction to whatever charm she’s crafting, and the sight of her intense focus is too captivating to risk saying anything.

I stay silent in the quagmire of my feelings and focus on being busy to keep from staring at the witch I’ve only ever seen chaos from funnel it into magic. I check off various tasks for Kalos I can perform remotely while I run searches in our territory for the same type of disappearances that are plaguing the Leonid territory.

Nothing. The relief is short lived. The stark differences between the two territories mean that something has been rotting the underbelly of the territory that Stella has so readily claimed ownership of.

I reach out to various contacts that live between the two territories with carefully worded inquiries. With each reply it becomes clear that though there’s no proof, people are suspicious. Tempers are short, leading to more altercations.

I make notes and send them to Silas, hoping he can discern anything from the clusters of altercations. His role is the most similar to the one I hold at Kalos’s side, and he’ll benefit from the research the most.

I don’t dare contact Stoneheart. He…intimidates me. Before the other night, I’d message him directly with no issue, but now—I’m not ready to expose myself to him. Not with the shameful way I reacted to his touch.

Not with the temptation that is his bride.

I message back and forth with Silas. The lizardman expresses gratitude, asking me to process various reports and add them to their records.

The actions are comforting in their familiarity, and the hours pass quickly until there’s a quiet tap at the door to the workshop.

“Lunch is ready.” A short blonde woman ducks her head in subservience and curtsies quickly before departing as soon as I open the door.

Stella doesn’t respond to the interruption. I hesitate before placing my hand lightly on her back. She jumps.

“Sorry,” I say quickly.

“It’s okay.” She blinks like I’ve woken her up. It takes a moment for her eyes to focus on me.

I rub the fabric of her dress, trying to soothe the worst of her surprise. “Lunch is ready.”

“Already?” she asks, but her growling stomach has her cheeks pinkening. “I guess it’s been a while since I started.”

She pushes away from the oddly shaped pieces of metal she’s been working on. There’s a scattering of blue gems and chips of porcelain surrounding the mix of silver and gold in front of her. The light hits them, and I want to ask her about her work but take a large step back.

Witches don’t share their craft with outsiders. I don’t want to find out if that’s what I still am to her.

We make our way to the kitchen in silence, mine watchful and Stella’s as if she’s still stuck on the task she left on her desk.

The woman who informed me of lunch is gone, but there’s a different woman sitting at the counter and devouring the sandwich placed in front of her. Two other sandwiches sit on the counter presumably for us.

“Hello,” Stella greets the woman, her voice sounds like she forces the words out.

“You must be Stella! I’m Fiona.” Fiona is dressed in loungewear with a messy bun on the top of her head. Dark makeup is smudged under her eyes.

Stella relaxes. “Francesca mentioned you. This is Ben?—”

“Oh, I’ve heard all about Mr. Ben,” Fiona winks at me, and Stella stiffens. Fiona’s eyes widen, and she backpedals with hand motions, including the sandwich. “I didn’t mean anything by that I swear! I just think it’s nice for someone else to cause gossip around here other than me.”

“Gossip?” My voice is faint.

Fiona shrugs, dipping her sandwich into the au jus sauce. “You’re spending all day, every day with the lady of the territory. Of course there’s going to be gossip. Pepper could hardly wait to set eyes on you.”

“Pepper?” I ask as my face heats.

“She’s the cook, or maybe she prefers chef. She runs a restaurant in the building and delivers lunch and dinner here. She’s a Leonid, and we’re pretending she isn’t giving intel to the rest of her family.” Fiona imparts the information like it’s as obvious as the weather.

I look around for Pepper.

“She already left,” Fiona confirms. “Probably brimming with the knowledge that you’ve both been secluded behind a closed door all day long.”

The muscles in my jaw tighten.

“I don’t think I like Pepper,” Stella mutters.

Fiona grins. “Don’t take it personally. She’s all right, and the food is good. I think the gossip will be rather minor, as long as Stoneheart doesn’t take issue. Which, like, duh, he set up the situation. He’d be a grade A asshole if he complained about people talking.” She chews for a bit and swallows. “Not that he doesn’t have his asshole-ish moments.”

Stella snorts. “I can’t tell if you’re trying to pull me into shit-talking my husband the first day of marriage to judge me, or if you’re being honest.”

“I do like to start trouble,” Fiona wipes her mouth. “But I owe my loyalty to Stoneheart. He saved me and Francesca when no one else would, but that doesn’t mean that he’s always Mr. Sunshine. He knows he’s an asshole. I think he gets off on it.”

Stella hums. “I won’t say it.”

Fiona laughs. “You don’t have to. I don’t think anyone expects you to like him yet, but he’ll grow on you.”

I frown at the sandwich in front of me. That’s what I’m afraid of.

But for the life of me I don’t know if I’m more worried about him growing on Stella…or me.