Chapter Thirty-Three

Sephie

“Where are you guys?” I asked Ivan once Adrik and I were amongst the living once more.

“We’re all in my apartment, princess. How are you? Still tired. I can feel you’re still tired,” he responded.

“Yeah, I told Adrik last night if I knew what a hangover was like, this was probably it. How’s Viktor?”

“He’s a lot better. He wants to see you. He knows he has making up to do. Are you guys up now? Want us to come up?”

“No, I want a change of scenery for once. At least until it’s time for dinner. How’s Stephen? He’s okay to you? He feels fucking fantastic to me, if I’m being honest.”

I heard Ivan laughing. “He is fucking fantastic, princess. I don’t know if he’s still high off Boss’s anger or what, but he’s the happiest I’ve ever seen him. It’s really good to see. That kid deserves it.”

“Yeah, he does. Okay, be down in a minute. Now that I’m assured Stephen will be able to make me laugh in only the way that he can, I’m more willing to face Viktor.”

“Don’t worry, princess. He knows he hurt you. He’ll try to make it right, but I can’t say I would be disappointed if you ripped him a new one in front of everyone for being an asshole.”

I giggled. “You’ve been spending too much time with Stephen. Stop enabling me.”

We didn’t have to knock on Ivan’s door. Just as I was about to, Misha opened the door, his handsome wide smile across his face. His smile grew bigger when he saw the surprise on my face.

“Something happened. We’re still trying to figure out what happened, but we could feel both of you when you got off the elevator. We all knew you were coming,” he said as he closed the door behind us.

“You can feel him too?” I asked, glancing back at Adrik.

“Yeah, much like we can feel you now, but he’s quieter. For me at least,” Misha said.

I glanced at Andrei to see if the same was true for him. He agreed with Misha. “I think because I’m like you, I’ve always picked up on everyone a little more than the rest of us. It’s stronger for me now, just because I think I’ve been noticing it longer. But it’s stronger for everyone, not just Boss.”

Stephen said, “Since I’m still in my pancake paradox infancy, I can’t detect the subtle nuance, but I do feel like I might’ve gotten high off the supply. Like, I was seriously considering asking Misha if he wanted to go for a run this morning because I feel fucking fantastic. Boss, if you feel like this every day, I’m going to need some of your secrets. Do you juice? Keto? Are you doing yoga and not telling anyone else? Meditation in the mornings? Are you the real vampire among us and we just never noticed? Blood bags or live donors? I’m gonna need specifics.”

I looked at Ivan, who very clearly had a “told you” look on his face. Adrik laughed quietly as he pulled me back against him.

I grinned at Stephen, saying, “Can we just all agree to always refer to everything weird that’s happening to us as the pancake paradox from now on? There will be legends created about us as a result. In the future, children will no longer be forced to learn calculus in school. Instead, they’ll learn about the pancake paradox and what happens when souls get ejected from bodies. The red panda population will thrive. Earth will be at peace.”

“What if that’s the key to peace all along? Red pandas,” Misha said thoughtfully.

“Right now, red pandas are pancake-less, and look at the state of the world,” Andrei said.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got a plan for mass production. We’re going to be just fine,” Stephen said, chuckling.

Once the laughter mostly died down from our ridiculous conversation, I finally looked at Viktor. “How are you, Papa Bear? You look better. Do you feel better?”

Adrik held me tighter against him. I could also feel the pull in my chest that meant he was thinking about how much he loved me. I knew he was trying to help me deal with the situation.

“I do, sestrichka. I feel much better. I actually didn’t realize how heavy everything that I was carrying around was becoming until it was gone. I feel bad that you had to carry it around with you,” he said, looking apologetic.

“Like everything, I think it was for a reason. It helped us figure out how to get whatever was following Ilya off him for good,” I said. I glanced at Ilya, asking, “You’re still good? It hasn’t come back?”

He smiled warmly at me. He really did seem like a very sweet boy. He was handsome, like Viktor, but with a splash of boyish charm and innocence. While Viktor had very dark hair and darker features, Ilya’s hair was more of a dirty blond. His eyes were a lighter brown than Viktor. He was Viktor-lite. “It hasn’t come back. I have an idea of what it was though,” he said.

“You do?” I asked. All the guys looked at him, now curious as well.

“Yeah. Since Vitya was sleeping, I had nothing to do so I started researching. I spent a little time in Japan when I was in the military. They have demons that are specific to suicide: Shinigami. These demons follow you around and keep whispering to you until you finally lose hope and commit suicide,” Ilya said. He glanced at Viktor, almost like he was nervous, but he continued. “It’s common for them to affect entire family lines. Once they’re on one member of the family, they hop to other members of the same family.”

“I could believe that. Viktor’s oppressive sadness was probably the warm-up. They might’ve tried to get to him already, but he was too strong, so they jumped to you,” I said, chewing on my lip. “Or do you think the chick you were with is what gave it to you?” I asked Ilya.

“No idea. This is all very new to me,” he said.

“It doesn’t explain why Ivan couldn’t see it either,” Stephen said.

Ivan had gotten up and grabbed his computer when Ilya first started talking. He was quietly reading through whatever he’d found. He looked up at me first, then to Stephen. “Actually, it does.”

“Explain please,” I said. “But don’t worry about the flavor of syrup for the pancakes. We’ll decide that later.”

He looked at me, trying not to smile, and just shook his head. “From the extensive two-minute search I just completed and what Ilya just said, these demons whisper to people, meaning they’re not fully attached to the people. I’m not sure they’re trying to take over, even. It just seems like they’re very specific to suicide. So far, I’m only able to see demons when they’re actively trying to get in or when they have already gotten in. That’s why I couldn’t see this one.” He looked at Andrei, asking, “What did it feel like to you? Is it the first one you’ve felt like that?”

“It was cold, mostly, but quiet. Until Stephen spoke and then it got scared,” Andrei said. “It’s one of the first times that I’ve noticed a demon, so I don’t have a ton to compare it to. The lady that Battista brought with him, she felt different. More similar to you three.”

I knew my eyes had turned black, because I could see Ivan’s switch immediately. I didn’t need to look to know that Adrik’s had done the same. My anger made an unexpected appearance at Andrei comparing me, in any way, to that woman.

He looked at me, realizing what had happened. “I don’t mean you’re like her, spider monkey,” he said, trying not to laugh. “She felt hot. Same as you three. Any time your demons come forward, it’s always associated with anger. There’s heat and fire there. What was on Ilya was the opposite. Quiet, but very cold. Now put your demon eyes away before Ilya has to change his pants.”

Ilya cursed under his breath. “How does that not scare the shit out of you,” he said quietly, to no one in particular.

“Oh, don’t worry. As long as it wasn’t you who pissed them off, you have nothing to worry about,” Stephen said. “Although, now that I think about it, I might retract my request for red to be the next color your eyes come up with. I’m not entirely convinced I’d be able to handle that. It’s disturbing enough on Vlad.”

Ilya cursed a little louder this time, looking at Viktor with wide eyes, which caused all of us to laugh. Viktor said quietly, “It’s a joke. Sephie said Stephen was a vampire because he’s so much colder than the rest of us. They both ran with it. Vitaliy still hasn’t figured out we’re talking about Vlad Tepes, so don’t ruin it.” Ilya was visibly relieved.

“I love how we just had a serious conversation about Japanese suicide demons like it was a normal brunch discussion, but the possibility of red eyes was a step too far,” Stephen said, laughing.

“Ilya’s only seen the black. He hasn’t seen them change otherwise. It’s a little difficult to fathom,” I said, trying to stick up for Ilya who really had no clue of the high strangeness that was our little family.

“They do other things?” Ilya asked, now curious.

“Yeah, dude. Go over there. She’ll show you,” Misha said.

Ilya looked at him like he was sure it was a trap. He looked at Viktor, who laughed his deep belly laugh. “He’s not trying to trap you. Her eyes change colors depending on the emotion she’s feeling. Go look. It’s pretty fascinating,” he said.

Ilya still looked uncertain, but he got up and walked closer to me. Adrik was still behind me, but I could see Ivan. His eyes were still black, which meant mine were too. I closed my eyes, thinking of how much I loved Adrik. When I opened my eyes, Ilya was standing in front of me. I looked at him with my blue eyes. He looked relieved that they weren’t black again.

“Blue means she’s thinking about how much she loves me,” Adrik said.

“You didn’t even look at her. How do you know her eyes are blue right now?” Ilya asked.

“I can feel everything she feels,” Adrik said.

“That’s why he was so quick to react when I first touched you. He felt what it did to me right away. He doesn’t usually try to make people’s lives flash before their eyes so quickly,” I said.

“Green means she’s being a sarcastic shit,” Adrik said lovingly. I grinned at Ilya’s surprised expression.

“You don’t have to show him the other ones, gazelle,” Misha said. He looked at Ilya, saying, “They turn amber when she’s sad and white when she’s scared. All of us feel what she feels and those two are very strong and I’d just rather not right now.”

“They turn white?” Ilya asked.

“Yeah, if you think her demon eyes are scary, then you’re not ready to see that,” Stephen said.

Ilya looked between Adrik and Ivan. “Can your eyes also do the same then?”

“Yeah, that reminds me. How can yours turn black but not change like hers do?” Viktor asked.

“Are you ready for this, Viktor? Because I’m not sure you’re ready for this. But at least you’re already sitting down,” Stephen said. He looked very seriously at Viktor. “They control their demons.”

Viktor’s brow furrowed as he tried to understand what Stephen had just told him. “Your black eyes are your demons?” he asked.

I nodded. “I told Ivan not very long after I met you all that the best way to defeat your demons was to make friends with them. They have no power over you that way. At the time, I was just trying to help him cope. I didn’t know I was being serious. I would’ve told you the same thing if you hadn’t spent so much time avoiding me,” I said, crossing my arms across my chest. I could feel Viktor flinch from the blow. It came out a little harsher than I was intending, but I was still very irritated with him.

“I know, sestrichka. I knew you were going to make me deal with everything and I didn’t think I was ready,” Viktor said.

“If it makes you feel any better, me and Sasha have been trying to get him to deal with it for years as well. He wouldn’t listen to us either,” Ilya said.

“He wasn’t actively avoiding you though. He’s been actively avoiding me for weeks, if not months,” I said.

Viktor stood up, walking to me. “I was actively avoiding you and I am very sorry, Sephie,” he said, opening his arms to me. I glared at him for a moment, not moving, but finally gave in and went to him. He wrapped his arms around me, picking me up off the floor. He whispered so only I could hear, “I know you’re not mad. I know you’re hurt. I can feel you’re hurt. It will never happen again.” He held me for a few minutes. I could feel his turmoil. I knew he was sorry.

I finally sighed. “I know why you did it. It doesn’t mean I have to like it, but I understand.”

He laughed softly as he put me down again. I felt Adrik’s arm around my waist, pulling me back against him. I could tell he was looking at Viktor over the top of my head. “Have you decided, Viktor? In or out?” he asked.

“All in, Boss. Sephie was right. I needed to fix myself first. I couldn’t have handled everything otherwise. They told me what happened with Armando last night. The guards that are on him said he just sits there, completely zoned out. If they make him move, he can move on his own, but only if they guide him. I think we should find somewhere to send him. Then none of us ever have to see him again,” he said.

“Give him a fake identity. No one will ever find him or know what happened to him,” I said to Adrik.

I felt him squeeze me just a little tighter. “Work on getting him set up with a new identity. I want his name, all of his names, erased from history,” Adrik said.

“Can I pretend to be his brother when we take him? Not gonna lie, that would give me so much satisfaction to drop his ass off at a nursing home, knowing he’ll never leave,” Stephen said.

Adrik and I both laughed. “I think that should definitely happen,” I said.

“Does anyone know if there’s anything he particularly hates?” Ivan asked.

“Women who don’t know when to keep their mouths shut. He was not a fan of that,” I said, cringing at the memory. Adrik wrapped both arms around me, leaning down to press his cheek to mine.

Stephen’s face lit up. “YES! We’ll have him put in a room with the chattiest woman there.”

“Do we still have his safes?” I asked Ivan.

“We do still have his safes. We should open those before we send him away,” Ivan said.

“You should do that now because I suddenly really want to know what’s in them,” I said. “I’ll start dinner. You guys go find that answer.”

Adrik chose to come upstairs with me, instead of finding the answer to what was in Armando’s safes. Once we were alone, he pulled me in front of him, looking thoughtfully at me. “Some better now?” he asked.

“Better. I’m still slightly irritated, but better,” I said.

He chuckled. “You’re extra cute when you’re irritated.” His sexy smirk on his face, he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine.

“I shouldn’t be irritated still. There’s a very big discrepancy in how connected I am with the other guys versus Viktor now. It’s like a constant reminder that I can’t get away from,” I said.

“I can order him to spend time with you,” Adrik said, playing with the curls around my face.

“I don’t know if that will make it better though. It should fix itself, but in the meantime, I’m going to be irritated about it,” I said, pursing my lips together.

Adrik laughed. “Extra cute.”

Vitaliy walked in the penthouse, without Aleksei. He was just as surprised that it was only me and Adrik as we were that it was only him.

“Where’s Alyosha?” I asked.

He had a sly grin on his face. “At his favorite restaurant. Turns out his favorite waitress still works there,” he said.

“That dog,” I said, laughing.

“Where are your men?” he asked Adrik.

“We have two safes from Armando’s house that require his retinal scan and fingerprint to get into. They’ve gone to open them before we send him to a home,” he said.

“Where is Armando’s house?” Vitaliy asked. I could already see the wheels turning in his head. I was fairly certain I could see what he was going to ask next. Adrik told him where the house was. Vitaliy asked, “And it’s just empty now? No one is there?”

“It’s completely empty. Martin cleaned him out. Why? Do you want it?” Adrik asked.

Vitaliy nodded. “You two need your house back. You’ve been very gracious to let me stay here this long. I’ve decided to stay in the city a little longer. I don’t want to be a trouble.”

“You’re no trouble, old man,” I said. “You’re only allowed to take Armando’s house if you promise that you and Alyosha will come for dinner regularly.”

He smiled widely at me. “I could never refuse such an offer.”

Armando had kept one safe completely filled with cash. The other also had cash in it but had even more files. He kept detailed files on everyone. Disturbingly detailed files.

Ivan put down one file in front of Adrik when they came back upstairs. “There’s hundreds more files just like that one in that safe,” he said.

Adrik flipped through the file, his jaw clenching as he turned each page. I could feel him trying to keep his anger in check with each page he turned. My curiosity got the best of me. I walked to his side, looking at the information. It was a file on me. There were pictures of me outside the restaurant I used to work at, outside my apartment, taking Ms. Jackson to the grocery store. He had all the details of my life before I met Adrik.

It didn’t make sense. Adrik got frustrated and closed the file. I stepped to the side and looked at it once more. “It looks like he hired a private investigator to find out what he could on me. No idea why he would need to know anything about me, but here we are.” I kept flipping through the information. “There’s nothing in here about me before I started working at the restaurant. If they were trying to find something they could blackmail me or control me with, they didn’t look hard enough. I can’t think of another reason why they would need that information.” We all stood in silence for a few moments, trying to come up with reasons.

It was Vitaliy who broke the silence. “You said he wanted to sell you when they took you?” I nodded. “He was seeing how easy it would be to make you disappear. It’s what they commonly do, especially for girls they think they can get substantial money for. They take the girls with no families. No one comes looking. He must’ve been planning to sell you for a lot longer than anyone realized.”

“Yep, I’m gonna need a minute,” I said, walking quickly to the nearest bathroom. I could feel the bile rising in my throat as my need to vomit grew stronger. I emptied the contents of my stomach into the toilet, groaning after several minutes of retching.

Adrik’s warm hand was on my back. “You’re okay, solnishko,” he said, handing me a towel after I washed my mouth out and splashed water on my face. He kept his arms around me, standing behind me. My emotions were completely out of control.

“That means that if you hadn’t come to the meeting that night, I would’ve been kidnapped and sold,” I said, realizing the full gravity of the situation. I thought my stomach was empty. It was not. I leaned over the toilet, once again ridding my stomach of all of its contents. This time, when I stood up and looked at Adrik, I could see the look of surprise, which meant my eyes had done something unexpected.

“You don’t feel scared right now,” he said, looking at my eyes. He looked closer, inhaling sharply. He said, “They’re not the normal white anymore. This one is different.” He pointed to the mirror to get me to look. “What were you thinking about? Only that they could’ve gotten to you if I hadn’t been at that meeting?” he asked as I looked at my eyes in the mirror.

He was right. It was different. Before, any time they went white, there was still a hint of blue around my pupils and the outside of my iris. This time, the areas that were blue were now closer to black, making the white stand out even more.

I looked at Adrik, who was behind me in the mirror. “It wasn’t just what would’ve happened if you hadn’t come to that meeting. It was also about how much I wanted to make Sal pay for even considering he could do that to me.”

Adrik smirked at me, taking my hand. “Keep thinking about that for a minute more,” he said, leading me back to the kitchen. The guys were confused at Adrik’s expression when we came back out. “New color. Look,” he said, pulling me in front of him so the guys could see.

“Whoa. That’s slightly easier to take than the normal white though,” Misha said.

“What were you thinking about to make this one happen, spider monkey?” Andrei asked.

Adrik chuckled. “Revenge.”

The guys couldn’t hide their smiles when Adrik told them. Misha looked at me, his wide smile across his face. “Gazelle, I keep thinking I couldn’t possibly love you any more and you prove me wrong each time. I love you so much right now,” he said, wrapping his arms around me and picking me up in a bear hug. I couldn’t help but laugh.

As he set me down, I said, “If you guys hadn’t shown up to that meeting, I would’ve been kidnapped and sold. I’m gonna make Sal pay for thinking he could do that to me.”

Vitaliy laughed. “You were made for my son, malishka. You couldn’t be any more perfect. Truly.”

“Who else does Armando have files on? Who wants to bet that Sal has the same thing in his house? Has anybody checked that place since he left?” I asked.

“Nobody went to his house. He still has his security there. We all know Armando never took his security seriously,” Viktor said.

“How could he? He was too busy spending money on private investigators to follow me around,” I said, my anger clearly coming out, causing everyone to laugh.

“See, Ilya? The black eyes aren’t always intimidating. Sometimes they make her extra funny,” Stephen said. Ilya laughed quietly, still not completely convinced that there was nothing to worry about.

“We didn’t take the time to look through all the files. Yours was near the top,” Ivan said.

“At least I won’t have to fund his time in the home. He can fund himself. The cash that’s in those safes should be plenty to cover the expenses. We can find him a very chatty roommate to keep him company,” Adrik said.

“I think Vitaliy should take pictures at his house and send them to him. Give him something to look at,” I said. “Do you like Naples, Vitaliy? He has another house there. Lots of artwork in that one too. Unless a certain someone has taken it all by now, in which case, good for her.”

“You’re taking Armando’s house, Vitaliy?” Ivan asked.

“Da. I’ve decided to stay in the city a little longer. I need a place. You guys make it too easy for my men. They’re all getting soft staying here,” he said.

“If you need someone to help you furnish it, take Sephie. She LOVES shopping,” Misha said, laughing.

“Do not listen to him, Vitaliy. He for some reason hates me right now,” I said, glaring at Misha.

Vitaliy laughed. “Don’t worry, malishka. I know you better than you might think,” he said, winking at me.

The following morning, we were all in the gym. Stephen still felt insanely good. He walked up to both me and Misha as everyone was finishing up, asking, “I know you guys haven’t run in the city since you two were attacked, but what if we both go with her?”

Misha looked at me. “Do you think your lung is up to trying that now? We can go really short the first time.”

“Yes, please go really short. I know I’m going to regret bringing this up,” Stephen said.

I thought for a minute. Ivan and Adrik had both been listening to the conversation. I wasn’t going if they weren’t okay with it. “If I take both of them, do you two feel okay with me going?” I asked both Adrik and Ivan.

They were both quiet for a moment, contemplating. Viktor had also been watching and listening. He walked up with Ilya, after having a quick conversation with him. “Take Ilya, too. He likes to run. He can keep up.”

I looked back at Adrik and Ivan. They both conceded. “Keep it short and stay close to the building. I’m more worried about your lung than I am anything else,” Adrik told me.

“I know. Me too,” I responded.

I looked at Stephen and Ilya. “I feel like you guys are going to grow to hate me if this becomes a regular thing, but let’s go.”

Adrik caught Misha before we left, quietly telling him to keep an eye on my breathing. “She hasn’t done it in a while, but she starts to panic if she can’t catch her breath. Get her back here immediately if that happens,” he said.

“Don’t worry, Boss. I’m only letting her go around the block this time,” Misha said. He jogged toward the elevator to catch up to the rest of us.

“You’re very bossy. But I love you for it,” I told Adrik before we left. I could feel him trying not to worry about me as the doors to the elevator closed.

Misha looked at me as sternly as was humanly possible for him before we got to the lobby. “We’re only going around the block this time. I’m not dealing with Boss, Ivan, and Andrei if something happens to you, gazelle,” he said dramatically.

I laughed. “I’m not dealing with them either. I don’t want to fuck this up. Ilya is going to wonder why you call me gazelle when we’re done. Slowest. Gazelle. Ever,” I said, pointing to myself.

We set off around the block, with Misha on one side of me, Stephen on the other, and Ilya behind us. Misha was still slightly paranoid about someone being able to get to us. He masked it like an expert, but I could feel his worry. He was always aware of his surroundings but even more so as we jogged around the block.

Both Ilya and Stephen were quiet as we ran. Stephen kept pace, even though he was worried about doing so. We were back at the building in under twenty minutes. Once we slowed to a walk, Misha put his arm around my shoulders, checking on my breathing. “I’m okay,” I said, in Russian.

Ilya was surprised. “You can speak Russian too? You’re American?” he asked, almost like he had gotten it wrong.

I glanced behind me, laughing at his surprised expression. “You’re Russian and yet you speak English,” I said, grinning at him.

He laughed. “Fair enough,” he said.

They escorted me to the penthouse, before going back to their own apartments. Adrik was visibly relieved when I walked in smiling. “How did it go?” he asked.

“It was good. I think my lung might be finally back to normal. I didn’t struggle to catch my breath at all,” I said. I could see where his mind immediately went when he learned that I didn’t struggle to catch my breath. “You shouldn’t be too surprised. It’s been getting better with you,” I said, pushing my warmth to him.

He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me with him toward the bedroom. “Would you like to test that, solnishko?” he asked, as he closed the door behind us.

“Don’t ask stupid questions,” I said, pulling my shirt off and throwing it further into the bedroom.

He laughed, his excitement clearly on his face. He grabbed my hips, picking me up and wrapping my legs around his waist. His wide smile stretched across his face as he walked us toward the shower. “If I haven’t told you lately, I love you. More than I ever thought possible,” he said. He set me down on the sink as he turned the water in the shower on.

He pulled his shirt off as he walked back to me, smirking at the obvious lust he could see in my eyes as I watched him take his shirt off. It didn’t seem to matter how many times I saw him without his shirt on, it was still the sexiest sight I’d ever seen.

He ran his hands up my thighs, grabbing my hips. He picked me up off the counter, standing me in front of him. “Stephen could keep up with you okay?” he asked as he pushed my leggings down my thighs.

“Yeah, he didn’t have any problems. Ilya either. We took it easy. Neither I nor Misha wanted to deal with you, Ivan, and Andrei if something happened,” I said, holding on to his shoulder as I stepped out of my clothes.

He smiled as he stood up. “It wouldn’t have been pretty,” he said, picking me up and wrapping my legs around his waist once more. He walked us into the shower, unable to take his eyes away from mine.

“Are they doing something different again?” I asked.

“No, I just really love it when they turn blue,” he said, pressing his lips to mine. I felt the pull in my chest that meant he was thinking about how much he loved me.

I smiled against his lips. “I think they turn blue more than anything else. Pretty much everything you do makes me love you a little more. Even when you obsess over me jogging around the block with only Misha and Stephen.”

He sighed heavily, not realizing I was just teasing him. “Sephie, once everything—” I cut him off, my lips preventing him from saying anything else. I knew he was worried about me because he didn’t want anything to happen to me again. I loved him for it. I also knew that once the other bosses were taken care of, it wouldn’t be an issue any longer. I needed him to know that I loved him for it. I wrapped myself around him even tighter and deepened the kiss.

He pushed me against the wall of the shower, his kiss just as desperate as mine. With the wall and his body pressed against mine supporting most of me, his hands were free. He pulled back to look at me, putting both hands on my face. “I love you, Sephie. I can’t stand the thought of anything happening to you ever again.” I could feel his fear over the thought of something happening to me. I saw the look of confusion as he looked at me.

“White?” I asked. He nodded. “It’s your fear, love. I can feel it strongly. Almost as strong as your anger, which is why you can change them.”

He just stared at my eyes for a moment, then I felt the familiar pull in my chest that meant he was thinking about how much he loved me. I adored his look of satisfaction that appeared when my eyes changed to blue. “I know I said that black to purple might be my favorite transition, but that one is a very close second,” he said. His hands were still on either side of my face, his thumbs lightly rubbing my cheeks. He pressed his lips to mine, softly kissing me.

I moaned softly. His gentle kisses always managed to make me melt. I ran my hands through his hair, pressing my hips into his. It was all the encouragement he needed. I felt him slowly slide inside me, loving the feeling of fullness that came with it every single time. I leaned my head back against the shower wall, exhaling loudly as I reveled in the feeling. He laughed softly as his lips found my neck. “I will never get tired of your reaction to me. It’s almost more than I can handle every single time,” he said, his lips and tongue moving down my neck.

“Me too,” I said breathlessly. I grinned at him as he pushed himself into me harder, eliciting a moan from me. His handsome smile stretched across his face as he pushed himself into me even harder, causing me to moan even louder. I knew how much he loved teasing me.

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, my lips finding his. My body was nothing but pleasure as he kept his rhythm slow, his kiss gentle. With each thrust, with each touch, with each kiss, the fire in my body was building. My breaths were heavy as he kept slowly pushing me toward the edge. Just as I started to get close, he backed off, making me wait. I made a noise halfway between a whimper and a moan when he backed off, causing him to laugh softly as he kissed my neck. “Trust me, solnishko,” he said, his lips against my neck.

He pushed into me harder, pushing me closer to the edge once more. This time was even more intense. I squeezed my legs around his waist, grabbing his shoulders. I could feel my pussy throbbing around his cock. I moaned, pushing my hips into him harder. He backed off once more, but this time, he grabbed a fistful of hair and kissed me deeply, which helped me with some of my extreme frustration that was also building.

He chuckled, as he could feel it too. “I promise it’s worth it,” he said against my lips. I groaned into his mouth. Once again, he pushed into me, even harder this time. I was so close. “Please,” I pleaded with him, breathlessly, trying to get him not to back off this time. His lips found mine once more. He increased his rhythm, pushing into me hard and fast. My orgasm was almost immediate. It was so intense that my entire body felt like it was on fire. I loved the feeling and pushed it to him. As soon as it felt like I was coming down, he pushed me back over the edge.

I could do nothing but try and hang on to him as he pushed my body to even greater limits of pleasure. Finally, he found his own release. He pressed his body against mine as he caught his breath. He stepped back enough that I could unwrap my legs from his waist, standing in front of him as I worked to catch my breath. He watched me closely, still worried that I would panic. It was easier this time.

“No white,” he said, pulling us both under the water.

I smiled up at him. “Told you it was getting easier. I think there was something to seeing your eyes go black last time it happened. I think it helped me more than I realized.”

He looked at me thoughtfully, his finger lightly tracing the details of my face. He placed his hand on the back of my neck, kissing me gently. “I will never send you away for any reason again. I’ll always be there to protect you. Always,” he said.

My breath hitched at his words. I saw the look that meant something was happening with my eyes. I didn’t even care. I just needed him to know that I loved him. I pressed my body to his, my lips to his, pushing my warmth to him. “I love you, Adrik. More than anything,” I said, resting my head on his chest as he held me tightly.

Since either Ilya or Viktor slept for the majority of Ilya’s first week here, Stephen took over master of schedule duties to give Viktor a break. Stephen said he needed a way to burn off his extra energy he was still enjoying since he’d broken Armando anyway. Ivan and the Wonder Twins had things they needed to take care of that afternoon, which meant I was stuck with Viktor.

Or more like he was stuck with me.

Ilya, to his credit, was very curious about everything and asked questions most of the afternoon. He wanted to know how long I’d been able to do the things I could do, how it happened, if I’d told anyone else before—he wanted to know everything. I didn’t mind. It helped me feel more comfortable with Viktor and eased my irritation with him.

Once Ilya had satisfied his curiosity about me, it was my turn. “Okay, Ilya, now’s your chance to dish on your older brother. How was he when you were kids? Was he a jerk? Bossy? Who’s the perfect brother? Who’s the troublemaker?” I asked, grinning at Viktor.

Viktor looked at Ilya. They both had smiles as they looked to me. “Sasha,” they said, laughing.

“You’re only saying that because that poor guy isn’t here to defend himself,” I said, laughing with them.

“No, it’s true, sestrichka. Sasha was always the hellion,” Viktor said.

“It’s because he’s short,” Ilya said, still laughing.

“He’s short? No way. You’re both giants. It clearly runs in your family,” I said.

“It skipped him. He’s still not over it,” Viktor said, his deep laugh filling the room. I had to admit that I’d missed hearing his laugh. He caught me looking at him thoughtfully.

“You’re lighter when you laugh now. You both are, actually. It’s good to see,” I said. I got up and went to the kitchen. I didn’t say anything to either of them; I just started pulling out things I would need to make Stephen his favorite cookies.

They both eventually followed me to the kitchen. “What are your plans now, Ilya? You’re done with your service, no?” I asked, mostly to keep them from asking me what I was doing.

“I haven’t decided. I’m done, so now it’s time to figure out what I want to be when I grow up,” he said, his warm smile across his face.

“What would be the dream setup?” I asked.

He glanced at Viktor, then back to me. “Something similar to what Viktor has, I think. My training isn’t up to his standards, but it’s similar. I can catch up quickly.”

I looked at Viktor. “Let him replace one of the little flowers. Hell, he could replace both of them and it would still be better. Vitaliy is planning on staying in the city now for a bit, especially since he’s taking Armando’s house. Ilya will still be close. Alyosha can catch his training up, too.”

Viktor looked to Ilya to gauge his interest in the idea. “That’s a good idea, sestrichka.”

“You have to make it Vitaliy’s idea though. He’s already looking for replacements for the little flowers, but they’ve left a sour taste in his mouth, so to speak. Let him see Ilya training with us. It will start the relationship off better if Vitaliy feels like he’s choosing you versus you asking him for a job,” I said. “He didn’t work out this morning, so he will in the morning. Best to let him see Ilya before he moves.” I studied Ilya for a minute, then looked back at Viktor. “He’s faster than you are, so either let him spar with Misha or me. It’ll make him look even better,” I said, winking at Ilya.

“How did you know he was faster?” Viktor asked.

“He’s leaner like Misha. Misha is faster than you, Stephen, and Andrei. Ivan is deceptively fast for as big as he is, but he’s also a special circumstance so he doesn’t necessarily count,” I said.

“Apparently, it’s settled,” Viktor said, smiling at Ilya.

As Viktor and Ilya continued talking, I suddenly had a thought pop in my head. I knew Viktor likely wasn’t going to like me bringing it up, but I couldn’t help myself. I did it anyway. During a lull in their conversation, I asked Viktor, “Kostya is coming to you almost every night now, isn’t he?”

Viktor looked surprised for a moment, but then he smiled. “He is. It’s still strange, because it feels like you and I talking right now.”

“He only came occasionally before because it was too difficult for you to handle. Now that you’ve allowed him to fix you, it’s easier for you to handle. He’s been waiting,” I said.

“How did you know?” Viktor asked, surprised. “Were you in my head just now?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know. I just know. I didn’t need to look. Sometimes information just comes to me, whether I’m looking for it or not.”

Viktor was thinking about something else, but he was unsure whether he should say anything. Since he’d spent so much time avoiding me for this very reason, I decided to keep my mouth shut. Instead, I looked at Ilya and said quietly, “This is why he’s been avoiding me for so long.”

I continued on with my little project while the two of them talked to each other. Ivan walked into the penthouse soon after. I freed up my hands and went to hug him. “I’m very happy to see you. I made it awkward. Why can I not keep my mouth shut?” I said to him silently.

“It’s one of your best qualities, princess. Please never stop,” he responded as he put me down.

“What are you working on?” he asked, looking at the bowl of cookie dough.

I grinned at him. “Stephen is still enjoying the extra energy he got, so I’m giving him a sugar rush to go with it.”

“You’re a little bit evil, princess. I fully support this,” he said. He asked Viktor a question and as he was pretending to listen to his answer, he asked me, “Is it just the awkwardness? You’re a little all over the place. It’s why I came up here.”

“Mostly, yes. I feel like there’s a connection somewhere that I’m missing. Viktor still feels different than the rest of you and I don’t know why, but it’s keeping me irritated.”

“He feels different to me too, princess. It’s not just you. Same for the Wonder Twins. We talked about it earlier.”

It was at the point in the conversation where Ivan would respond to Viktor. He effortlessly responded correctly to what Viktor had just said, like he’d only been listening to Viktor that entire time and not talking to me as well.

“That was fucking impressive,” I said when Viktor started talking again. I could hear Ivan laugh in his head, but he never even hinted at a smile on his face. I went back to working on Stephen’s cookies, smiling to myself.

I fell asleep quickly that night, across Adrik’s chest. I found myself in my darkness. I fully expected it to fade and the path to the house where I always saw my dad appear before me, but it never did. Instead, it just got brighter so I could see around me. Except there was nothing around me. The light continued to get brighter. I glanced around, trying to find something, anything. When I turned around, there was a small boy in front of me.

“Holy shit. Creepier than anything else I’ve ever seen here,” I said. He giggled, which made me realize that I’d just cursed in front of a child. “Crap. Shit. Dammit! Apparently, I’m incapable of not cursing in front of you. Tell your parents I’m very sorry,” I said.

He giggled again, walking closer to me. “Do you know who I am?” he asked.

I studied him for a few moments. There was a familiarity to him, but I knew I’d never seen him before. I chewed on my bottom lip, then it suddenly hit me. “Kostya?” I asked.

His boyish grin spread across his face. He nodded. “This is the form that Viktor likes best, so I use it the most. I wasn’t sure how much you’d looked in his head. I didn’t want to confuse you.”

“I haven’t looked in his head at all, Kostya. I don’t do that. Why does nobody believe me about that?”

He giggled again. “Because we would all take advantage of being able to read people’s thoughts, so we can’t possibly fathom that you wouldn’t want to.”

“It’s not all burritos and sunshine, kid. There’s lots of things I wish I’d never seen,” I said. I looked at him, curious. “Why are you here?”

“You feel a difference with Viktor that you don’t with the rest of them,” he said. He waited for me to agree with his statement before he continued, “The others are like you, Adrik, and Ivan now. They’ll eventually be able to walk between Heaven and Hell. They’ll learn how to make their demons work for them.”

He didn’t need to finish and I knew. “Viktor wants no part of that,” I said.

Kostya smiled. “Your dad said you were smart. You’re right. He had a choice and he chose to stay away from Hell. As such, his connection to you will never be as strong as the others. Same for them. They’ll never be as connected to him as they are to each other.”

“Does it mean he really wants to leave?” I asked.

“No, he told you he was all in and he is. But the demons scare him. Viktor’s soul isn’t as old as yours, you have to remember. It doesn’t have as much experience.” He paused, taking a deep breath. “It’s also why you’re irritated still and can’t figure out why. It’s not you, it’s your demon that’s irritated.”

I laughed. “My demon’s feelings are hurt? Why do I find that endearing?”

“Your demon hasn’t always been a demon, Sephie. It started out as a soul, just like you. Because you’ve made friends with it and you’re using it for good, you’re helping it repair the damage done by the evil it gave in to. You’re giving it a better existence than it could ever have if it continued to give in to evil. It’s hurt. It feels like Viktor is rejecting it. Your connection is stronger with Adrik and Ivan because of your demons. Your connection with Misha, Andrei, and Stephen is becoming stronger because they want to help their own demons. Viktor asked for his demon to be taken away. Your demons all know this, without you knowing this.”

“Is he still scared of me?”

“He can separate the two. He’s not scared of you, but the demons still unnerve him. They always have, if you remember. He’s always had the hardest time with your eyes changing, even before you knew it was your demon stepping forward,” he said.

“How do I help him not be scared?”

“It will take time. I’ve been helping him as much as I can. You were right. I have been coming to him every night, trying to help him accept everything. There’s a small part of him that doesn’t trust your demons still.”

I thought for a minute. “Does it have to do with his time in the Syrian prison?”

He giggled again. “He said you were smart. He didn’t say you were this smart. It does. The man who would torture Viktor was completely consumed by a demon. Viktor saw glimpses. When your eyes change, he can’t help but remember that time. He knows it’s not the same, but he still struggles to remember that,” he said.

“How do I help him get over that?”

“You can’t,” he said, and I immediately felt my hopes come crashing down. “But Stephen can. Adrik told him that he was going to level up soon. That’s true. Stephen will be able to take Misha’s hatred for Giana and get rid of it. He’ll also be able to take everything Viktor still carries from his time in prison and get rid of it.”

“How? Doesn’t he need to give it back to the people who gave it to Misha and Viktor?”

“Not once he levels up. He spent so much time trying to find ways to transmute the pain from his childhood that he’s going to be able to do it for other people. He knows the struggle of not being able to get rid of something that feels like it’s killing you slowly. He’s going to be able to help others with that. That’s partly why he’s so happy now. He knows, without knowing, that he helped you to feel better and it’s made him ecstatic.”

I felt the tears welling up in my eyes as I thought about everything Stephen had gone through. For him to still want to help people after all that, said everything anyone would need to know about what kind of person he is. I loved him a little more for it.

“How do we get over feeling irritated around Viktor?” I asked.

Once again, his boyish giggle filled the space. “You need to love your demon a little extra until they’re convinced Viktor isn’t rejecting them.”

“Okay, I understand why you laughed at that. This is not a conversation I ever thought I’d be having. Will Viktor feel left out though? Because his connection isn’t as strong as the others?”

“I don’t think so. I think he prefers it. It’s less he has to think about or feel. He has so much on his mind already that even just the little bit he’s gotten from you feels very overwhelming to him.”

“Can I make it less for just him? I don’t want to overwhelm him. He doesn’t need another reason to avoid me,” I said.

Kostya surprised me by walking to me, grabbing my hand. “He still loves you, Sephie. He loves you very much. It’s going to take his soul longer to get to the point the rest of you are at. That’s all it is. You can stop worrying about him leaving.” I tried to blink back the tears, but I couldn’t keep them in. Kostya grabbed my other hand. As he did, everything got brighter for a moment and suddenly I felt better. Lighter.

“You just fixed me, didn’t you?”

He nodded, smiling sweetly up at me. “You had to endure abandonment to get you here, but you don’t ever have to worry about that again.” He raised my left hand, looking at my ring. “You still don’t know the significance of this, but they will always be with you and they will always protect you.”

“Let me guess, you’re not allowed to tell me either, are you?”

“Not that one, Sephie. You have to figure it out for yourself. But I’m sure you can connect the dots. You always do,” he said, winking at me.

I knelt down, so I was eye-level with him. “In another life, Viktor is very proud of the man you’re going to grow up to be,” I said.

His face lit up as his smile beamed at me. It was the last thing I saw as everything faded back to black and I could once again only see my body. I could feel Adrik’s hand lightly running up and down my back as he talked softly to me, trying to wake me up. He felt me stir and pulled me closer.

“Good morning, solnishko. Were you dreaming? You were all over the place for a few minutes there,” he said as I picked my head up to rest my chin on his chest.

I smiled at him. “Kostya,” I said, laughing at his shocked expression.

“What? How?”

“Same as my dad and your mom. Just a different location. Not gonna lie, it was creepy as fuck to turn around and see a little kid in front of me. Was not expecting that,” I said.

Adrik’s eyes went wide. “Kids are scary. I completely agree. What did he need to tell you?”

“I know why Viktor feels different to us now.”