Chapter Forty-Eight

Adrik

I caught Sephie observing me as we got dressed to go downstairs. I could tell she was noticing new things, but she wasn’t sharing yet. Or she was talking to one of the guys and keeping me out of the conversation. It could go either way.

“Are you talking to someone else?” I asked, before we left the bedroom.

She giggled. “No. You were right. I’m watching you. You feel different.”

“Different how?” I stopped her from leaving so I could hear her answer first before we shared everything with the guys.

She inhaled, thinking of how to word it. “Before, you were always hot. Like me. Even more so than me, I think. It’s one of my favorite things about you, if I’m being honest. Now, you feel hot and cold—”

“At the same time?” I finished for her. She grinned at me.

“You can feel it too?”

“I did when your dad zapped me. Normally, my anger is always present. It’s always hot, to varying degrees, like you said. But when your dad zapped me, everything got turned up. My fire was a raging inferno, but it felt cold at the same time. But the kind of cold that will burn you,” I said.

She chewed on her bottom lip, her eyebrows scrunched as she thought about what she was feeling and what I’d just said. She looked up at me, her eyes changing to purple as I watched. “You’re the balance between good and evil now.”

“Did you look in my head for that answer?” I asked.

She looked confused. “No. It just popped in my head. Were you thinking it just now?”

“No, but that’s what your dad said to me. You, me, and Ivan. Eventually the Wonder Twins and Stephen too. We’re all the balance between good and evil.”

“Side note, we need to come up with a new nickname for the three of them. It feels awkward to always say ‘and Stephen,’” she said, grinning at me.

I pulled her to me forcefully, making her squeal. “I just love you,” I said, laughing along with her as I gave her a quick kiss. I went to open the bedroom door and she used the opportunity to jump on my back to hitch a ride downstairs. Honestly, I couldn’t think of anything I would’ve loved more in that moment.

Ivan was the first one we saw when we came downstairs. He was in the kitchen, looking for something for lunch. “Have somebody get Vinny’s for everyone, if you guys haven’t eaten,” I said. “I’m starving.”

“On it,” Ivan said, pulling out his phone. He typed a quick message, then put his phone back in his pocket. “It’ll be here shortly,” he said. “Do I have to wait until the food arrives to hear what happened to you?”

Sephie giggled and hugged me tighter. “I think you should make him wait,” she said.

“Why do you hate me now, princess?” he said, clutching his heart.

“You didn’t let me finish! I think he should make you wait until the rest of the guys are here,” she said, innocently. He looked at her skeptically, knowing full well that is not what she meant when she first said it, which made her laugh again. “You love me, Squish. Don’t even try to lie.”

I deposited her on the counter, grabbing a glass from one of the cabinets. I filled it with water, drank half, then handed the rest to her. She finished it, handing me the empty glass along with her sweet smile.

Ivan was watching our exchange with a devious grin on his face. “You two are extra disgusting right now. And by disgusting, I mean fucking adorable.”

Sephie looked at me, trying to be serious. “Squish feels left out!” she announced. She opened her arms toward him, but did not make a move to leave her spot on the counter. “Come here, Squish. Bring it in. Come on. You know you want to,” she said, trying so hard to not laugh but failing miserably at it. Her laughter was what brought the rest of the guys to the kitchen.

Ivan heard them coming and walked to Sephie quickly, wrapping his substantial arms around her. “Gotta get in here before everyone else shows up,” he said, laughing along with her.

“You’re my favorite,” she said in a very loud whisper as everyone else walked in the kitchen. She knew she would cause objections from everyone else. She might’ve enjoyed that part.

“Why is it that Boss is the one who got zapped and likely has a new level unlocked, but you look like it was you?” Misha asked, looking at Sephie clowning with Ivan when they walked in.

“It’s new level by osmosis. It’s this new thing we’re trying out. I don’t know how it’s going to work with the red pandas though. Pancakes and water don’t mix,” she said.

“I thought you said you hated school and never paid attention?” Stephen asked in his usual thoughtful way. “You have impressive range.”

She laughed. “I said I hated school and never paid attention. I didn’t say I wasn’t still a straight A student.”

“Touché,” Misha said as he walked to the fridge to look for something to eat.

“Don’t bother, my adorable Russian guardian. Vinny’s is on the way,” she told him.

“I love you so much right now,” Misha said.

“Don’t love me. Love him. It was his idea,” she said, pointing to me.

Misha turned to look at me, then very seriously said, “I love you so much right now.”

“Awww. See Ivan? We’re not the only ones who are disgusting right now. It’s spreading,” she said.

“Gross,” Ivan said, smiling at her. “Now that everyone is here, I want to know what happened.”

“You’re very impatient,” she said, still enjoying teasing him. She looked at him for a minute, much the same way she was looking at me earlier before we came downstairs. She grinned at him. “It’s not you who’s impatient right now. Your demon is all itchy.”

He looked at her, clearly surprised. “Is that what this is?” He looked at me, saying, “Now I understand why you needed to go to the gym yesterday.”

I looked at Ivan, noticing what Sephie was seeing. “Yeah, she’s right. I think your demon might already know what happened. It’s excited.”

“You can see it now too?” Andrei asked.

“Not in the way you might think. I can tell the difference between Sephie and her demon. It’s becoming clearer for Ivan now too. It’s very clear with mine. He apparently has his own thoughts and feelings,” I said, unable to hide my smile as I looked at Sephie. She giggled as I walked to her, standing in between her legs while still facing everyone else. She slid her arms and legs around me, resting her chin on my shoulder.

“Have you had a conversation with it yet?” Misha asked, curious.

“No. I don’t know if that will happen or not, but I can feel what he feels now. I don’t know if it’s the same for him or not,” I said.

“Is this the new level?” Stephen asked.

I could feel Sephie shaking her head no. “Nope. You are especially going to love the new level, Yoden. But don’t be jealous. I’m still impressed you gave us the clue first. That’s normally my job,” she said.

Stephen’s mind was racing, trying to piece together what she’d just told him. His eyes went wide once he landed on the answer. “Seriously?” he asked, completely astonished.

“Well, no. Not exactly like you said. No crushing is involved,” I said, trying to see if everyone else could figure it out as well.

“Disappointing,” Stephen said.

“Okay, you’re going to have to enlighten the rest of us because we have no clue what you’re talking about,” Misha said.

“I can remove souls and demons and condemn them to Hell,” I said, matter-of-factly.

“No longer disappointing,” Stephen said quietly, a look of awe on his face.

“You can do what now?” Ivan asked, completely dumbfounded.

“There will be times when even Stephen will be ineffectual. Like with Ricardo and Martin. The two of them made deals that are eternal, meaning even if Stephen breaks them in this lifetime, their souls will still belong to the demons in the next lifetime. I’m what will break that cycle,” I said. Sephie tightened her hold on me.

“Everybody gather ‘round for what I’m about to say, because apparently my eyes are choosing a new color but it’s fleeting right now,” she said. They all looked at her like she was playing a joke on them.

“No, she’s really serious. It’s happened twice, but they don’t stay like that for very long,” I said.

They all moved closer so they could see her eyes clearly as she said, “He really is the King of the Underworld now.”

I watched as everyone’s eyes went wide and their mouths fell open. They stood in stunned silence for a few moments, before Stephen finally composed himself enough to say, “You know, I never considered that this might create new issues with Vlad. He might think Seph is a kindred spirit now that she can do this. This might cause jealousy issues.”

Finally, everyone relaxed and laughed. Andrei looked again at Sephie, then looked at me. “I think they’ve decided on the color though, Boss.” He pointed to her. “They’re still red.”

I quickly turned to look at her, surprised they hadn’t changed again already. “I wonder why it was so quick to change earlier but now they’re staying red.”

“Because it’s not me doing it this time. I didn’t realize it before, but I do now,” Sephie said.

“Really? What about the black though?” I asked. If it was Sephie’s demon switching her eyes to red, then did that take the place of the black now? I watched as her eyes slowly changed from red to black. Okay, new favorite transition. “Huh. What’s the difference if it’s your demon doing both then?”

She was quiet for a moment, then she looked at me and said, “The black is a warning to everyone else of who I am. The red is homage to you.”

“Shut up.”

“No, it’s true,” she said. “Wait, I can prove it. Bubba, come here.” She stood up from her spot on the counter and made Andrei stand next to me so we could both see her. “Full disclosure, I’m using Andrei because he’s so darn good at looking in my head, but he also has an accurate sense of demons too,” she said, as she positioned us the way she wanted us. “Okay, you watch,” she said to me. Then she looked at Andrei and said, “You watch too, but I want you to look in my head while I’m doing this so you know what I’m thinking about for each one.” She was looking at Andrei as she switched her eyes to each color that we knew of. She’d even mastered switching them to white without losing control, but we all still felt her panic when she did switch them to white. She went from normal to blue, to green, to amber, to both versions of white, to black, to purple, to red, all while looking at Andrei.

“She thought the same sentence that she said earlier, about you really being the King of the Underworld when they switched to red,” Andrei said, looking at me. “Just like when her demon eyes show up, the red eyes are her demon stepping forward. Just a different reason.”

“See? Special for you,” she said, her wide smile stretching across her face.

“Okay, I vote for special colors for all of us then. Green is mine. I think we can all agree I enjoy spicy Sephie the most. You guys can fight over the other colors,” Misha said, trying to stir up shit.

“Misha, you’re my favorite,” Sephie said, laughing.

Ivan had been quietly contemplating the news. He asked, “So this isn’t something you’re going to be using often, is it?”

I chuckled. “I said the same thing. No, it’s not. It’s basically the fail-safe, if you will. Those that Viktor can’t fix, Stephen will take care of. There will be a very select few that Stephen won’t be able to take care of. That’s when I’ll use it.”

“What happens to the souls that you condemn to Hell?” Misha asked.

“They stay there, along with the demons. Sephie’s dad told me I was the only one who could grant them reprieve once condemned. I’m still not entirely sure what that means, but I’m guessing they have to go through me to get out of Hell,” I said.

“Yeah, that’s a heavy responsibility,” Viktor said.

“Exactly why I’m not planning on using it very often,” I said.

“Is this why you feel different?” Andrei asked.

“You noticed it too?” Sephie asked Andrei. He nodded his head. “What does it feel like to you?” she asked him. “I’m curious if it’s the same as me.”

“He usually feels hot, like you. Also like Ivan. You three are always hot. It’s still there, but now there’s like ice there too, somehow. I don’t understand how that could be, but that’s the only way I know to explain it,” Andrei said.

“Yeah, that’s the same for me too,” Sephie said. “It doesn’t make sense, but I don’t know how to describe it either.”

“Both Sephie’s dad and Sephie said it’s the balance between good and evil,” I said. I had leaned against the counter where Sephie had previously been sitting and pulled her back against me. She was still facing everyone else as we continued talking.

Andrei looked at her, smiling. “Sephie agrees,” he said. I turned her around enough I could see her deep purple eyes. I smiled at her, kissing her quickly. “Even Sephie feels a little different now too. Did something happen to her too?” Andrei asked. He was studying Sephie as he asked the question, much like she was studying me earlier.

“It’s because of him, I think,” she said.

“She’s right. Because she’s so connected to me, she’s gaining power too. She’s going to give Ivan a boost too. You three will soon become connected with your demons, much like we have, because of this too,” I said.

“What about Viktor?” Ivan asked me and Sephie.

“I asked the same thing. He’s going to need Stephen’s help one more time and then he should be fine with everything. Yesterday helped tremendously. Kostya has been helping him every night as well,” I told him.

He nodded discreetly. Stephen was the one who brought it up to the rest of the group, asking Viktor, “How do you feel after yesterday? Better this time? Do you think you need it again? I don’t want you to be freaked out if we all suddenly show up with black eyes one day.”

Viktor chuckled. “Yeah, I think one more time. Just to be safe.”

“I told you Stephen already knows most of what we’re talking about before we tell him,” I told Sephie. She pulled my arms around her even tighter.

“I think we should stay here for another night. Dario can wait until tomorrow. I think it’s more important we have one more night where we don’t need to worry about anything extra,” Sephie announced.

Stephen raised his eyebrow looking at Viktor. “After lunch then?” Viktor agreed with that plan.

“Then it’s settled,” Sephie said. She turned in my arms to face me; her eyes were deep blue. I could feel her warmth spreading through my body.

“I must be extra special to get two colors all to myself,” I said to her, pushing her curls back from her face.

“You are extra special. Don’t let it go to your head,” she replied, grinning at me.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I said, pressing my lips to hers.

I could feel her relax into me as I held her tightly, enjoying the quiet moment with her.

God, I love her.

While we ate lunch, the guys took the opportunity to talk to Sephie about her worry that she was condemning them to always feel what she felt.

“So, Boss told us all that you’re worried you’re condemning us to always have to feel what you feel because we’re so connected to you now,” Andrei said, after glancing at Misha and Stephen.

Sephie looked surprised, but she didn’t deny it. “I don’t know how to turn it off without making it worse,” she said.

“Why would you want to turn it off?” Misha asked.

“Because you guys don’t need to be in constant emotional turmoil just because I am,” she said quietly. We could all feel her sadness as she thought about the situation.

Stephen cleared his throat but paused for a moment before he spoke. He’d been hanging around Ivan a little too much. His flair for the dramatic was growing. “Seph, I’m not sure I could describe the level of hell that it is to be completely numb to everything and everyone day in and day out. It’s effective for survival, sure. But it’s not living. What you think of as emotional turmoil is really just a kickass reminder from you that it’s better to live than to simply survive. I will take your emotional turmoil over being numb every day of the week and twice on Sundays,” he said, in the serious manner that only he could deliver.

She chewed on her bottom lip, thinking about his words.

“It’s true, spider monkey. I also don’t think you’re taking into account the ridiculous control you have of your emotions. You share that with all of us. To you, it might feel out of control. To us, you’re very much in control. You’re also showing us how to do it each time it happens. That’s not something that most men know how to do. I definitely did not. I just shoved everything down and then eventually blew up when no one was around. I prefer your method, if I’m being honest,” Andrei said.

“Same,” Misha said. “Except for the blowing up part. I chose to make jokes about anything and everything. Mostly inappropriately.”

Sephie giggled. “I mean, it’s effective. I still do the same.”

“The point is, gazelle, that we prefer the connection. You’re not condemning anyone. Given the choice to have the connection or not have the connection, we would all choose the connection every single time,” Misha said. I was honestly surprised he was so sincere. I didn’t know that kid had it in him. “Although, we’re going to have to figure out how to apply this knowledge to future girlfriends, or this is just gonna be weird.” Yep, there’s that mostly inappropriate humor we all love.

Sephie laughed again. “I think we can find a way to apply it to normal, boring people. Or else you’re all going to have to find weirdos like me.”

“It would not be the worst thing in the world,” I said, smirking at her.

“I have to agree with them, princess. Much like Stephen, I spent most of the time just being numb or angry before we met you. I prefer feeling everything,” Ivan said. As he said it, even I could feel the love he had for her. It wasn’t just him either.

“Even your demon agrees with that, Ivan,” I said. “I can feel it.”

“Upon further review, we’re going to need to start looking for weirdos like Sephie. What normal person is going to be okay with a statement like that?” Misha asked, laughing at the absurdity of it all. His laughter was infectious; we all joined in, enjoying a moment of relief.

She had gotten up to clean up from lunch. I stood up with her, pulling her to me. “When I first met you, Ms. Jackson told me that you would show me the best parts of myself if I let you. She was absolutely correct. But what she didn’t know was that you’d make those best parts even better. That’s what the connection is for all of us. You’re doing what you always do and showing us how to be better just by being you,” I said, kissing her temple.

Viktor, who had been quiet up to this point, chimed in. “What’s happening to us isn’t your fault either, Sephie.” We all turned to look at him, surprised he would say such a thing. He looked slightly offended we would think it came from him. “That’s what she told me yesterday when we were gone. That if I needed someone to hate, it should be her since she’s the reason all of this has happened since we met her. I’m pretty sure she didn’t believe me yesterday, which is why I brought it up again.”

Surprisingly, I could feel everyone’s anger immediately. Sephie did too. Her eyes turned black, causing mine and Ivan’s to also go black. We all sat in stunned silence, brewing in our own anger that she would still be blaming herself for everything that had happened. Misha finally broke the silence. When he did, he was more angry than I’d ever seen that kid.

“Sephie, you’re going to cut that shit out right now,” he said. His face was even starting to turn red. I expected Sephie to get angry in response to his tone, but I could easily feel her happiness. I looked down at her, noticing her grin starting to curl up one side of her mouth.

“His eyes,” she told me. When I looked at Misha, his eyes were much darker than his usual green.

“Get angrier, my adorable Russian guardian,” Sephie said to him calmly. Her statement caught him by surprise, but Andrei caught on to what was happening.

“Dude, your eyes are changing,” he told Misha.

“You’re going to need to go nuclear for it to happen the first time. We all did. It’ll get easier after that,” she said.

We watched as Misha let go completely and let his anger fully take over. I could feel it clearly. I wasn’t even sure I was feeling it through her this time. It felt as clear as anything I got from her. She was right too. There was an element of fuckery behind his anger. Like he was already looking for ways to destroy you, but he wanted to make it entertaining while he did. I could even feel the difference now between Misha and his demon. It was like everything I felt from Misha was now as clear as everything I felt from Sephie and Ivan.

“You’re feeling everything just as clearly as I am, aren’t you?” she asked me.

“Yeah. It feels just as clear from him as it does you or Ivan now,” I responded.

“New level indeed,” she said, laughing in her head. She brought Ivan into the conversation, asking him what he felt.

“Misha feels much like you and Boss now. You two are still stronger, but he’s very similar now,” Ivan told us.

Misha’s eyes had turned almost black as he let his anger completely take over. Sephie recognized that he was struggling to contain it, however. We all felt her anger increase to insane levels as she walked to Misha. She just put her hand on his shoulder, showing him how to control his own. His eyes went wide as he figured out how she did it.

“That’s how you control it so easily,” Misha said in a half-whisper, still watching what she was showing him.

She smiled sweetly at him. “Now you try,” she said. We could feel Misha’s anger levels slowly lowering, but then they spiked again. She giggled as she knew he was just playing with us now.

Once Misha was calm once more, I said, “Sephie was right. There is an element of fuckery to your anger that nobody else has.”

“You could feel it too?” Misha asked.

I nodded my head. “You’re just as clear as Sephie and Ivan are for me now.”

“He can even tell the difference between you and your demon already,” she said.

I laughed. I hadn’t even told her that part. “I don’t know why it still surprises me that you read my mind, but it still sometimes does,” I said. She just grinned at me. She hugged Misha’s neck, explaining to him how the rest of us had progressed through this particular development in our lives. To say that Misha was excited for this would be an understatement. He looked like a kid on Christmas morning; he was so happy this had happened.

Stephen looked at Viktor. “So, yeah. I think it’s time I helped you one more time. Just to be safe,” he said. Viktor just nodded and stood up to leave the kitchen without a word. I looked to Sephie, wanting to know what he was feeling.

“He’s not as worried as I thought he was going to be. He’s happy. He recognizes that it’s all something we want to happen and he’s happy for us. Stephen really is helping him. I think after this time, he’ll be fine with it and able to laugh about it,” she said.

There was an audible exhale from everyone still in the kitchen.