Chapter Twenty-Two

Adrik

I could feel Sephie’s emotions were everywhere all at once as she was trying to goad Stephen’s sisters into an outburst. I knew she was still trying to figure out a way to push all the pain and hurt she got from Stephen to his sisters. I also knew that Ivan, Misha, and Andrei were feeling much the same as I was. I wasn’t sure if it would work to push our anger to her, but we tried it. She was so adept at controlling her anger. It was like it had the opposite effect on her as it did everyone else. It calmed her. She could almost think more clearly when her anger levels were extremely high, especially when she had to deal with her fear and panic. Both of those emotions were coming up for her when she thought about what she felt from Stephen. If we could help her keep her anger high and controlled, then she could concentrate on figuring out a way to push everything to his sisters, effectively breaking them.

It was a brilliant plan. We just weren’t exactly sure on how to make it happen or if it would work going into this dinner.

Judging by the state that two of the sisters were in when they left, I’d say it worked. I’d even go so far as to say it worked better than we dreamed possible. There was much to discuss later.

Battista was stunned, as was Vitaliy. He hadn’t seen Sephie’s eyes until now. When she looked at me after Stephen’s sisters left, they were still black. I kissed her forehead. “Take a breath, love. It’s over now,” I said, keeping my lips against her forehead. She leaned against me, closing her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, they were the deepest depth of the ocean blue.

“I know what you did. Thank you,” she said as she smiled sweetly at me. I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers, pulling her chair out so she could sit back down. As she did, she leaned over to Stephen. “How you doin’? You okay? Was it too much? I might’ve gotten a little carried away there,” she said, trying to make him laugh.

He turned to look at her, speaking quietly, but I could still hear him. “It was perfect, Seph. I think I know what you did, but we’ll talk later. My mom is gonna be so pissed,” he said, shaking his head. He caught my arm as I was pushing in Sephie’s chair. “Thank you,” he said.

“Anything for family, Stephen.”

We finished dinner, with Battista and Vitaliy asking plenty of questions. As usual, Sephie kept the focus on her when Battista was around. He suspected there was something different about me still, but I was hoping he didn’t have any idea about the guys. I wasn’t sure I wanted him to know about them just yet either. He also didn’t realize that we were all as connected as we were now. I felt protective of that.

Once we were back in the penthouse, the guys were eager to discuss what really happened. As soon as we walked in, Sephie pulled Stephen to her and hugged him. He held onto her so tightly that I was a little worried she’d be able to breathe. She stayed there, helping him calm his storms.

When he finally loosened his grip on her, she looked at all the guys. “I know what you all did tonight. It worked,” she said, her sweet smile on her face as she looked at each of them.

“We weren’t sure if it would work or not, but we figured you’d need help. You’ve felt different the last couple of days. Like you were struggling to contain it all,” Misha said.

“You guys can feel the difference in my anger now too?” she asked.

Misha nodded his head emphatically. “Yeah, this one was way different. Not like you at all. We even asked Boss if you were okay because we were scared of asking you,” he said. He looked a little embarrassed at the admission.

“Oh, my adorable Russian guardian, it’s never directed at you,” she said, walking to him.

“I know it’s not, but I also didn’t want to make you talk about something you didn’t want to,” he said, as he slung his arm over her shoulders.

She looked to Ivan. “You saw something different about one of them, didn’t you?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah. Not human different. It was just as clear as Battista’s associate. Did you see it this time, princess?” Ivan asked.

“No. I think the only reason I saw it last time is because you were touching me. I think I need to be touching you in order to borrow it,” she said. “I did, however, look in their heads. Totally regret that as now I won’t be able to forget what I saw.”

“Did you look after you broke them?” Andrei asked.

“No? What do you mean?”

“When they went frozen in place. You literally broke their minds. I don’t know how, but you figured out a way to give them everything you got from Stephen, plus some. They couldn’t handle it. The youngest one, especially. She might not recover. The middle one is questionable on recovery,” Andrei said.

“The oldest sister changed after you called her out. I saw it when she grabbed the other two to leave,” Ivan said. “She did a good job of hiding it when I first saw her, but it was also clear on her when they went to leave that her demon is running the show.”

“You didn’t break her mind the same way you did the other two, but she was just as disturbed when she left,” Andrei said. He looked slightly nervous as he looked from Sephie to Stephen. He quietly added, “She was replaying scenes from childhood when she left, only Sephie managed to make her feel what Stephen felt.”

“You’re sure? It really worked?” Sephie asked, completely surprised.

Andrei nodded. “She might’ve looked like she was holding it together on the outside, but she was a hot mess in her head. She’s stronger than the other two. I think that’s the only reason she didn’t break.”

Stephen calmly looked at Sephie. “This is literally everything I’ve dreamed of happening. How did you know?”

Sephie shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I’m not completely convinced I did anything yet. It was different when you let me see in your head. I don’t usually feel what other people feel when I look in their heads like that. Like, I’m looking for hard data, not emotions. But with you, I felt everything. I still don’t know how I didn’t break down from it,” she said.

“Because I asked you to hold it for me and give it to them,” Stephen said.

“You did?”

He nodded his head. “You were the only one who would’ve been able to do it. That’s why I showed you everything. That’s also why you likely missed the part about me asking you to hold it until you saw them. It’s a lot. I’m kind of a jerk for doing it,” Stephen said.

Sephie laughed. “You’re not a jerk for unlocking a new level on me, Yoden. I didn’t know I’d be able to do that. I don’t know how you did, but I’m glad for it. And you feel better because of it too. I can see it. You’re lighter now. You’ve been carrying that around, by yourself, for too long. They’re the ones who need to be burdened with that. Not you.”

Misha got his faraway look in his eye for a few moments. He grinned. “They’re gonna be carrying it around for a very long time.”

“It’s also a testament to how incredibly strong you are, Stephen,” she said, walking back to him. With her arm around his waist, she added, “You’ve been carrying all of that by yourself for your entire life and it’s made you stronger. They had it for thirty seconds and it broke them. Don’t forget that.”

Sephie was right. Stephen did look lighter. He was always the quiet one. His brain never shut off though. He was constantly analyzing everything and everyone around him. We finally saw him relax. Really, truly relax. He wasn’t on guard. He wasn’t waiting for something to happen. He was just present. And happy.

Vitaliy had remained at the restaurant with Battista while we left. When he got back to the penthouse, we were all still discussing what had happened, but the conversation was turning more light-hearted. The guys were telling Sephie how effective her demon eyes were to the normal person.

“I’m pretty impressed they didn’t piss themselves, spider monkey. Your eyes were as black as I’ve ever seen them. And you just sprung it on them. Your eyes were normal, then you looked down as you stood up and holy shit, they were black,” Andrei said, laughing.

“Not gonna lie, I’ve kind of missed them,” Ivan said.

Stephen snapped his fingers, pointing at Ivan. “Same.”

Vitaliy walked in with Aleksei. We could tell he was eager to ask more questions. Mostly, he wanted to know how she had such control over her eyes.

“I kind of don’t. I’ve been wearing contacts around you since I met you. My eyes have a mind of their own and change without me knowing sometimes. I got contacts so I wouldn’t scare you,” she said.

“Change to black on their own?” Vitaliy asked.

“No, the black is the one that I can control the most,” she said. She closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them, they were just as black as they had been at the restaurant. I couldn’t help but laugh at Vitaliy’s shocked expression when he saw them. I walked to her, wrapping my arm around her waist.

“That’s not even the scariest one, Vitaliy. But it is very effective,” I said. She looked up at me and I watched the black fade into the background as the blue took over. I smiled at her, pointing back toward my father. She looked at him and I explained that blue meant she loved me. He stood up to get a closer look.

“Your eyes normally have that blue color, but where are the other two colors?” he asked.

“That’s how it started. The brown took over the other two and turned dark. Then the other two colors started taking over for different emotions. The only one that’s completely different is when she’s scared,” I said. “It’s the only emotion she struggles to contain.”

Vitaliy was clearly impressed. “Battista was completely in awe. He wouldn’t shut up after you left, honestly.” He looked slightly amused, but also slightly perturbed. “He’ll do anything you need him to do from now on. He just asks that you help him with your unique set of skills when he needs them.”

I could feel Sephie’s slight bit of worry. “How often is he going to need them?”

Vitaliy chuckled. “He won’t take advantage. He’s a very capable businessman in his own right, but he occasionally runs into people he needs help with. That woman being one of them. He said he has more information on the mayor as well. He would like to meet again tomorrow. Only at his house this time.”

“Why his house? Why not the zoo?” Sephie asked, trying to hide her smile.

Vitaliy laughed. “It’s going to be a very interesting discussion, malishka. It’s not meant for everyone to hear.”

We arrived at Battista’s house the following afternoon. We were all somewhat on edge, as we didn’t know quite what to expect from meeting at his house instead of the restaurant, but Vitaliy assured us it would be fine. He still only brought Aleksei with him, just as he had the night before with Stephen’s sisters, which I found odd.

We were shown to a large study. The woman who showed us to the room informed us Battista had gotten a phone call right before we arrived. He was finishing up and would be in shortly. We were all quiet as we waited on him.

He walked in, obviously rushed, a few minutes later. “My apologies. Unexpected phone call, but it pertains to what I’m about to tell you, so I needed to take it,” Battista said, getting right to business. He looked at me and Sephie, then to Vitaliy, who had a bit of an unreadable smirk on his face. “You still haven’t said a word to them about any of it, have you?” Battista asked Vitaliy.

Vitaliy grunted. “No, I haven’t. You explain it better anyway. You know more than I do.”

I immediately felt Sephie stiffen, as well as saw each one of the guys sit up a little straighter. We did not like surprises.

Battista noticed the shift in mood in the room. He waved his hand flippantly in front of him. “No one is in danger. At least not yet. But this conversation might be difficult to believe,” he said. He looked at me, as he started to explain. “You’re aware your father has very powerful contacts around the world?” he asked. I nodded. He inhaled deeply, contemplating how to phrase what he was about to say. “They’re more powerful than you might think. Some of them are fighting wars that normal people know nothing about. There are dark forces that are vying for the destruction of humanity. There’s a small group of us who are fighting against that. We have a few people, with gifts like your father, who are helping, but I’ve never met so many gifted people in one place until Vitaliy brought you to me.” He looked at all the guys. “I’m aware that you all have gifts as well, but I don’t know specifics. I know she’s trying to keep the focus on her to protect you all, but I saw the subtle signs that you’re helping her.”

“What do you want from us?” I asked. I didn’t have a bad feeling about this, but I still pulled Sephie closer to me after hearing what Battista said.

“It’s not what we want from you. It’s more what we’d like to give you. We want to help. You don’t realize how dangerous Ricardo De Luca is. Or the Colombian,” he snapped his fingers, like he couldn’t remember a name.

“Martin,” Sephie said. Battista pointed to her, silently grateful for the assist. “They’ve both made deals with everlasting consequences, haven’t they?” she asked.

Battista looked at her, wide-eyed. “You know?”

“Not everything. Just that those two are the keys to all of this that’s going on.”