Chapter Twenty-Five

Sephie

I felt Adrik stir underneath me, but I couldn’t bring myself to wake up. Normally, I wasn’t aware of when he woke up when I needed to sleep longer. This time, however, I could hear his thoughts as he watched me sleep.

It was like his internal dialogue was now in my head. I heard him thinking. I heard him wishing he could stay with me.

I felt him pick me up, wrap a blanket around me, and carry me out of the bedroom with him. Before the guys made the decision on who was going to stay with me, I knew it was going to be Ivan. I knew he’d been zapped, but I didn’t know why yet. I could feel his exhaustion. Wait, I can feel him without seeing him .

I heard him tell Adrik why he’d been extra tired—how he could see not just when a person’s demon consumed them, but now when they were looking for ways in too. That’s gotta be slightly comical, in a twisted sort of way.

As everyone left for the day, I felt Ivan fall asleep behind me. His massive arms were holding onto me, keeping me safe while we slept. I found myself back in the darkness. Only this wasn’t my darkness. It felt different. It sounded different. I could hear music. Piano music. I recognized the song. It was Ivan’s song.

I felt him before I could see him. “Princess?” I turned to find Ivan, looking very confused as to why I was in his darkness.

“Squish,” I said, smiling at him. “Did you leave your phone on before you went to sleep with me on the couch?”

“How do you know we’re on the couch? You were sleeping?” He said the last statement like a question, as he was beginning to question what his eyes saw.

“I was. I am. But somehow I’m still aware of everything going on around me. I knew it was you who was going to stay with me today. I could feel your exhaustion when Adrik walked out with me.”

“This is new, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Very much so, yes. I could also hear Adrik’s thoughts before he got out of bed this morning. I kind of woke up when he woke up, but I didn’t move. But normally I’m incapable of not reacting when he touches me, so I wasn’t really fully awake. Just aware.”

He looked at me thoughtfully, like he was trying to come up with an explanation. “You have been very aware of things happening that you can’t see lately. Maybe this has to do with that?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I dunno. When were you gonna tell me you can see demons all the time now?” I asked, trying to fake outrage to make him worry.

“I was gonna tell you, princess. I’m still getting used to it. Do you know how hard it is to keep a straight face when you see some little demon riding around on someone’s shoulder like it’s their pet dragon? I’m trying my best to keep it together right now. You always amplify things too. Maybe I was worried you were going to make me hear them too.” He laughed as he said it. He just wanted to give me a hard time.

“Okay, you can make it up to me,” I said, cutting my eyes over at him like I was irritated with him. He raised an eyebrow at me. “At some point, once I get a handle on how exactly I borrow everyone’s gifts, I’m gonna need to see this for myself,” I said, grinning at him.

“Deal.”

“Now answer my original question. Did you leave your phone playing?”

He shook his head no. “No, I’ve listened to the recordings of you playing so much that they started playing on their own now when I come here. I like it. Makes it nicer,” he said. I couldn’t help my smile. “The bigger question, I think, is why you’re here, princess. Not that I mind, but this is definitely new.”

As soon as he asked the question, the scene in front of us changed. His darkness faded away to reveal the very familiar path, in front of the very familiar house. I smiled at Ivan, taking his hand and leading him to the house. “You’re in for a treat, Squish.”

We walked into the house, hearing the familiar song my dad was playing while he waited for us. Ivan looked down at me skeptically as we walked into the room where my dad was. As the song ended, he said, “I know this is a little strange, Ivan, but I needed to talk to both of you, and this saved me some time. I’ve joined a new aerial acrobatics team, and we have practice later. I’m on a time schedule,” my dad said as he turned to face us.

I laughed as I went to hug him, leaving Ivan still somewhat stunned and slightly confused. I turned to look at Ivan, and as soon as he saw me standing next to my dad, he figured it out. “You’re Sephie’s dad,” he said. “You look like him, princess.”

My dad looked down at me, raising an eyebrow as he studied my face. “I think her mother helped way more than I did on her looks, but I’ll take the compliment anyway. I plan to tell everyone about this, in fact,” he said, grinning at me.

“Clearly, I got my sense of humor from him though,” I said, laughing.

“It’s one of my best traits,” my dad said.

“Hers too,” Ivan added.

“Why did you need to see both of us this time?” I asked.

“Well, now that things are happening a little faster and you guys are getting more information, I can finally tell you a little more. I’m here to offer a little clarity about everything. Granted, you’ve all had quite a bit to take in, but you’re all handling it better than we ever could’ve expected,” he said.

“I think it’s because we have each other,” I said, smiling at Ivan. He gave me a wink, his sly grin stretching across his face.

“You’re not wrong there, peanut. You’re all starting to realize how you each fit into this puzzle. That’s why I’m here. Poor Stephen is still unsure about his gift, even with Lena’s explanation. He’s still fighting to believe he’s good enough. You two will be very good for him in the next few weeks. Lena was right. We’ve all been worried about him for a while.”

“Worried about him why?” Ivan asked.

“He almost gave in to his demon. We weren’t sure he was going to be able to hold out long enough to discover his gift. You guys haven’t seen his inner turmoil because he’s so good at hiding everything. He’s been struggling for a very long time. It’s why his bloodlust is comparable to Adrik’s. It’s a release for him. A way to get rid of some of the evil he’s been carrying around with him for so long.”

“But Sephie gave all of that to his sisters, right? Should we still be worried about him?” Ivan asked. I found his concern to be very touching.

“He’s much better now, yes. He’s just struggling to believe he can do it. Because his gift isn’t as obvious as everyone else’s, he still believes Sephie did most of it. It was him, from start to finish. You technically held onto his memories for him, but you were only a battery for him, much like you are for Misha. What you really did was help him package it all up very neatly so he could give it back to them. The guys all helped, as they can send power to you, but not Stephen yet. He knew, without knowing, that he needed you as a power source. The rest of it was him. He just doesn’t know it yet.”

“Does he need that kind of juice every time?” I asked.

My dad laughed. “No, peanut. Like Misha, he’s going to learn to do it on his own, without you. You just offer clarity for them right now. You’re the calming force they need to be able to concentrate. Just like Ivan and Adrik are that for you.”

I glanced at Ivan, who looked surprised. “I actually just said this to Adrik last night. You two are always the best about taking new things in stride. It helps me do the same.”

“I think you’re underestimating your role in it, princess. I think you share your ability to go with the flow with the two of us. I think we’re just more connected than the others. At least for now,” Ivan said.

“He’s right, peanut. Ivan and Adrik are more connected to you than the others and will always remain so. Although your connection with all of them is only going to grow stronger. But those two are connected to you in ways that the others aren’t.”

Ivan snapped his fingers, pointing at me. “Called it.”

My dad laughed at Ivan. He continued, “You’ll always have the deepest connection with Adrik. That’s how you two are able to communicate without words now. That’s going to continue to get stronger the more you practice. But you also have a deeper connection with Ivan than the rest of them. You’ve spent more lifetimes with Ivan than you have with the others. There’s a familiarity with him that you don’t have with the others. It’s what helped you see through his gruff exterior when you first met him. He might’ve made you nervous, but some part of him felt familiar to you. It’s the same for Adrik. He’s felt closer to Ivan faster than the others. Because you three have spent the most time together.”

Ivan chuckled. “I’ve never had anyone see through me as quickly as she did.”

“It happens to be one of her many gifts, but it’s also because her soul recognized yours. You two have a special bond, made stronger over each lifetime you spend together.”

“You told me last time that my eyes are a warning system. Do you know why they swirl? Like they can’t pick a color to stick to?” I asked.

My dad chuckled. “They can’t pick a color because you can’t pick an emotion, peanut. You’ve been right all along that each color coincides with an emotion. The white is the most shocking because you struggle the most with your fear, but you’re slowly learning to get a handle on it, with help from all of them. The newest color is unique and a new way to confirm universal truths. It’s going to come in handy in certain situations. Battista was right about your demon eyes too. Actually, Stephen was right to name them that to begin with. Your eyes go black because your demon is stepping forward. The difference between you and others, though, is that you control your demon, not the other way around. Essentially, you’ve forced your demon to use its powers for good, which is somewhat hilarious to think about. You gamed the demon,” he said, looking down at me, like he would if he were bragging about my scholastic achievements.

“So she was being serious when she said the best way to defeat your demons was to make friends with them?” Ivan asked.

“She was serious. She didn’t know she was serious, to be fair, but she was serious. Battista said he didn’t understand how it worked, because he’s never seen it happen. But Sephie isn’t the only one who can do it. Just like she’s not the only one who can walk between Heaven and Hell,” he said, looking at Ivan with one eyebrow raised.

I grinned at Ivan, knowing he was putting it together in his head. I looked at my dad, knowing he would understand my question. “I was right about Adrik too then?” He nodded his head. “You’re right about pretty much everything, peanut.”

“Not about Armando. He got past me,” I said.

“He was a special case. His demon was running the show, but it was also smart enough to step back when Armando was around you, which is why you missed it. It’s also what made Armando appear as moronic as he did. He wasn’t aware of things that happened when the demon was in control. That’s what you pick up on when watching people, when you get bad feelings about them. It’s their demons you’re detecting. But sometimes if a demon is savvy enough, like in the case of Armando, they can get past you. That’s also partly why he was so savage with you. Armando was scared of you, but his demon was equally as scared of you once he saw your black eyes. Now that you have Stephen, that fear is going to increase on any demon you encounter. Which is why Ivan’s gift evolved to be able to see them at any point, not just when they consume the person. Andrei will help with that too, since he’s the balance. He sees good, Ivan sees evil. You two will figure out whether a person is ruled by good or evil by looking at them, which will confirm what Adrik can learn by touching them. He won’t always be able to touch someone, so you two are backups to that.”

As he explained this to me, it suddenly hit me what needed to happen to Armando. I looked at my dad, who had an amused expression on his face. He pointed to Ivan. “Show him,” he said.

“Show him what?” I asked, confused.

“Your eyes.” Ivan stepped closer to see as my dad explained, “Adrik didn’t want to call them purple because he didn’t think she’d like that, but as a man who really doesn’t care about the nuances of colors, purple seems accurate to me. It means it’s a universal truth.”

“Andrei is going to be so happy,” Ivan said.

“Shut up. That’s what Adrik said too,” I said, laughing.

“What were you thinking about, princess? What made that happen?” Ivan asked.

“Stephen needs to break Armando. You have to help me convince Adrik not to kill him.”

He scoffed. “That’s easier said than done, but I’ll help. I have to admit that I want him dead just as much as he does.”

“Maybe you’ll both get some consolation when I remind you that once broken, the soul and the demon are stuck together in the body until the body dies. Neither are in control. Both are in their own Hell for the duration. The soul will undergo its own torture, just as the demon will. It’s not pretty, but it’s not meant to be. It’s meant to be a lesson that the soul never forgets ever again. Armando’s soul will get a chance at clearing some of the awful Karma it’s collected in this lifetime if Stephen breaks him. If Adrik kills him, the soul will never have to endure that lesson and will likely make the same mistakes over and over again. You’re giving his soul a second chance, yes, but you’re also saving future generations from repeating things done in this lifetime that should never be repeated.”

I very clearly heard Andrei’s voice in my head. I looked at Ivan, then to my dad, to see if either one of them heard it as well. My dad smiled at me. “You heard him?” he asked.

“Heard who?” Ivan asked.

“Andrei,” I said. “I just heard his voice.”

“They’re worried about you because you’re both still sleeping. Adrik asked Andrei to look in your head to make sure you’re okay. You’re both mumbling in your sleep. Side effect of talking to both of you at the same time. You can tell Adrik you’re fine without leaving, peanut.”

“I can?”

He laughed, but nodded his head. “Concentrate on what you can feel from him, then think about pushing your words to him, the same way you push your thoughts and emotions to him. He’ll hear you.”

“Oh, this is gonna freak him out,” I said, giggling. “Don’t worry, my love. I’m fine. So is Squish.” I waited to see if I could hear his answer. My dad watched, a small smile on his face. I couldn’t help but giggle again. “He doesn’t believe he just heard me. This is going to be fun.”

“Wait ‘til you figure out you can do it with Ivan too,” my dad said, grinning at both of us. “Perks of your connection. You just haven’t figured it out yet. Consider it my early Christmas present.” Ivan’s eyes got wide as he looked to me, just as I looked at him.

“We’re going to be so much trouble,” I said under my breath.

My dad laughed. “You two should go now. I’ve kept you here almost the entire day. You’ll need to catch everyone else up to speed as well. Ivan, Sephie has helped all of you realize your gifts, but Viktor is reluctant. He also knows that Sephie is helping everyone realize their gifts, so he’s avoiding her.”

“I knew it!” I said, slightly irritated about it.

My dad laughed. “He’s scared. Rightfully so, but he’s also ready. He just doesn’t think he is. You and Adrik can help him the same way Sephie has helped the rest of you. I’m not completely convinced she’s going to be able to help him realize his gift and I’m not just saying that because I bet on you and Adrik.” He looked to me, before he said, “But I do owe you a high five for getting Stephen in before the end of the month. You really saved me on that one.”

Ivan looked amused. “Clearly her sense of humor is not all she got from you,” he said.

“Chip off the ol’ block, this one,” my dad said as he put his arm around my shoulders. He extended his hand to Ivan. “It feels weird to thank you for taking my job, but I know she’s in very capable hands with you. I’m still around, watching, but now I’m doing even less than I was before. But thank you, for always watching over her.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Ivan said.

My dad turned me to face him, wrapping his arms around me. “We’ll see each other again soon, peanut. Lena wanted me to tell you ‘thank you.’ She finally got to talk to that cranky, stubborn bastard because of you,” he said, laughing.

“That makes me happy. He needed that. And thank you, Dad, for always being here to provide insight,” I said. I took a step back from him and everything faded to black. Ivan disappeared too, and I knew I was back to my own darkness. I could feel Adrik’s hand on my cheek, making my entire body feel warm enough again. “Mmm, there’s the warmth I love,” I thought before opening my eyes, to see him kneeling in front of me, a look of concern on his face. I assured him I was fine, apologizing for not realizing the time. “Your next meeting is waiting for you. He’s irritated that you’re late, for the record. Go. I’ll come down after you’re done with this meeting and fill you in. Especially since you’re wondering how I knew that,” I said, grinning at him.

I had enough time for a quick shower before Adrik was done with his meetings for the day. I was deep in thought during my shower, thinking about everything I’d learned, along with everything that had happened lately. As I turned the water off, I heard Adrik’s voice very clearly in my head. He was wondering what I was thinking about; he could feel my emotions going crazy.

“Jesus, she’s all over the place,” he thought. Since I’d never seen it happen, I got out of the shower to see if my eyes were swirling. They were. Now I understand why he’s so mesmerized by this. The colors of my eyes were never still, never doing the same thing twice.

I tried to take a breath. I didn’t feel out of control, but Adrik was becoming even more sensitive to me lately, so clearly he was feeling everything I was feeling at the moment. Instead of continuing to stew over everything in my head, I decided to experiment on Ivan. He was still in the penthouse, along with the Wonder Twins and Stephen. I had no idea if it would work, but I tried to ask him a question while I was still in the bedroom getting ready.

“Do you think we should tell the others that you have a stronger connection with me or do you think they’ll be jealous?” I thought about asking Ivan the same way I got Adrik to hear my thoughts. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I heard his answer shortly after.

“I think we should wait on that, princess. I also think we should wait on telling them this is a thing that’s happening now. I understand why Boss wanted to wait to tell everyone about your eyes. This is really fun.”

“We are in so much trouble, Squish.”

I walked down the hallway to the kitchen, laughing to myself about being able to talk to Ivan as well as Adrik. The guys were standing in the kitchen, waiting for me.

“You look better again, spider monkey,” Andrei said. “You got zapped worse this time, I think. I don’t know how you fight it. It sucks.”

“I think I’m getting used to it, so apparently it doesn’t feel as bad as it looks. It doesn’t feel as bad as the first time when Adrik and I both got zapped or when it happened with Misha. Those two were the worst,” I said, hugging his waist.

“The shitty part is that it only happens to us once and it happens to her all the time,” Misha said.

“It’s not that shitty, my adorable Russian guardian. It just makes me tired. It doesn’t kick my ass. And if that’s what it takes to help you guys, then I’ll gladly do it. Although, I have to say, you should all be jealous of Squish. It took him a really long time to get zapped. I didn’t even help him on this one. He just did it. He’s totally superhuman.”

“You got a new level?” Stephen asked.

Ivan nodded. “After you broke your sisters, it started happening. It went from being able to only see a person’s demon when they were completely consumed by it, or right before that happened, to now being able to see the demons all the time. Like I can see them riding around on people looking for ways to get in. It looks like some people have a pet demon riding around on their shoulder,” he said, trying not to laugh at his explanation.

“How do you keep a straight face,” Stephen asked, completely serious.

“It’s so hard, man. So hard.”

“We should go downstairs. Adrik’s meeting just left. His last meeting had to reschedule, so he’s free. We have much to discuss, gentlemen,” I said, grabbing Misha’s arm and walking toward the door.

Once we were on the elevator, Andrei asked, “You both were talking to your dad, weren’t you?”

I nodded my head. “I heard you in my head, but you disappeared quickly. Not sure if it was my doing or my dad’s doing. You saw us?” I asked.

“I could see the house and see you and Ivan standing inside talking to someone else, but I never saw him completely. I just figured it had to be him, since none of us could feel anything out of the ordinary from you. You felt like you normally do when you’re happily sleeping,” he said.

“That method of talking to me is much easier on you guys than the way Lena first came to me. She still feels bad about that, for the record. She’s still apologizing for it. She didn’t realize we were all so connected.”

As we walked into Adrik’s office, he was already looking at the door, like he was waiting on me to walk through it at that exact moment. I smiled to myself, knowing it’s because he was waiting on me. His expression softened immediately when he saw me. He stood up from his desk, closing the distance between us quickly. “I’ve missed you so much,” he thought as I felt his warm hands on my cheeks, pulling me closer to him. His lips pressed against mine. I felt the pull in my chest, showing me just how much he missed me. It only took a second and he lost the tiny bit of control he had. His lips parted, his tongue demanding entry into my mouth. He devoured me with his kiss, his passion for me making my knees weak.

“You really did miss me,” I thought as he stepped back from me, pulling me with him toward one of the couches. He raised his eyebrow, looking at me with a surprised look on his face, but he didn’t say a word. “It’s our newest trick. I’ll tell you about it later, but keep it quiet for now. This one is special to you and Ivan.” He nodded discreetly as he sat down on the couch, pulling me into his lap.

“So, what valuable insight did your father have for us this time? And how did you both get to see him?” Adrik asked.

“I don’t know about that one. You’ll have to ask him, but he did say he was saving time by talking to both of us. He’s a very busy man,” I said, trying to sound very serious. It was very difficult to sound serious about aerial acrobatics training.

“Very busy,” Ivan said, snickering.

I took a deep breath and started to explain everything he’d told me and Ivan, leaving out the part where I could communicate with Ivan and Adrik telepathically. For now.

Before I told them about what needed to happen with Armando, I decided to show them how I came to that decision. “So, Bubba, you’re about to be really happy. My eyes did decide on a new color recently.”

Andrei looked excited. “Purple or orange?” he asked.

I thought about what I was sure needed to be done about Armando, then looked at Adrik first. It was obvious that they’d changed to their new color by his expression. I showed everyone else. They all jumped up to get a closer look.

“That’s so weird, but so cool,” Andrei said.

“What emotion does this one represent?” Stephen asked.

“I wouldn’t say it’s an emotion on this one. This one is confirmation of universal truths. It first happened when Battista told Adrik he was the King of all the Underworlds.”

Adrik caught on that I was leading up to something else though. “That’s not what you’re thinking about now, though. You weren’t worried when you thought about that. You’re worried now.”

Ivan said, “Only because she’s not sure how you’re going to take what she’s about to tell you. But for the record, I agree with her. Just let her explain it fully and I think you’ll agree with her too.”

I felt Adrik’s arms tighten around me as he braced himself for what I was going to say. He really did hate surprises. “You can’t kill Armando. Stephen needs to break him the same way he broke his sisters.”

I immediately felt his anger levels rise to insane levels.