“Not me. I love you,” Misha said, wrapping his arms around her and picking her up quickly before joining Andrei and Viktor. Misha was needed for Sephie to show Viktor before, so it was very likely he was also going to be needed for Andrei.
Andrei tried for a few minutes, but couldn’t get it through to Viktor. Misha grabbed his hand, giving him the extra boost he needed. It was almost immediate, once Misha helped, that Viktor saw what Andrei could see that afternoon. While they were sharing it with Viktor, Sephie motioned for Stephen to come to her. She grabbed his hand, showing him the same thing that Viktor was seeing. She shared it with me and Ivan at the same time she showed Stephen. There was barely anything to look at. What faint outline we could see was dim and greyish in color, with very dark spots s*attered throughout.
“Yeah, someone like him is going to get no benefit from me,” Viktor said. He looked at Sephie like he was slightly unsure. “Honestly, I’m not sure how much I can help you, Sephie. I don’t know how it works with your demon.” His tone was definitely lacking the normal softness he had when speaking to her.
I immediately felt her irritation. I knew it wasn’t her irritation this time. I knew it was her demon. As odd as it seemed to say, we were beginning to be able to tell the difference.
“Does he know that Kostya fixed you once already, love?” I asked her.
“No. And I’m not going to tell him,” she said, grumpily. I had to cough to keep from laughing out loud at her response.
“I think you should still try. I think Andrei and Stephen’s theory of you being here to help us as much as anyone else makes sense. It wouldn’t be reasonable for you to be here and not be able to help the three of us,” I said. He could tell by my tone that there was going to be no arguing with me.
Viktor simply nodded once, then walked over to Sephie. It was irritating to my demon that Viktor had seemingly rejected it, but it was irritating to me that he seemed like he was still struggling to be around her and that he seemed like he preferred to be disconnected from the rest of us. I wasn’t sure how to handle it from him..
We all watched as he placed his hand on her shoulder. In much the same way as it happened when Misha first showed him his gift, we watched a little white light come down from somewhere above us all and land in his hand. He touched Sephie once more, lighting her up. The one hole that we could see when Viktor first touched her filled itself in, making her shine brighter than before.
I could feel her relief as he was helping her. She finally felt calm again. Really, truly calm. Ivan caught my eye while we watched. “Did his reluctance pi*s you off as much as it did me?” he asked. “Don’t ask s*upid questions.”
“Thought so. Stephen needs to help him get over his aversion to our demons or it’s going to get ugly and I’m not sure it’s going to be us that starts it.”
“I could not agree more. He’s next after he fixes Andrei and Misha. I’ll hold him down if I have to.”King of the Underworld
Adrik
Once Viktor was done with Sephie, she came back to me while he moved on to help Misha and Andrei. Her heart stopping smile was once again across her face, making the room a little brighter and the rest of us lighter for seeing it.
She looked at me, squinting her eyes as she tucked herself into my side. She glanced over at Ivan as well, analyzing him for a moment.
“Why are you two pi*sed off?” she asked both of us.
“Viktor’s reluctance to help you,” Ivan said.
“We’re going to make sure that he lets Stephen help him before he leaves tonight, He’s going to have to get over his aversion to us sooner or later,” I said.
“Or it’s not going to be pretty, is it?” she asked.
“Not one bit,” Ivan said.
Sephie was quiet for a moment. She caught Stephen’s eye, motioning him over to us while Viktor was working on the Wonder Twins.
“I have on idea,” she said to us, then she said the same thing out loud to Stephen. She let us watch as she put our conversation into pictures, sending it to Stephen as she held his hand. He understood immediately.
“I just need to touch him to do it,” Stephen said quietly: “I do think he’s scared of you three especially, so maybe let me try to talk him into it. We all noticed his reluctance to help you. It wasn’t just you three.” As Viktor finished with Misha and Andrei, they both looked much lighter, just as Sephie did. Everything was returning to normal after our afternoon with Battista. Everyone was back to calm as well. The only emotion we could feel other than the peaceful calm was from me and Ivan and our irritation with Viktor.
Stephen looked at Viktor, asking, “are you ready for your turn now, Viktor?” Viktor hesitated, which made both Ivan and I struggle to restrain ourselves.
“You two either look at the floor or keep your eyes closed. That’s not going to help him,” Sephie told us, very firmly. “I can feel your frustration. I understand it, but it’s not helping right now.”
We both exhaled, trying to keep ourselves calm. Andrei and Misha picked up on something going on, feeling our frustration through Sephie. They both joined in with Stephen, trying to help convince Viktor. “Viktor, you know you’ve been uncomfortable around Sephie since her eyes started going dark. Don’t think we all haven’t noticed you avoiding her,” Andrei said.
“We also know it’s not her that makes you uncomfortable. Why wouldn’t you want help to feel comfortable around her again?” Misha asked.
“You let Kostya help you with your overwhelming sadness, but this fear that you have because of your time in Syria is going to become just as overwhelming to you if you don’t address it. Trust me, man. I know what it’s like to live with more trauma than you can carry. The slightest thing becomes completely overwhelming. Let me help you feel better,” Stephen said. As he was talking, he was slowly taking steps toward Viktor. As he said the last sentence, he casually reached out and touched Viktor’s arm.
It was all he needed to start the process.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.