“What were you thinking about, princess? What made that happen?” Ivan asked.
I/3
“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 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 entirebody feel warm enough again. “Mhim 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.
Sephle
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, golfout 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 on 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 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.” doesn’t feel as bad as the first time when Adrik and I both got zapped.
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.