“I think I’m getting used to it, so apparently it doesn’t feel as bad as it looks 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 sh itty, my adorable Russian guardian. It just makes me tired. It doesn’t kick my as s. And if that’s what it takes to help you guys, then I’ 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 denons 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.
I/3″That method of talking to me is much easier on you guys than the way that Lena first came to me. She still feels had about that, for the record. She’s still apologizing for it. She didn’t realize we were all so connected or that it would send my emotions into turmoil.”
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 iminediately 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 acrobatic 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 univeral 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 apcut 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.
Adrik
I’ve never wanted to kill someone as much as I’ve wanted to kill Armando and now she’s telling me I can’t? I usually agree with her on everything, but this is going to be the one time I definitely do not agree. He’s going to suffer. More than he already has. Then I’m going to watch the life drain from his face.
“I know you want to kill him. In fact, I love you more because you want to kill him. But let me explain.”I heard her voice in my head once again. I glanced around at the guys, who could tell something was happening, but they weren’t sure what. They all looked slightly on edge, like they were waiting to jump in. Sephie had turned to face me, her eyes were completely black, but she was smiling at me. “Let her explain before you completely explode,” Ivan said. I looked to him, not completely understanding how he knew I was as angry as I was. “She had to get angry to get you to think. We can feel her response to you. If it went anyone else, I’d suggest we all leave, but my money’s on her, not gonna lie.”
I glanced around the room. Stephen’s eyes were wide. “This is so weird,” he said. “How does she not kill everyone?” he asked almost in a half-whisper.
Sephie giggled, her eyes still focused on me. “Let me explain?” she asked. I nded once. I tried to calm down, but I still felt like I was ready to rip someone apart. She shifted again in my lap, so she was straddling me. I could bear her dirty thoughts as she did, which helped my anger subside, but only slightly. She placed her hands on my chest, saying, “I know you want to call him. I wanted to as well, but there’s a better way. If Stephen breaks him, he’ll spend the remainder of his life being tortured in the worst way possible. Worse than what you can do to him. Armando was a healthy man. He’s not that old. He still has a long life ahead of him. If Stephen breaks him he’s going to spend every single day for the rest of that long life in complete and utter torture. He’ll be locked inside that body with the demon, ither of them having control, and only having each other to torture. If you kill him, his soul comes back and he makes the same mistakes over and over again. Which means innocent people will die at his hands, whether directly or indirectly. Don’t think of it like saving his soul. Think of it like saying theirs. If Stephen breaks him, he’ll have to endure a very difficult lesson designed to make sure he makes better choices the next time around.
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.