Page 10 of Rise of the Queen

“Whether they’re good or bad, you mean?” she asked.

“Yes, on a basic level. Most people are both, as I’m sure you know, but some are ruled by good and some are ruled by evil. I can tell the difference. Salvadori, for example, is ruled completely by evil. With you and Adrik, and now Ivan, it’s completely different. There’s an electricity there, almost. It feels like I can feel your power, if that makes sense,” he said.

“You should touch Misha and Andrei later. You’ll feel it with both of them, too. Viktor and Stephen also have something; we just don’t know what it is yet. They’re both timid about realizing it,” I said.

“Are they all like you, then?” he asked me.

“No, not even a little. We all complement each other though,” I said.

“How?”

“Misha started with being able to predict outcomes. Like a gut instinct. It’s now evolved into him being able to see things as they happen or before they happen. Sephie helped him with that. Andrei is like her,” I said.

“Like you how, malishka?” he asked her.

“I have a knack for reading people’s minds. Andrei just discovered he can do it too. He’s still a little insecure about it, but he’s getting better,” she said, smiling at him.

Vitaliy walked a few more steps, mulling over what we’d just told him. “Ivan feels very similar to you two. What does he do?”

Sephie chuckled. “That one is a little harder to explain, but he’s my protector.”

“He’s her shield,” I said. “I never told you, but Ivan is built different. He feels no pain. I could shoot him point blank and he wouldn’t feel it. It’s that ability that saved her life the first time they tried to kidnap her. It almost killed him, but she killed the guys coming after them so he could get them to safety before he collapsed. She also has a special ability to calm him. Ivan has a horrific past when it comes to doctors. He gets stuck in his memories anytime he goes to the hospital. It usually takes the rest of us to hold him down so that he doesn’t hurt anyone or himself and we’re having to fight him with everything we have, but she can do it on her own just by touching him and whispering to him. Viktor’s still jealous of it,” I said.

“Ivan was experimented on as a kid, wasn’t he? His inability to feel pain was a highly sought-after trait in Russia years ago,” he said.

“You know about the facility?” Sephie asked, clearly surprised.

“Not specifically, but I know of its existence. I still have friends who are very high up in very strategic organizations. They’ve talked about it before,” he said.

“Is it still going on?” she asked.

“No, not for at least ten years now. There was a kid who escaped one night. He must’ve killed fifteen people to get out. They got nervous and shut the program down, thinking that he would come for them.”

“That was Ivan,” she said.

“Really?” Vitaliy asked, surprised.

“Really. He told me all about it. If you can find the doctors that used to work there, I’ll happily kill them myself,” she said. I could feel her anger come to the surface as she thought about what was done to Ivan when he was younger.

Vitaliy put his opposite hand over her hand that was still holding his arm as we walked. He stopped and turned to both of us. “How do you control that?” he asked, completely shocked. I knew he was referring to her anger, but she was at a loss. It wasn’t at nuclear levels, so she likely hadn’t even noticed.

“Control what?” she asked. She looked between us, trying to figure out what he was shocked about.

He took her hand once more. “Your anger. You feel like a raging inferno right now,” he said.

I chuckled. “This is nothing, which is why she’s confused as to what you’re talking about. She’s keeping it under wraps because of you. But I bet if we turn to look, Ivan will be worried about her. He can feel it too,” I said.

Vitaliy turned to look behind us. I could tell by his expression that Ivan had moved closer to us. I turned to look, and sure enough, he was closer, ready for whatever she needed. She looked as well, signaling to him that she was okay. We could see him relax and return to the others.

“How?” Vitaliy asked.

“We’re not entirely sure. Adrik can feel everything I feel now and same for him. I feel everything he feels. Even when we’re apart, we can still feel each other. It’s partly why they found me and Ivan so quickly. When Ivan and I were taken, I started to be able to feel his anger, which is how it started with Adrik. Then I panicked one night and Ivan was able to feel that too. He isn’t able to feel everything yet, but I expect he will eventually. But all of them have an awareness of me, especially when it comes to protecting me. They don’t need to see me to know exactly where I am,” Sephie said.

“Ivan felt your fear the other night, solnishko. He said he would need to be admitted to an asylum if he felt things as strongly as you do,” I said.

“I agree with Ivan,” Vitaliy said.

She cut her eyes at both of us, shrugging her shoulders. “This is how I’ve always been. I don’t know any different.”