Page 36 of Rise of the Queen

Viktor laughed, the uncertainty evident in his deep voice when he said, “I’m not sure I want to see that, then. I’m still trying to get a handle on your demon eyes when that happens.”

“Aww, Papa Bear. It’s never directed at you. You’re my favorite,” I said, smiling sweetly at him.

“I don’t want to freak you out and make you panic, but I’m definitely curious,” Stephen said.

I looked at Adrik, who looked concerned. “You don’t have to show them. You struggle to control your fear. I don’t want you to be overwhelmed, but I will be right here to calm you down if you need it,” he said.

I chewed on my bottom lip for a moment, then said, “I have an idea.” I stepped in front of him, pulling his arms around my waist. “You always help so maybe you can keep it from getting out of control, but still let me feel it enough that they can see.” He wrapped his arms around my waist tighter, leaning down and resting his chin on my shoulder. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. I started to replay the afternoon’s events in my headwhen that woman stood up and looked at me. It didn’t take long and I felt his grip on me tighten as we both felt my panic coming on.

Ivan stood up a little straighter, followed by Misha and Andrei. “It’s working,” they all said at the same time.

I opened my eyes to see Stephen’s shocked expression. It worked. Misha and Andrei also walked closer so they could see. Viktor couldn’t help himself and also walked closer to see. They were speechless. I could feel my panic starting to grow stronger as I looked at their shocked faces in front of me.

I felt Adrik’s lips close to my ear. “You’re with me, love. You’re safe. We all love you.” He just kept repeating those words until he felt me start to relax.

I finally took a deep breath. I had closed my eyes when he started talking to me. Their shocked expressions had an unexpected effect on me, so when I opened my eyes, they were the almost amber, which meant I was sad. Adrik felt the shift. They all saw the new color before he turned me around.

“Why are you sad, spider monkey?” Andrei asked as I hid my face in Adrik’s chest.

“So that color brown means she’s sad?” Stephen asked. “That’s different than her normal brown.”

Adrik nodded his head. “I’ve only ever seen that amber color once before. When she was thinking about Trino seeing his mom for the last time,” he said. He gently put his hand on the back of my neck, pulling me away from him so he could search my eyes. He cursed under his breath, pulling me back to him. “We love you no matter what, Sephie. That’s never going to change.”

I heard Andrei quietly explain to the others and I knew he had done his own searching. “She doesn’t want to scare us with everything that’s happened. She doesn’t want us to lookat her differently, either. She’s sad at the thought of us feeling uncomfortable around her now.”

We heard the door to the penthouse open, signaling that Vitaliy and Aleksei were back. Adrik kept his arms around me, but walked us quickly back to the bedroom. Once we were alone, he stepped back from me, looking me in the eyes. “They were just shocked. The white eyes are scarier than the demon eyes the first time you see them. They still love you as much as they ever have, Sephie. Nothing is going to change that.”

I nodded my head, but didn’t say anything. I walked to the bathroom so I could put the contacts back in. He followed me, standing in his favorite spot behind me, his chin once again resting on my shoulder while he watched me put the contacts in. It had become one of my favorite things. It was such a simple thing, but I found myself loving the little moments we had together.

Chapter Fourteen

Adrik

Sephie still felt slightly upset,but she was trying to smile through it. She turned toward me after putting her contacts back in, smiling sweetly at me. She reached up and pressed her lips to mine. “I love you,” she said as she grabbed my hand to walk back to the kitchen.

The guys were still in the kitchen as Sephie led me back out. They looked concerned, but I could tell that she smiled at them as I saw all of their faces soften. Vitaliy and Aleksei were standing with them. Sephie didn’t waste any time. “Vitaliy, what did you feel when you shook that woman’s hand today?”

He looked surprised, but there was also an air of amusement. “It’s good to see you too, malishka,” he said, a sly smile across his face.

“Answer my question and I’ll fawn over you, but not before. I saw your reaction when you touched her,” she said, crossing her arms across her chest. The guys were struggling to not laugh.

Vitaliy chuckled but answered her question. “She’s very evil. Battista knows of my … ability. Occasionally, he brings people for my approval. She was one that he was seeking approval on,” he said.

“Then why did he tell me that I did him a huge favor and he’s in my debt now before we left?” she asked.

“Because you gave him a valid reason to get rid of her quickly. They’ve been working on a few small things together and it’s gone well, but he said he’s never felt completely comfortable with her. He just didn’t know why. That’s when he usually seeks out my services. She’s very influential with a few other business associates of Battista’s, so he can’t just cut ties with her without a valid reason. You’ve given him a valid reason. He may be a womanizer and he might openly flirt with women but never in the disrespectful manner that she did today. He knows his boundaries. She clearly did not, but you did an excellent job of reminding her, malishka,” he said, laughing. “What did you tell her when she got up?”

“That if she ever tried to touch him again, she would no longer have functioning hands,” Sephie said, her arms still folded across her chest. She was definitely still irritated with her.

Vitaliy and Aleksei both looked surprised, but both laughed at Sephie’s words. She moved to lean against the counter, chewing on her bottom lip. “Vitaliy, how does your ability work? Is it a black or white situation? Or do you feel like levels of good and evil?” she asked.

“It’s more nuanced than black and white. Like I said before, some people are ruled by good, some by evil. But there’s also what they’re doing about it. I can feel that too. Some people fight against the evil and ultimately end up being very good people. Some people are ruled by good, but still choose evil for whatever reason. It depends on the person. This woman today, though,” he sighed. “There was no good in her,” he said.

Sephie looked at Ivan, silently asking if he was okay to tell Vitaliy what happened. He nodded once. “Ivan and I saw her demon. She’s completely consumed by it,” she said.

Vitaliy raised his eyebrow. “How?”

Sephie said, “We’re still not entirely sure. It’s happened to Ivan before today, but it was rare. It’s never happened to me before.” She suddenly looked at Ivan like she’d made a connection. “It might’ve happened with me because your hand was on me. Like I borrowed it from you same as I do Misha.”