Page 61 of Rise of the Queen

“You guys can feel the difference in my anger now too?” she asked.

Misha nodded his head emphatically. “Yeah, this one was way different. Not like you at all. We even asked Boss if you were okay because we were scared of asking you,” he said. He looked a little embarrassed at the admission.

“Oh, my adorable Russian guardian, it’s never directed at you,” she said, walking to him.

“I know it’s not, but I also didn’t want to make you talk about something you didn’t want to,” he said, as he slung his arm over her shoulders.

She looked to Ivan. “You saw something different about one of them, didn’t you?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah. Not human different. It was just as clear as Battista’s associate. Did you see it this time, princess?” Ivan asked.

“No. I think the only reason I saw it last time is because you were touching me. I think I need to be touching you in order to borrow it,” she said. “I did, however, look in their heads. Totally regret that as now I won’t be able to forget what I saw.”

“Did you look after you broke them?” Andrei asked.

“No? What do you mean?”

“When they went frozen in place. You literally broke their minds. I don’t know how, but you figured out a way to give them everything you got from Stephen, plus some. They couldn’thandle it. The youngest one, especially. She might not recover. The middle one is questionable on recovery,” Andrei said.

“The oldest sister changed after you called her out. I saw it when she grabbed the other two to leave,” Ivan said. “She did a good job of hiding it when I first saw her, but it was also clear on her when they went to leave that her demon is running the show.”

“You didn’t break her mind the same way you did the other two, but she was just as disturbed when she left,” Andrei said. He looked slightly nervous as he looked from Sephie to Stephen. He quietly added, “She was replaying scenes from childhood when she left, only Sephie managed to make her feel what Stephen felt.”

“You’re sure? It really worked?” Sephie asked, completely surprised.

Andrei nodded. “She might’ve looked like she was holding it together on the outside, but she was a hot mess in her head. She’s stronger than the other two. I think that’s the only reason she didn’t break.”

Stephen calmly looked at Sephie. “This is literally everything I’ve dreamed of happening. How did you know?”

Sephie shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I’m not completely convinced I did anything yet. It was different when you let me see in your head. I don’t usually feel what other people feel when I look in their heads like that. Like, I’m looking for hard data, not emotions. But with you, I felt everything. I still don’t know how I didn’t break down from it,” she said.

“Because I asked you to hold it for me and give it to them,” Stephen said.

“You did?”

He nodded his head. “You were the only one who would’ve been able to do it. That’s why I showed you everything. That’salso why you likely missed the part about me asking you to hold it until you saw them. It’s a lot. I’m kind of a jerk for doing it,” Stephen said.

Sephie laughed. “You’re not a jerk for unlocking a new level on me, Yoden. I didn’t know I’d be able to do that. I don’t know how you did, but I’m glad for it. And you feel better because of it too. I can see it. You’re lighter now. You’ve been carrying that around, by yourself, for too long. They’re the ones who need to be burdened with that. Not you.”

Misha got his faraway look in his eye for a few moments. He grinned. “They’re gonna be carrying it around for a very long time.”

“It’s also a testament to how incredibly strong you are, Stephen,” she said, walking back to him. With her arm around his waist, she added, “You’ve been carrying all of that by yourself for your entire life and it’s made you stronger. They had it for thirty seconds and it broke them. Don’t forget that.”

Sephie was right. Stephen did look lighter. He was always the quiet one. His brain never shut off though. He was constantly analyzing everything and everyone around him. We finally saw him relax. Really, truly relax. He wasn’t on guard. He wasn’t waiting for something to happen. He was just present. And happy.

Vitaliy had remained at the restaurant with Battista while we left. When he got back to the penthouse, we were all still discussing what had happened, but the conversation was turning more light-hearted. The guys were telling Sephie how effective her demon eyes were to the normal person.

“I’m pretty impressed they didn’t piss themselves, spider monkey. Your eyes were as black as I’ve ever seen them. And you just sprung it on them. Your eyes were normal, then you lookeddown as you stood up and holy shit, they were black,” Andrei said, laughing.

“Not gonna lie, I’ve kind of missed them,” Ivan said.

Stephen snapped his fingers, pointing at Ivan. “Same.”

Vitaliy walked in with Aleksei. We could tell he was eager to ask more questions. Mostly, he wanted to know how she had such control over her eyes.

“I kind of don’t. I’ve been wearing contacts around you since I met you. My eyes have a mind of their own and change without me knowing sometimes. I got contacts so I wouldn’t scare you,” she said.

“Change to black on their own?” Vitaliy asked.