Page 77 of Rise of the Queen

“Well, since you were gracious enough to take me on as a contractor on your latest building project, word has gotten around. I have a crew starting a job at the mayor’s house next week. I’m meeting with him Monday morning before we get started. I can get information to and from him and no one will ever know.”

“Fucking shit, Chen. You’ve been a criminal mastermind this entire time and you’re only just now telling us?” I said, trying not to laugh.

“I could say the same for you, my girl,” he said, laughing.

The guys started to discuss the logistics of getting information to and from the mayor through Chen. What that looked like, how it would work, and how he could get information to us. Once they agreed upon a plan, Chen said his goodbyes and left Adrik’s office, leaving the guys to discuss the latest information we’d received.

I was still frustrated with having to deal with yet another reversal of loyalty when it came to Henry. I was chewing on my bottom lip, staring off into space while I thought about how irritating it was to not be able to trust anyone. I suddenly noticed that everyone had stopped talking and they were all looking at me, with very amused expressions on their faces.

“How many times do I have to tell you that spontaneous human combustion is a real thing, gazelle?” Misha asked.

“What? I’m not even that mad right now?” I said, somewhat confused.

“Your idea of ‘not that mad’ and mine are clearly different,” Stephen said.

“Your eyes say differently,” Viktor said.

“That’s not fair. You know these things have a mind of their own now, right? I’m just slightly irritated,” I said.

Adrik walked to me, smirking. He wrapped his arms around my waist as he stood behind me and rested his chin on top of my head. “She’s not lying. This is barely anything for her. You guys are just becoming really sensitive to being able to feel her now. You’ll soon get used to it. This is like a one to two on her scale. Once you feel her ten a few more times, you’ll be able to differentiate,” he said. I could hear him smiling as he talked.

“I still don’t understand how you don’t kill everyone,” Stephen said quietly. “I’m beginning to wonder if Vlad learned his scorched Earth policy from you.”

Ivan arranged for the acupuncturist to come to the penthouse. It had been a while since she’d worked on me. My lung was continually getting better, but I was still struggling with controlling my panic if I struggled to catch my breath. I was more interested, however, in asking her questions about Andrei’s gift and how it could pertain to Viktor.

Once she and I were in the room alone, she said, “Your connection with all of them is much stronger now. But there is one who is still resisting?”

I smiled at her. She always knew. “That’s actually why you’re here. He knows that I’m the one who’s been helping people discover what their gifts are, so he’s been avoiding me. He’s also very careful what he thinks around me since he found out I can read his mind. He’s been grieving the loss of his wife. I keep saying that’s why he’s resisting, but now I think he might just be scared.”

She held her hand out for mine, gently pressing on the spot in between my thumb and forefinger. She closed her eyes, reading all the information she would need from me like she always did. She had a small smile on her lips when she opened her eyes again. “Your connection with Ivan is much deeper this time. You can communicate with him much like you communicate with your fiancé, no?”

I nodded. “We haven’t told the others yet. We’ve almost been caught already because I can’t help myself from saying stupid stuff that makes them laugh.”

She laughed softly. “The others won’t mind. They know there’s a special bond between you three, even if they’re not aware they know it. The one who is like you—he’s seen me for who I really am?”

“I don’t think he saw your wings, but he sees auras. I have questions about that, actually. We think Viktor’s gift has something to do with fixing people or healing people, since they all seem to be opposites of each other in some way. We just found out that Stephen breaks people, so it makes sense that Viktor would fix them. The only one who’s truly different is Misha, who can see the future and the past,” I said.

She started putting the needles where they needed to go as she thought about what I’d just said. She put her hand over my ribs. “You’re still struggling to catch your breath sometimes?”

I nodded. “It also makes me have a panic attack when it happens, which makes it worse. I’ve never had to deal with that before so I don’t know how to control it. They all feel it, too.”

She looked at me, then looked at the door, then back to me. She said quietly, “Your ribs are still not completely healed either. It’s a constant reminder of the pain you went through. It’s hard to heal from something when you get no relief from it. I will fix it.” She silently went to work, putting more needles over the area than usual. Once she was finished turning me into a pin cushion, she said, “The one who is like you—can he see the holes in people’s auras?”

I nodded. “I’ve seen what he sees. It looks like dark spots.”

“There are ways to heal one’s aura, but none of them are quick fixes. All of them require the person to do deep work on themselves. While you might still be right about the last one’sgift, I’m not certain how it would work, without him needing an extra boost from us,” she said.

As soon as she said that, she noticed my eyes turning what I assumed were purple, as I had goosebumps rising over my entire body. Her eyes went wide, just as mine did. I suddenly remembered another detail about Viktor I had all but forgotten. “He’s the only one other than my fiancé who can calm my shaking after it starts. He just did it one day, without a second thought.”

She was quiet for a moment. “It’s not unheard of, but it’s rare. It means he has someone in Heaven helping him. He would need an angel’s grace to make it happen, but he could do it.”

“His wife,” I said.

She shook her head no. “She’s already reincarnated. It’s his unborn child.” She inhaled deeply, smiling at my confused look. “A soul can clear a tremendous amount of Karma when they sign up for tragic ends. His wife was still pregnant when she was killed, which is one of the most tragic endings for a life not yet realized. People tend to mourn the unknown even more. That little soul cleared much of its Karma and is now helping him in this lifetime. They’ll be linked forever now, as well.” She was quiet for a moment, then added, “That soul has chosen not to come back, just so it can always help him.” She looked at my eyes for a moment. “Your eyes say this is the truth.”

We heard a knock on the door. “Spider monkey, I don’t want to bother you, but are you okay? You’re kind of all over the place right now. It’s worrying me and Misha.”

I laughed. “I’m good, Bubba. Thank you for checking though.”