Page 104 of Rise of the Queen

She was quiet for long enough that I was beginning to wonder if she fell back asleep again, but she asked, “Has anybody seen Viktor yet?”

“Yeah, Ivan said he’s awake now. He and Ilya showed up a little while ago, but they moved back downstairs when we didn’t wake up.”

She sighed. “Guess I should get up then.” I could feel her reluctance to move and couldn’t keep from laughing at her. “You don’t have to, solnishko. You’re clearly still tired.”

“I am still tired. But I want to check on Yoden. And I would like to not feel awkward about Viktor again, so I need to get that out of the way, even though I’m happy to just keep avoiding it for a while longer,” she said. She sounded almost irritated when she brought up Viktor, which had never happened before.

“You can avoid him for as long as you like. You’ve never once been irritated with any of them, but you’re clearly irritated with him.”

She sighed again. “I know. I shouldn’t be though. I think being irritated with him is easier than admitting I’m hurt he spent so much energy avoiding me,” she said. She’d closed her eyes again, but it didn’t stop the tears from escaping down her cheeks.

My breath caught as I felt her sadness. It was at least her sadness this time and it wasn’t nearly as oppressive as what she’d felt from him, but I found it made me angry that she was feeling it. She felt the shift in my mood and opened her eyes. They switched from amber to black as soon as she looked at me. She searched my eyes, a small smile on her face. “I know it’s not Viktor’s fault, but I do love that you’re even willing to kick his ass for me.”

“Not just me. They’re all willing to kick his ass over losing his temper with you. I don’t envy the position he’s in right now. It’s going to take some time for him to make it up to everyone.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

Sephie

“Where are you guys?”Iasked Ivan once Adrik and I were amongst the living once more.

“We’re all in my apartment, princess. How are you? Still tired. I can feel you’re still tired,”he responded.

“Yeah, I told Adrik last night if I knew what a hangover was like, this was probably it. How’s Viktor?”

“He’s a lot better. He wants to see you. He knows he has making up to do. Are you guys up now? Want us to come up?”

“No, I want a change of scenery for once. At least until it’s time for dinner. How’s Stephen? He’s okay to you? He feels fucking fantastic to me, if I’m being honest.”

I heard Ivan laughing.“He is fucking fantastic, princess. I don’t know if he’s still high off Boss’s anger or what, but he’s the happiest I’ve ever seen him. It’s really good to see. That kid deserves it.”

“Yeah, he does. Okay, be down in a minute. Now that I’m assured Stephen will be able to make me laugh in only the way that he can, I’m more willing to face Viktor.”

“Don’t worry, princess. He knows he hurt you. He’ll try to make it right, but I can’t say I would be disappointed ifyou ripped him a new one in front of everyone for being an asshole.”

I giggled.“You’ve been spending too much time with Stephen. Stop enabling me.”

We didn’t have to knock on Ivan’s door. Just as I was about to, Misha opened the door, his handsome wide smile across his face. His smile grew bigger when he saw the surprise on my face.

“Something happened. We’re still trying to figure out what happened, but we could feel both of you when you got off the elevator. We all knew you were coming,” he said as he closed the door behind us.

“You can feel him too?” I asked, glancing back at Adrik.

“Yeah, much like we can feel you now, but he’s quieter. For me at least,” Misha said.

I glanced at Andrei to see if the same was true for him. He agreed with Misha. “I think because I’m like you, I’ve always picked up on everyone a little more than the rest of us. It’s stronger for me now, just because I think I’ve been noticing it longer. But it’s stronger for everyone, not just Boss.”

Stephen said, “Since I’m still in my pancake paradox infancy, I can’t detect the subtle nuance, but I do feel like I might’ve gotten high off the supply. Like, I was seriously considering asking Misha if he wanted to go for a run this morning because I feel fucking fantastic. Boss, if you feel like this every day, I’m going to need some of your secrets. Do you juice? Keto? Are you doing yoga and not telling anyone else? Meditation in the mornings? Are you the real vampire among us and we just never noticed? Blood bags or live donors? I’m gonna need specifics.”

I looked at Ivan, who very clearly had a “told you” look on his face. Adrik laughed quietly as he pulled me back against him.

I grinned at Stephen, saying, “Can we just all agree to always refer to everything weird that’s happening to us as the pancakeparadox from now on? There will be legends created about us as a result. In the future, children will no longer be forced to learn calculus in school. Instead, they’ll learn about the pancake paradox and what happens when souls get ejected from bodies. The red panda population will thrive. Earth will be at peace.”

“What if that’s the key to peace all along? Red pandas,” Misha said thoughtfully.

“Right now, red pandas are pancake-less, and look at the state of the world,” Andrei said.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got a plan for mass production. We’re going to be just fine,” Stephen said, chuckling.

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