Page 115 of Rise of the Queen

“What did he tell you about why Viktor is different?” Ivan asked.

“When the Wonder Twins found out that you and Adrik could also control your demons, Misha said you guys just unlocked a new life goal for him. Andrei and Stephen both readily agreed. They essentially strengthened our connection because they made the choice to learn how to do what we do. They’re going to be able to walk between Heaven and Hell eventually.”

Ivan took a deep breath. “Let me guess. Viktor wants no part of that,” he said.

“Exactly. He asked to have his demon removed because he wants no part of Hell. He’s still unnerved by our demons. When he was in that Syrian prison, the guy who would torture him was completely consumed by his demon. Viktor caught glimpses. Now, he’s essentially having PTSD when he sees ours. He wants nothing to do with it,” she said.

“He never told anyone,” Ivan said.

“Yeah. Are you surprised?” she said. We could both feel her irritation growing. She noticed it too. She grinned at Ivan. “That irritation we all feel? Yeah, that’s not really us. It’s our demons. They all feel like they’re being rejected by Viktor and it makes them itchy.”

“Shut up.”

“No, it’s true. You feel sympathy for yours, too. Don’t even try to lie about it,” I said.

Ivan laughed. “Yeah, 100 percent. Poor thing. That’s actually kind of sweet.”

“Right? It’s very endearing. They knew what happened before any of us did and they’ve all been restless because of it. He’s over there terrified of them and they’re pissy because he doesn’t want to come over and play,” she said, laughing.

“But it’s this way for the Wonder Twins and Stephen too. How?” he asked.

“The only thing I can think of is that their connection to their demons is already growing stronger since they made the choice. The connection that the three of us have is made stronger because of our demons. None of us will ever have the same connection with Viktor as a result, but Kostya thinks that Viktor prefers it that way. I have to agree. He said Viktor has so much on his mind on a normal day anyway that the extra baggage from me would be too much. He said the little bit he’s already gotten from me is somewhat overwhelming for him.”

“Can you make it less for him?” Ivan asked.

“Have you met me?” she said.

“Fair, totally fair. How can we help him cope with feeling you then?” he asked.

“That’s going to take time, Kostya said. But,” she said, grinning at him, “Stephen gets to help him get over the time in prison.”

“How? Are we going to get the guy that tortured Viktor?” he asked.

“Nope. No need. Well, maybe there’s a need. Doesn’t sound like he’s a very nice man, now that I think about it. Anyway, back to Yoden. He’s leveling up. He’s going to be able to get rid of Misha’s hatred for Giana and Viktor’s time in prison and everything that went with it. If Viktor can feel more comfortablearound our demons, I think it will be easier for all of us,” she said.

“How is Stephen leveling up? Doesn’t he need to give it back to the person where it originated from?” Ivan asked.

“I asked the same thing. Kostya said that Stephen spent so much time trying to figure out how to transmute his own pain that now he’ll be able to do it for other people. That’s partly why he’s been so freaking happy since he broke Armando. He knows he helped me feel better and it’s made him ecstatic,” she said. I could see the tears welling up in her eyes. “How fucking adorable is that?” she asked, wiping the tears from her eyes. I glanced at Ivan, who actually looked like he was fighting tears back too.

“This whole time, we thought he was a serial killer. Turns out that kid is a fucking saint.” Ivan said.

Sephie was awake before me for once the next morning. I could feel her fingers lightly tracing circles on my back as she tried to slowly wake me up. I pulled her even closer, burying my face in her neck. She laughed quietly as she moved her leg over my hips, pressing her body completely against mine.

“Let’s stay like this the whole day,” I said.

“Are you extra tired? Did you get zapped?” she asked. I could hear the concern in her voice, but I could also feel it.

“No. I just need a break.” I pulled back so I could look at her, finally opening my eyes. Her eyes were swirling, but they landed on blue as she looked at me. “Let’s go to the house this afternoon. I don’t have that many meetings. I might cancel them all.”

“You’ll hear no arguments from me. I think we could all use some time there. What about Ilya though?” she asked.

I thought for a moment. I’d actually forgotten about him. If he was going to work for Vitaliy, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world for him to know about the house, but I still didn’t like the idea of him knowing just yet. “I’ll give Viktor the weekend off completely. He can spend more time with Ilya before he starts working for Vitaliy. Viktor will protest, since he hates taking time off and I’ll suggest we go to the house so he won’t worry about us all weekend.”

“I learned how to plan things out from watching you,” she said, grinning at me.

“And I learned how to love you more than humanly possible from watching you,” I said, kissing her. I could feel her warmth spreading through my body as I buried my face in her neck again.

“Time away will be good for all of us, I think. It’ll give me a chance to catch the other three up on my conversation with Kostya. Maybe Stephen can experiment with helping Misha this weekend too. He’s been trying to let go of his hatred for Giana, but it’s still there. It still comes back now and then when he least expects it,” she said.

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