Page 177 of Rise of the Queen

I felt Stephen’s anger slowly rising as the doctor’s name was mentioned. His hold on my shoulders tightened slightly as well. “Surely there’s a way to make him pay for all those procedures he did too?” he said, almost through gritted teeth.

“Because nobody but Sephie can remember him, there’s no proof. I’m not making her testify against him, either,” Adrik said.

Stephen’s anger continued to rise at the injustice of it all. I knew what was about to happen, but Stephen was so outwardly calm that no one else had caught on just yet. “What does Eric think the sentence will be if he’s found guilty for the brawn?” I asked.

“Fifteen to twenty-five, I think he said?” Viktor said.

That was the push Stephen needed to lose control of his anger. He stepped back from me, putting his hands in his pockets. He knew he was losing control and was trying his best to not let it happen. As soon as he stepped back from me, everyone elsefigured out what was happening. They all went on high alert, but stayed where they were.

I turned to Stephen, telling him to let go. “You’re going to have to go completely nuclear for it to happen, Stephen. I can show you how to control it, but I have a feeling you won’t need me,” I said.

We watched as his breathing rate increased slightly; his cheeks flushed. He had been looking at the floor, but he looked up at me as I was talking to him. His eyes were normally hazel, but right now, they were almost black. I could feel his anger, but I could feel him trying to contain it. Knowing how independent he liked to be, I waited to see if he could master it on his own before helping him.

It took him a few more moments, but he eventually began to calm himself down and his eyes returned to their normal hazel color. Adrik had been watching him the entire time, studying him as well as his demon. “Your demon is colder than normal too. Just like you. Even though your anger burns just as hot as ours, it comes from ice,” Adrik said.

Ivan chuckled. “That makes no sense and yet, it makes perfect sense.”

“I think it needs to be that way. Stephen is the closest to you when it comes to sending people to Hell. He just sends them to their own darkness instead. He needs to be able to withstand the cold that comes with that,” I said, looking at Adrik. “I do, however, think everyone needs contacts now though,” I said as I got up to give Stephen a hug. His vampiric vice-grip held me tightly. I could feel he was happy about this finally happening to him. I could also feel he was proud of himself for doing it on his own.

“I’m proud of you too. I knew you could figure it out without me,”I said silently to him. Since I was already touching him, hegot the message right away. He didn’t say a word, he just held me tighter for a moment longer.

Chapter Fifty-Two

Adrik

Watching Stephen finally connect withhis demon was somewhat different for me. As more time lapsed, the differences in everyone’s demons were becoming clearer to me. Everyone shared certain attributes with their demons. Misha’s liked the fuckery, Stephen’s was cold, calculated. Ivan’s was deadly and just barely contained chaos. I suspected Andrei’s would be calm but lethal, just like how Sephie had described his anger.

It was easier to tell the difference between Sephie and her demon. Her demon was just as opinionated as she was, but thankfully, they agreed on almost everything. While I was somewhat curious to see what that disagreement would look like, I was sure it was easier for her demon to just go along with Sephie’s opinion.

Mine was proving to be quite helpful. He’s what figured out Stephen was starting to sense other demons, much like I could. I think Stephen was right; we all felt something off about Sal, which is why we needed to talk to Dario. When I asked Stephen about his new level and he confirmed it, my demon was extremely proud of himself. It was hard not to laugh at his exuberance. Little guy is really taking to this using his powers for good thing …

“Misha, you said there are multiple ways that everything plays out. What are they?” Sephie asked.

“One scenario, they come here. The other scenario, we take the fight to them. I don’t know specifics about either. I was just shown those two scenarios, but Dario helps us in both,” he said.

“I think we need to have another conversation with Battista, as well as explore both those scenarios. I wouldn’t mind taking the fight to them if it means sparing the city. There’s going to be some bloodshed here. I don’t think all of the underbosses are going to go along with the change in management, but I’d like to keep it to a minimum,” I said.

Misha was checking through scenarios again. He said, “We’re going to have to go to Martin. That’s the only option for him.”

“Not surprising,” I said.

“How do you think Battista is finding out about the deals that Ricardo and Martin made? He must not know about Sal’s deal yet,” Andrei asked.

“I was wondering that too. I’d be curious to know how he found out about the others,” Stephen said.

“I’ll find out where he is tomorrow and schedule a meeting for the next time he’s in town if he’s not already,” Viktor said.

Misha quickly looked for Battista. “No need. He’s still here. I think he likes being close to the action,” he said. He was obviously having fun with using his demon to look for anything and everything. I might’ve just created a monster.

Viktor laughed. “You’re handy to have around now, kid. You make my job much faster.”

It did make me happy to see Viktor so relaxed with all of us once again. Since Stephen had helped him deal with his time in Syria, he was finally himself again. He barely had any fear toward our demons, which helped the rest of us be more comfortable around him. It was clear that he was happy with thechoice he’d made, and as long as that stayed true, I would be happy for him.

After everyone had gone back to their apartments for the evening, Sephie and I were like two teenagers, unable to keep our hands off each other. The door to the penthouse had barely closed and she literally jumped in my arms, wrapping herself around me as she giggled. I set her on the counter, pulling her clothes off as she feverishly worked to get mine off as well.

“I’ve been waiting for this all day long,” she said breathlessly. My lips barely gave her the chance to say anything. My arms were holding her as close to me as possible. It felt like my need for her was growing the longer we were together. Instead of falling into comfortable routines, getting somewhat bored with each other, we were still at the dating stage where we couldn’t get enough of each other. I could feel her need matched mine. She’d spent much of the evening pushing her warmth to me any time she caught me looking at her. She caught me looking quite a few times …

“What is wrong with us,” I said, smiling against her lips.

---