Page 67 of Rise of the Queen

He simply laughed, shaking his head as he got up to walk to his room for the night. She looked at me, still grinning. “He’s going to be so surprised when it works and he figures out I’m right.”

“I think he’s still getting used to having someone who isn’t afraid of him more than anything. It still surprises him,” I said, pulling her with me to the bedroom. “How did it go with Stephen?” I asked once we were alone.

“I think it went well. It took him longer to believe everything than the others, but his gift isn’t as immediately obvious. He did feel my anger today for the first time. That kind of freaked him out,” she said, trying not to laugh. “It was barely registering for me, but he felt it right away. Ivan caught on immediately to what happened. That guy. He’s so observant. He figured out Stephen’s gift before Stephen did. I’m always impressed with how well you and Ivan handle everything weird that happens. You two are always the best with everything. It helps me, if I’m being honest, so please never stop.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it. I also think you help us more than you realize. I never really thought about it until you let Vitaliy touchyou after you guys searched for Henry. He was shocked that we were able to feel your anger and not be consumed by it. It hit me that you also share your control with us when we feel your emotions. I think it’s similar with me and Ivan when it comes to everything weird that’s been happening. You share your capacity for taking it all in stride with both of us. Out of all of them, Ivan seems to have the strongest connection with you next to me. I think he gets extra perks because of that.”

“Your mother told me that the connections with all of you are about to get much deeper.” She stopped me from buttoning up my shirt that I had just put on her as we were talking. She grabbed both of my hands, looking me in the eyes. Her eyes were swirling. We still weren’t entirely sure what it meant when they couldn’t pick a color to stick to, but I loved watching it happen. It was like staring into the universe every single time I was able to witness it. “She said you’re going to struggle with being jealous at first when the connections with the guys deepen. You’re so good at sharing me with all of them. I want to make sure I always honor that. I want you to tell me when you feel like you need more time. I don’t ever want you to feel jealous, even though I think it’s adorable when you do.”

I smiled at her, still hypnotized by her eyes. “I know they need you too. You’re very good at making sure I don’t have a reason to feel jealous, but I promise I will tell you if I start feeling that way. I try to remind myself that there’s only one of you. The odds are not in your favor. You have way more responsibility trying to take care of all of us than we do trying to take care of one of you.” She continued to button up my shirt, her eyes still swirling, with her heart-stopping smile across her face. “I’m beginning to think that your eyes swirling mean something specific, but I can’t figure out what that is. You don’t feel like you’re in complete turmoil right now. You feel happy, but your eyes can’tpick a color. I’m not complaining. I love it. It might be my second favorite thing they do.”

“What’s the first?” she asked, climbing into bed.

“When they turn blue.” As soon as I spoke the words out loud, I was hit with her warmth that meant she loved me. I looked in her eyes after lying down so she could lie across my chest and they were the deepest depth of the ocean blue. I sighed, feeling completely spellbound in her eyes. “I’ll never get tired of that.”

“Please don’t,” she said as she lay across my chest, her warmth still spreading through my body. I held her close as I listened to her fall asleep, thinking about how words were no longer adequate to describe the love I have for her.

I woke up later than usual the next morning. I could hear that everyone was in the kitchen already. I ran my hand through Sephie’s hair and she didn’t move. She must need a late day again. There’s been a lot happening. It zaps her more than everyone else. I could see it when she broke Stephen’s sisters, but she fought it for a few days again. Looks like she lost her fight this morning.

I watched her sleep for longer than I normally would have. I really wanted to stay asleep with her this morning, but I had an early meeting that I needed to be at. It did not make me happy to do so, but I carefully moved her so I could get out of bed. She curled up under the covers, still sound asleep.

The shaking started as I was getting ready. I hurried, picking her up with me as I left the bedroom. The guys all knew what was happening as soon as they saw me carrying her.They immediately began arguing over who was going to stay with her this time. Watching them argue with each other while trying to remain quiet enough to not wake her up was comical. Surprisingly, Ivan won out this time.

“If I could feel what it’s like to be hit by a truck, I’m fairly sure that’s what I feel like now,” he said, as he positioned himself on the couch so I could lay her on him.

“I’m surprised it’s taken you this long to feel that way. You seemed to be immune from getting zapped any time anything new happened. Did something else happen that we don’t know about yet?” I asked.

“I’m seeing everyone’s demons now. It started after Stephen’s sisters,” he said quietly.

“I thought you could only see them when they started to consume the person?”

“I did too. It’s hard to explain, but I saw them take over the person. Now I can see them waiting to be let in, so to speak. Like they’re riding around on people’s shoulders sometimes. If it wasn’t so disturbing, it might be funny. They’re like pets on some people,” he said.

“That’s a new level, for sure. But it seems very useful. Stephen was right. He needs to turn you into a vampire so you have time to save the whole world.”

He laughed quietly as he finished tucking in the blanket around Sephie. Since Ivan wasn’t quite as warm as Andrei, we used an extra blanket to keep her from getting cold. She snuggled in next to him, still sound asleep, hugging his arm as she continued her dreams. I looked from her to him. “I know you’re going to, but make sure you tell her that when you guys wake up. She’s had conversations we don’t know about lately. She’ll likely have insight. We’ll talk about it more tonight too,” I said.

He nodded as he yawned, laying his head down so he could fall back asleep for the morning.

We finished breakfast as quietly as we could, then left the penthouse. Vitaliy followed me to my office, wanting a few minutes alone. “She was right, you know,” he said, once it was just the two of us.

I laughed. “She’s right about literally everything. You’re going to need to specify.”

“I didn’t believe it could happen so it wasn’t happening. After she chastised me last night, I tried to believe it could happen and it did. I saw your mother last night.”

He had a look on his face that I’d never seen my father have. He was still in his memories as he was standing in front of me, but he looked more at peace than I’d ever seen him. I stayed silent for a few moments, not wanting to break him out of his thoughts. Finally, he remembered he was in my office and looked at me, almost embarrassed. I couldn’t help but smirk at him.

“I had someone tell me when I first met Sephie that she will show you the best parts of yourself if you let her. That statement was completely correct, but when she loves you, those best parts become better than you ever thought possible. You just have to let her love you. She does the rest.”

Vitaliy stood silent in my office, contemplating what I’d just said. “I’m very proud of the man you’ve become,” he said. With that, he turned and left my office, leaving me stunned.

My meetings felt like they were dragging on the entire day. I couldn’t get my mind off of everything happening with Sephie and the rest of us. I could feel what she was trying to do to Stephen’s sisters. I fully supported it. I got just a glimpse of the pain that Stephen had been carrying around his entire life because of them. I wanted to see their destruction as much asSephie did. If she hadn’t been successful in breaking them, I would’ve offered to have them killed before they left the city.

When it comes to those five men, I would do anything. My life was in their hands every single day. I trusted them. I loved them like brothers. I would make sure they were always protected.

I found myself thinking about Viktor more than usual. He was the last one to realize his gift, and it seemed like it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. Sephie was right. He really did love his job, and I’d noticed he would send one of the other guys to stay with her, rather than taking the opportunity himself. Not because he didn’t love her. He very much did. But he loved his duties too. I think he loved the distraction of his duties more than anything. Sephie had a habit of finding the dark parts of you that needed a light shone on them. Viktor was avoiding that.

I could order him to spend time with her, but that felt rude. Viktor was a bit of a father figure to me, especially when I was younger and Vitaliy was still in charge. Viktor gave me the guidance I never got from Vitaliy, even though Viktor was only a couple of years older than I was.

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