Page 186 of Rise of the Queen

“Yeah? We should train together again soon. I would love to see it,” I said. I looked down at Jessica. “And how are things with you? You definitely look much better than the last time we met,” I said, smiling at her.

She grinned at me. Her grey eyes lit up as she looked up at Ilya. “Much better. I can’t thank you enough for helping me that night. I’m very happy it happened, as I never would’ve met Ilya otherwise, but I would like to never be in that situation again.”

“I can’t say I blame you there. How long have you been able to see these things?” I asked her, curious about her ability to see angels.

“As long as I can remember. My parents think I’m crazy. My grandmother thought I was special and would argue with my parents all the time in my defense, but she died several years ago,” she said, looking down at the floor.

“You still see her though, don’t you?”

Her eyes got wide and her cute little smile stretched across her face. “I do. I see her all the time. She follows me around most of the time. That night at the fundraiser was the first time I’d seen other angels in the same place, at the same time. I usually only see one at a time. I was excited about it, but then everyone thought I was crazy.” Her bright face darkened as she thought about that night. “I’m not sure what would’ve happened if Ilya hadn’t heard the commotion from the kitchen.”

I glanced at Ilya, who was watching her. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer to him. “I have a feeling Ilya hadbeen watching you for longer than you realize,” I said, winking at him.

She looked up at me, surprised. She then looked at Ilya, who had a guilty look on his face. “It’s true,” he said. “I had seen you earlier in the evening and kept an eye on you the whole night. When you didn’t come out of the kitchen, I might’ve walked over to find out what was going on. That’s when I saw what was happening and went to get help.”

“You were watching me? Really?” she asked.

“I mean, not in the stalker kinda way. I was trying to see if I could catch your eye, but you kept your head down almost the entire time,” he said, smiling at her.

“I don’t like attention from strangers,” she said quietly.

“I don’t either. It’s why I surround myself with giant men. They keep me hidden,” I said.

She grinned at me, her cute face once again brighter. “That’s one of my favorite things about Ilya.” His wide smile stretched across his face at her admission. It was official. They were adorable together. It was easy to see they both cared about each other very much, even after only a short time.

I was watching them with each other for a moment when she looked at me very seriously. I chuckled. “You can ask whatever you’d like, Jessica,” I said.

“How did you know I wanted to ask you something?” she asked me, her eyes wide.

“It was written all over your face. What would you like to know?”

“You’re … different from the last time I saw you. You look different to me,” she said, shyly.

“You’re right. I am different. Can you tell me how I look different to you?” I asked.

She looked around nervously, then took a step closer to me. “You have … wings,” she said. She was so cute, it was difficult not to laugh at her. I didn’t want to tell her Andrei had already shown us what she could see the last time we saw her. “They’re different colors now.”

“What colors are they now?”

“When I saw you last time, they were only white. Now, they fade to black toward the ends,” she said. She glanced over her shoulder, looking at Adrik. “His are almost all black now.” She looked at Ivan next. “His are like yours, but they have red tips. I don’t know what it means, but every other angel I’ve ever seen has only had white wings. I don’t know why you’re all different.”

“Can you see anything on those three men?” I asked her, pointing to the Wonder Twins and Stephen. They were on the other side of the kitchen from Ivan and Adrik, so I don’t think she was paying attention to them before.

She studied all three of them for a few moments. “They’re like you were the last time I saw you, but it’s harder to see. It’s not as visible to me. I didn’t see that last time. Are they different too?”

“Yes, they are. We’re all different from the last time you saw us,” I said. I couldn’t help but smile at her. She was trying so hard to be brave, but it was somewhat overwhelming for her. I could feel her calm down every time Ilya touched her. It was very sweet to witness.

“What happened?” Ilya asked.

“That’s a bit of a long story. I’m not sure how much we should share right now, but it’s all necessary for what’s coming,” I said in English. I switched to Russian and added, “Everyone but your brother can now make their eyes go black. I have a new color too. I’m not sure how much she can handle right away, so let’s take baby steps for now. She’s a very sweet girl, but she’s very clearly overwhelmed.”

Ilya nodded in agreement. He kept the conversation going in Russian as he added, “She is overwhelmed. She’s trying to understand everything. I told her a little bit about what happened to me. She’s fighting against wanting to believe it and believing her parents’ assessment that she’s crazy. She wants to believe everything, but she’s been told she’s crazy for long enough that she won’t let herself believe it.”

My heart hurt hearing that she was struggling that much. I looked at him, his arm still protectively around her. “Ilya, you’re good for her. She’s good for you too. I can see it clearly. Hell, even Vitaliy can see it. He told me when you guys first got here. We can try and help her out as much as we can with accepting that she’s different. She’s even different from all of us. Keep telling her that it’s okay she’s different and that you believe her. It’ll take time, but you can help her turn it around.”

“I tell her often, but I will tell her more,” he said, looking down and smiling sweetly at her. They were all kinds of adorable. I just wanted to squeeze both of them.

She was somewhat nervous that she couldn’t understand what we were saying. “Don’t worry, Jessica. We were talking about how absolutely adorable you are. I don’t know how you’ve managed to do it, but he’s already wrapped around your finger,” I said, smiling at her shock.

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