Chapter 399
Adrik
Sephie was right. Stephen did look lighter. He was always the quiet one. His brain never shu t off
though. He was constantly analyzing everything and everyone around him. We finally saw him rx.
Really, truly rx. He wasn’t on guard. He wasn’t waiting for something to happen. He was just
present. And happy.
Vitaliy had remained at the restaurant with Battista while we left. When he got back to the penthouse,
we were all still discussing what had happened, but the conversation was turning more light-hearted.
The guys were telling Sephie how effective her demon eyes were to the normal person.
“I’m pretty impressed they didn’t pi ss themselves, spider monkey. Your eyes were as ck as I’ve ever
seen them. And you just sprung it on them. Your eyes were normal, then you looked down as you
stood up and holy shi t, they were ck, Andrei said,ughing.
“Not gonna lie, I’ve kind of missed them,” Ivan said.
Stephen snapped his fingers, pointing at Ivan. “Same.”
Vitaliy walked in with Aleksei. We could tell he was eager to ask more questions. Mostly, he wanted to
know how she had such control over her eyes.
“I kind of don’t. I’ve been wearing contacts around you since I met you. My eyes have a mind of their
own and change without me knowing sometimes. I got contacts so I wouldn’t scare you,” she said.
“Change to ck on their own?” Vitaliy asked.
“No, the ck is the one that I can control the most,” she said. She closed her eyes briefly. When she
opened them, they were just as ck as they had been at the restaurant. I couldn’t help butugh at
Vitaliy’s shocked expression when he saw them. I walked to her, wrapping my arm around her waist.
“That’s not even the scariest one, Vitaliy. But it is very effective,” I said. She locked up at me and I
watched the ck fade into the background as the blue took over. I smiled at her, pointing back toward
my father. She looked at him and I exined that blue meant she loved me. He stood up to get a closer
look.
“Your eyes normally have that blue color, but where are the other two colors?” he asked.
“That’s how it started. The brown took over the other two and turned dark. Then the other two colors
started taking over for different emotions. The only one that’spletely different is when she’s
scared,” I said. “It’s the only emotion she struggles to contain.”
Vitaliy was clearly impressed. “Battista waspletely in awe. He wouldn’t shu t up after you left,
honestly.” He looked slightly amused, but also slightly perturbed. “He’ll do anything you need him to do
from now on. He just asks that you help him with your unique set of skills when he needs
them.”
I could feel Sephie’s slight bit of worry. “How often is he going to need them?”
Vitaliy chuckled. “He won’t take advantage. He’s a very capable businessman in his own right, but he
asionally runs into people he needs help with. That woman being one of them. He said he has more
information on the mayor, as well. He would like to meet again tomorrow. Only at his house this
N?velDrama.Org ? 2024.
time.”
“Why his house? Why not the zoo?” Sephie asked, trying to hide her smile.
Vitaliyughed. “It’s going to be a very interesting discussion, dkaya. It’s not meant for everyone to
hear.”
We arrived at Battista’s house the following afternoon. We were all somewhat on edge, as we didn’t
know quite what i house instead of the restaurant, but Vitally assured us it would be fine. He still only
brought Aleksel with him, just as he Stephen’s sisters, which I found odd.
l
ect from meeting at his
before with
We were shown to arge study. The woman who showed us to the room informed us Battista had
gotten a phone call right before we arrived. He was finishing up and would be in shortly, We were all
quiet as we waited on him.
He walked in, obviously rushed, a few minutester. “My apologies. Unexpected phone call, but it
pertains to what I’m about to tell you, so I needed to take it,” Battista said, getting right to business. He
looked at me and Sephie, then to Vitaliy, who had a bit of an unreadable smirk on his face. “You still
haven’t said a word to them about any of it, have you?” Battista asked Vitaliy.
Vitaliy grunted. “No, I haven’t. You exin it better anyway. You know more than I do.”
I immediately felt Sephie stiffen, as well as saw each one of the guys sit up a little straighter. We did not
like surprises.
Battista noticed the shift in mood in the room. He waved his hand flippantly in front of him. “No one is in
danger. At least not yet. But this conversation might be difficult to believe,” he said. He looked at me, as
he started to exin. “You’re aware your father has very powerful contacts around the world?” he
asked. I nodded. He inhaled deeply, contemting how to phrase what he was about to say. “They’re
more powerful than you might think. Some of them are fighting wars that normal people know nothing
about. There are dark forces that are vying for the destruction of humanity. There’s a small group of us
that are fighting against that. We have a few people, with gifts like your father, who are helping, but I’ve
never met so many gifted people in one ce until Vitaliy brought you to me.” He looked at all the guys.
“I’m aware that you all have gifts as well, but I don’t know specifics. I know she’s trying to keep the
focus on her to protect you all, but I saw the subtle signs that you’re helping her.”
“What do you want from us?” I asked. I didn’t have a bad feeling about this, but I still pulled Sephie
closer to me after hearing what Battista said.
“It’s not what we want from you. It’s more what we’d like to give you. We want to help. You don’t realize
how dangerous Ricardo De Luca is. Or the Colombian,” he snapped his fingers, like he couldn’t
remember a name.
“Martin,” Sephie said. Battista pointed to her, silently grateful for the assist. “They’ve both made deals
with evesting consequences, haven’t they?” she asked.
Battista looked at her, wide-eyed. “You know?”
“Not everything. Just that those two are the keys to all of this that’s going on.”