Chapter 451


    451


    Adrik


    I was concerned about Sephie and the Wonder Twins. They’d been very quiet both on the way hack to


    the penthouse and since we’d been back. Sephie refused to show me what they’d all seen. Stephen, to


    his credit, seemed to be handling it better than those three.


    Sephie managed to learn a new trick, where she shut me outpletely. I could barely feel her and I


    couldn’t see anything in her head. I couldn’t


    even talk to her.


    “Okay, I won’t look. I promise. Just please stop whatever it is you’re doing to shut me out,” I said to her


    as we were all in the kitchen. She still wouldn’t look at me, but she at least let me feel what she was


    feeling again.


    “How did you do that, princess? You’ve never been able to turn everything else off before,” Ivan asked.


    Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    “She doesn’t want you knowing what we saw,” Andrei said. Even he looked incredibly troubled. Misha


    hadn’t said a word in over an hour either. It was likely a record for him.


    “I’m not being a s*it. You don’t need to see any of it. Trust me,” she said. She looked at Andrei, asking,


    “what was your idea at the hotel again? We need help getting rid of this. I’m not gonna be able to


    handle this for very long and you two aren’t either.”


    I could feel her anxiety slowly increasing, but I could also feel all of her emotions were justpletely


    out of control. She was fighting hard to keep it as contained as possible, but this was not a battle she


    would be able to keep up for very long. I pulled her to me, surprised to feel her body shaking. I looked


    at Andrei, hoping he had a solution for this.


    “Please tell me you figured out a solution. We just got rid of the shaking and now it’s back,” I said, my


    hands rubbing her back lightly, trying to help keep her calm.


    Andrei nced at Viktor, then to Stephen. “I think Viktor is here to help us as much as he is to help


    other people. If we’re going to be a witness to all the atrocities in the world, we’re going to need help. I


    think Stephen can help us get rid of it, Viktor can help us heal from it and make sure we’re not


    vulnerable. I think Stephen gets the worst of it out of all of us, especially if we dump everything on him


    to get rid of, so I think Viktor needs to concentrate on him first.”


    “How did you help Misha get rid of his anger, Stephen? What do you do with it if you don’t send it back


    to the person?” Ivan asked.


    Stephenughed quietly. “It’s a bit of a process, but I think I can get faster at it. You might think I’m


    crazy if I exin it in detail.”


    “Try us,” I said.


    He looked at me, somewhat skeptically, but started to exin. “Emotions are just energy, right? Some


    of the time, when we struggle with emotions, it’s because they’re stuck in our body. This is why


    acupuncture works so well, especially for Sephie. It opens all the channels so her emotions can flow


    freely. It’s what helped her master her control. If your emotions are flowing, you’re feeling them the way


    you should be feeling them. They’re meant toe and go, not stay. We’re all so used to being stuck,


    whether it’s in anger, sadness, trauma, whatever, that we feel Sephie and we’re suddenly overwhelmed


    because her emotions are doing what ours should be. Once again, she’s showing us what we should


    be doing, instead of what we are doing. She lets her emotions flow through her like water. Just like any


    body of water, you want to keep it moving. When it stagnates, that’s where the issuese in. When I


    took Misha’s anger, it wasn’t as much about removing the anger altogether. It was more about


    removing what was blocking it so it could flow through him once more.” He paused, looking at all of us


    like he was unsure if he should continue. He inhaled deeply, deciding to continue. “There’s a little more


    to this level up than any of us realized. I’m not sure if it’s ever going to work with anyone else outside


    this room, but I just had to touch Misha to figure out why he was struggling with his anger toward


    Giana. Remove that, everything flows again.”


    Sephie, who had her head leaned against my chest, stood up and turned toward Stephen. “Misha saw


    the younger version of himself that was quick to judge people in Giana and it irritated him.” She


    immediately looked at Misha, apologizing. “Sometimes I can’t control my mouth.”


    He grinned at her. “It’s okay, gazelle. You’re 100% right. Stephen didn’t even have to tell me anything


    when it happened. Whatever he did, I had the


    451


    “I think I have a theory on that one, too. And I think Andrei is correct in that this is where Viktores


    in for all of us. Because of the subject matter that none of us were expecting today, you three


    instinctively tried to protect yourselves and Sephie tried to protect everyone since we’re all connected


    to her. Essentially, you shut yourselves down to try and feel safe. It’spletely understandable and


    it’s apletely normal response. I lived that way for years, to be quite honest, I think you’re still shut


    down, still trying to protect yourselves which is why you feel like s*it and why Sephie doesn’t want us to


    feel her and doesn’t want anyone in her head right now. The dam needs to be broken, if you will. Then


    Viktor can repair what was damaged today. I also think before we do this again, you three need a tune


    up from him before we go. I think that’ll help next time,” Stephen said.


    “What about you, though? Did you see everything we gave you today?” Sephie asked.


    “I did. I see it each time, but I also think I can recognize that it’s not mine: It might be easier for me


    since I’m already concentrating on sending everything back to the person. I don’t get stuck like you


    three have. I think that’s where the problem lies,” Stephen said.


    “I think Viktor should fix you anyway,” Sephie said. “You’re not going to be everyone’s dumping


    grounds.”


    Viktor, who had been quiet until this point finally spoke up. “I think Stephen and Andrei are both right. If


    you’re going to be seeing the worst side of humanity all the time, you’re going to need help. Just like it


    doesn’t make sense that Stephen would break half the world’s poption, I don’t think it makes sense


    for me to go around fixing half the world’s poption either. I don’t like people that much. I think you


    guys are there for the heavy lifting. I’m there to make sure you’re in top shape to do the heavy lifting.”


    Sephie and Stephen looked at each other, then both looked at Viktor. “You still have your own issues


    that you need Stephen’s help with, too. If you help us, he helps you,” Sephie said, sternly. She was


    starting to feel grumpy the longer she carried around whatever it was she got from Battista’s associate


    today.


    Thankfully, Viktor didn’t protest.


    “Good. Let’s do this now, then. I’m not happy that she feels like she wants to shut me out. Someone


    make that go away before I get angry,” I said, pulling her against me once more.


    King of the Underworld