Chapter 454


    454


    Sephie


    I left Viktor still seething, along with the rest of them. I just needed a break after everything today. I


    didn’t even do that much today. Stephen did the majority of it. I still found myself feeling exhausted. I’d


    been fightinging to terms with Viktor avoiding me for so long and I just didn’t have the strength to


    do so any longer.


    Apparently Stephen was more talented than he thought. I wasn’t able to hold this back any longer after


    he helped me get rid of everything from


    earlier in the day.


    Once I closed the bedroom door behind me, I fell apart. I felt guilty for doing so, knowing they were all


    going to feel it. There wasn’t anything I could do about it either. If I tried to keep it from them, it made it


    worse. They were condemned to feel everything I was feeling from now on and I didn’t know how to fix


    that.


    I was sitting on the bed, hugging my knees to my chest, my forehead resting on my arms when I heard


    Adrik quietlye in the bedroom. He didn’t say anything, he just climbed on the bed behind me,


    wrapping his arms and legs around me. His hands lightly ran over my arms and legs, trying to offer


    comfort where he could.


    Instead of staying curled up in a ball, I turned toward him, climbing into hisp. My arms and legs now


    wrapped around him; I could feel the pull in my chest from him. His hands ran lightly through my hair


    and over my back as he held onto me while I worked to get control of myself.


    After letting me cry for several minutes, he finally asked, “I know you’re upset about Viktor, but there’s


    something else now isn’t there?” I nodded my head against his shoulder, without picking my head up. I


    felt his hand on the back of my neck, pulling me far enough away that he could look at me. He didn’t


    need me to answer. He was good enough now that he could find the answer on his own. He looked


    pained when he found what he was looking for, but then a small smile appeared on his face. “You seem


    to have forgotten how upset I was at not being able to feel you this afternoon.*


    I did forget. He was angry with me for figuring out a way to shut him outpletely. As far as he was


    concerned, my reason for doing so didn’t matter. I couldn’t help the small smile that gradually stretched


    across my face as I remembered his reaction to not being able to feel me.


    “I’m not the only one that feels that way, Sephie. Given the chance to be connected to you or not


    connected to you, they’re all going to pick you. Every single time,” he said.


    “Maybe not all of them,” I said, once again thinking about Viktor.


    He took a deep breath. I could feel his frustration at the situation as well. “I would’ve said he would


    come around, but after what just happened, I’m honestly not sure anymore.”


    I let my fingers trace the outline of his face, running through his ever-present stubble. He closed his


    eyes, leaning into my touch. “Maybe he needs time to realize how much better he feels after Stephen


    helped him? I don’t know either. I never expected this to happen. It’s not just you and Ivan, though. It’s


    all of them. They’re all irritated with Viktor. I’m not sure if it’s making everything worse or not. Maybe he


    does feel like he’s being singled out,” I said.


    “I don’t know either. What I do know, however,” he said as he cupped my face with both of his hands,


    pressing his lips to mine. “Is that I’m starting to tell the difference between you and your demon. It also


    was very angry with me earlier today when I told you to never shut me out again.” He had a boyish grin


    on his face as he watched the surprise on my face.


    “Really?”


    “Really. I started noticing it when we were at the hotel. We all did, I think. But then when you got mad at


    me, it was like you were doubly mad. It was your anger, plus some,” he said.


    I was quiet for a moment, mulling over what he’d just told me. “What if by acknowledging them we’re


    strengthening the connection even more? It seems like each time we do, something new like that


    happens. Mine tried to save me, all of ours tried to warn us. Maybe they want to talk to us,” I said.


    “So now I have to deal with Ivan in my head, as well as my demon?” he said, faking inconvenience.


    454


    I giggled. “You’re going to have a fanel of voices in your head.”


    His handsome smile stretched across his face. “I’m happy to see your smile. You’re lighter again. WhenExclusive content from N?velDrama.Org.


    you’re not thinking about Viktor. Stephen really did help you. So did Viktor. The difference was


    obvious.”


    “Maybe he just needs Kostya to fix him again and he’ll feel better too,” I said. “What happened after I


    left? I haven’t heard anymotion. I guess they aren’t fighting out there.”


    “Ivan told me toe back here. He said he wouldn’t be able to stand you feeling the way you were


    when you left for very long,” he said. I looked down, trying to keep the guilty feeling from growing too


    strong. I felt his fingers lift my chin so I would meet his gaze once more. “He just wants you to feel


    better. He would’ve said the same thing even if he couldn’t feel you. It was very obvious that you were


    upset.” He leaned forward, his lips against mine. He pulled back so he could look me in the eyes again,


    searching for the thoughts that were running through my head. He pulled me to him, holding me tightly.


    “We’ll figure this out. Promise.”


    We sat in silence for a while, before his curiosity got the best of him. “You and Andrei can talk to each


    other almost as easily as you talk to me and Ivan now, can’t you?”


    I nodded my head against his shoulder again. “It’s easier the more we do it. I still don’t know how he


    communicates with Misha. I haven’t tried it with him yet. I’m experimenting with Stephen. I think he’s


    the most difficult right now. I need to be touching him to get information to him.”


    “But he’s incredibly observant. I think half the time he already knows whatever it is we need to tell him,”


    Adrik said. “I never knew that guy had this much going on in his head all these years.”


    1 sighed. “Like I told him, I’m just d he finally decided to show everyone how incredibly smart he is. I


    wish Viktor would pay attention and see how much better Stephen has been since he got rid of


    everything from his past he’s been carrying around.” I groaned in frustration, falling backward so I


    laying on the bed, my legs still wrapped around Adrik.


    “I like where this is going,” he said, his s*xy smirk on his face when I squinted my eyes at him. I


    covered my eyes with my arm, trying to get my brain to just stop for a minute. He took the opportunity


    to lift my shirt as high as he could get it without making me move so his hands could roam over my


    breasts and stomach. I had to admit, it was helping me rx. “Can you ask your dad or Kostya what to


    do, solnishko?”


    King of the Underworld