*Adrik*
“You can do what now?” Ivan asked, completely dumbfounded.
“There will be times when even Stephen will be ineffectual. Like with Ricardo and Martin. The two of them made deals that are eternal, meaning even if Stephen breaks them in this lifetime, their souls will still belong to the demons in the next lifetime. I’m what will break that cycle,” I said. Sephie tightened her hold on me.
“Everybody gather ‘round for what I’m about to say, because apparently my eyes are choosing a new color but it’s fleeting right now,” she said. They all looked at her like she was playing a joke on them.
“No, she’s really serious. It’s happened twice, but they don’t stay like that for very long,” I said.
They all moved closer so they could see her eyes clearly as she said, “he really is the King of the Underworld now.”
I watched as everyone’s eyes went wide and their mouths fell open. They stood in stunned silence for a few moments, before Stephen finally composed himself enough to say, “you know, I never considered that this might create new issues with Vlad. He might think Seph is a kindred spirit now that she can do this. This might cause jealousy issues.”
Finally, everyone relaxed and laughed. Andrei looked again at Sephie, then looked at me. “I think they’ve decided on the color though, Boss.” He pointed to her. “They’re still red.”
I quickly turned to look at her, surprised they hadn’t changed again already. “I wonder why it was so quick to change earlier but now they’re staying red.”
“Because it’s not me doing it this time. I didn’t realize it before, but I do now,” Sephie said.
“Really? What about the black though?” I asked. If it was Sephie’s demon switching her eyes to red, then did that take the place of the black now? I watched as her eyes slowly changed from red to black. Okay, new favorite transition. “Huh. What’s the difference if it’s your demon doing both then?”
She was quiet for a moment, then she looked at me and said, “the black is a warning to everyone else of who I am. The red is homage to you.”
“Shut up.”
“No, it’s true,” she said. “Wait, I can prove it. Bubba, come here.” She stood up from her spot on the counter and made Andrei stand next to me so we could both see her. “Full disclosure, I’m using Andrei because he’s so darn good at looking in my head,” she said as she positioned us the way she wanted us. “Okay, you watch,” she said to me. Then she looked at Andrei and said, “you watch too, but I want you to look in my head while I’m doing this so you know what I’m thinking about for each one.” She was looking only at Andrei as she switched her eyes to each color that we knew of. She’d even mastered switching them to white without losing control, but we still all felt her panic when she did switch them to white. She went from normal, to blue, to green, to amber, to both versions of white, to black, to purple all while looking at Andrei.
Then she looked only at me while she told Andrei, “keep looking in my head while I do this so you can verify that I’m thinking the same thoughts.” She ran through every color once again, but this time, her eyes turned red at the last. She smiled at me, then looked at Andrei. “I was thinking the exact same thoughts each time, wasn’t I?”
“Yeah,” he looked at me. “She thought the same sentence that she said earlier, about you really being the King of the Underworld when she was looking at me, but they never switched to red when she was only looking at me.”
“See? Special for you,” she said, her wide smile stretching across her face.
“Okay, I vote for special colors for all of us then. Green is mine. I think we can all agree I enjoy spicy Sephie the most. You guys can fight over the other colors,” Misha said, trying to stir up shit.
“Misha, you’re my favorite,” Sephie said, laughing.
Ivan had been quietly contemplating the news. He asked, “so this isn’t something you’re going to be using often, is it?”
I chuckled. “I said the same thing. No, it’s not. It’s basically the fail-safe, if you will. Those that Viktor can’t fix, Stephen will take care of. There will be a very select few that Stephen won’t be able to take care of. That’s when I’ll use it.”
“What happens to the souls that you condemn to Hell?” Misha asked.
“They stay there, along with the demons. Sephie’s dad told me I was the only one that could grant them reprieve once I’d condemned them. I’m still not entirely sure what that means, but I’m guessing they have to go through me to get out of Hell,” I said.
“Yeah, that’s a heavy responsibility,” Viktor said.
“Exactly why I’m not planning on using it very often,” I said.
“Is this why you feel different?” Andrei asked.
“You noticed it too?” Sephie asked Andrei. He nodded his head. “What does it feel like to you?” she asked him. “I’m curious if it’s the same as me.”
“He usually feels hot, like you. Also like Ivan. You three are always hot. It’s still there, but now there’s like ice there too, somehow. I don’t understand how that could be, but that’s the only way I know to explain it,” Andrei said.
“Yeah, that’s the same for me, too,” Sephie said. “It’s doesn’t make sense, but I don’t know how to describe it either.”
“Both Sephie’s dad and Sephie said it’s the balance between good and evil,” I said. I had leaned against the counter where Sephie had previously been sitting and pulled her back against me. She was still facing everyone else as we continued talking.
Andrei looked at her, smiling. “Sephie agrees,” he said. I turned her around enough I could see her deep purple eyes. I smiled at her, kissing her quickly. “Even Sephie feels a little different now, too. Did something happen to her too?” Andrei asked. He was studying Sephie as he asked the question, much like she was studying me earlier.
“It’s because of him, I think,” she said.
“She’s right. Because she’s so connected to me, she’s gaining power too. She’s going to give Ivan a boost too. You three will soon become connected with your demons, much like we have because of this, too,” I said.
*“What about Viktor?”* Ivan asked me and Sephie.
*“I asked the same thing. He’s going to need Stephen’s help one more time and then he should be fine with everything. Yesterday helped tremendously. Kostya has been helping him every night as well,”* I told him.
He nodded discreetly. Stephen was the one who brought it up to the rest of the group, asking Viktor, “how do you feel after yesterday? Better this time? Do you think you need it again? I don’t want you to be freaked out if we all suddenly show up with black eyes one day.”
Viktor chuckled. “Yeah, I think one more time. Just to be safe.”
*“I told you Stephen already knows most of what we’re talking about before we tell him,”* I told Sephie. She pulled my arms around her even tighter.
“I think we should stay here for another night. Dario can wait until tomorrow. I think it’s more important we have one more night where we don’t need to worry about anything extra,” Sephie announced.
Stephen raised his eyebrow looking at Viktor. “After lunch then?” Viktor agreed with that plan.
“Then it’s settled,” Sephie said. She turned in my arms to face me, her eyes were deep blue. I could feel her warmth spreading through my body.
*“I must be extra special to get two colors all to myself,”* I said to her, pushing her curls back from her face.
*“You are extra special. Don’t let it go to your head,”* she replied, grinning at me.
*“I wouldn’t dream of it,”* I said, pressing my lips to hers.
I could feel her relax into me as I held her tightly, enjoying the quiet moment with her.
*God, I love her.*