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I laughed softly. “I made him a pinky swear.”
“Have you done that with all of them?” she asked.
“Not all of them yet. Most of them.” I looked at her, curious as to why she would ask. She smiled softly.
“You’re ensuring that your souls stay linked. This won’t be the only lifetime you spend together.”
“But it’s just a childish thing. I only tell them it has that much power to get them to agree to it because it’s so silly.”
“You might think it’s childish, Sephie. They take it very seriously. You should too. You have more power than you think. I told your boyfriend this the first time I saw you after you and Ivan were taken. You, your boyfriend, and Ivan, you’re older than the others. The one who can see the unseen is older than the rest of them, but not as old as you. Part of why you’re here and why you’re all together is to help them all discover their gifts. You didn’t think the others had gifts, but now you’re discovering they do. The other two do too, but they’re scared. They see it in you, which helps them to see it in themselves. It’ll take time.”
“I mean, no pressure.”
She laughed. “There really isn’t any pressure. There’s no guarantee they’ll discover it in this lifetime, but by binding your souls to spend future lifetimes together, you’re telling them you’ll be there to help them whenever they’re ready. The one who just discovered he’s like you is the youngest. But seeing you made him brave. What happened last night was the first step. None of us thought he was going to discover his gift this lifetime.”
I felt goosebumps over my entire body when she said that last sentence. My eyes went wide as I looked at her. I could once again see the outline of a pair of wings as she stood next to the bed, smiling down at me. “I work with your father, Sephie,” she said.
“I knew I wasn’t crazy when I saw them the first time!” I said. “I even told Andrei earlier that I felt like you were supposed to be in my life.”
“You’ve always known, Sephie. You sometimes need a reminder to trust yourself, just like he does.”
“Do you see my father regularly?” I asked. She nodded her head. “Will you tell him I miss him?”
“He knows, but I’ll tell him. He still watches you, even though you have Ivan now. He’s very proud of you, Sephie,” she said, squeezing my hand. “I need to take your arm out of the sling again. Should I get your boyfriend and Ivan first?”
“No, it’s manageable now. It still hurts, but I can take it.”
“Just because you can doesn’t mean you should, you know. They want to help you. You know it frustrates them when you don’t let them?” I just looked at her, not knowing what to say. She smiled sweetly at me again. “I know you’re used to being on your own. Used to taking care of everything by yourself. But you’re not by yourself anymore. Even if I didn’t know everything I know, one look at them and I’d be able to tell any one of them would do anything you needed. It’s okay to be completely vulnerable with them. Your boyfriend especially. Your connection is stronger than I’ve ever seen it, but you’re still holding back from him because you’re scared when you’re hurt. It’s not your fault. You’ve been conditioned to be so, but you can let go now. Much like how his anger was causing an imbalance with you, you holding on to your pain will start to cause an imbalance with him. You helped him with his anger. Let him help you with your pain.” She didn’t wait for me to answer, she simply walked out to get Adrik and Ivan.
Adrik walked to the bed on my good side, grabbing my hand. “You feel better each time, solnishko. Soon it won’t hurt so much when your arm comes out of the sling.” He leaned down and kissed my forehead.
Ivan walked to the opposite side of the bed, ready to hold my arm once it was taken out of the sling. It hurt much less when he did, if I was being honest with myself. I still felt pain when my arm was free of the sling, but it was much less this time and the needles barely hurt when she stuck them in my shoulder and over my ribs. I could always breathe much deeper when the needles were over my ribs without excruciating pain.
“Can you leave those ones in all the time?” I asked, nodding to the needles over my ribs. “I can breathe so much better when they’re in.”
Ivan immediately got worried. “Are you having trouble breathing, princess?”
“No, not like before. There’s nothing wrong, but it hurts to breathe. I realize you don’t know this, but your ribs are affected by literally everything. Every movement makes them hurt. Every breath makes them move, which makes them hurt. The deeper the breath, the more they move, the more intense the pain. When the needles are in, I get momentary relief and can take a deep breath. It’s just nice.”
He looked at me sympathetically. “Yeah, I really have no idea how painful broken ribs are. I mean, I’ve broken plenty of my ribs, but not once did I feel it.”
“I still haven’t decided if you’re lucky or unlucky for your inability to feel pain. Every time I get hurt, I lean hard toward the lucky side, not gonna lie,” I said, smiling at him. The acupuncturist removed the needles from my shoulder, but left the ones over my ribs a little longer since I was clearly enjoying them. I took a few more deep breaths in, just because I could.
Once all the needles were removed, Ivan was talking quietly with the acupuncturist while Adrik helped me get dressed again. He had brought one of the shirts and a pair of insulated leggings that the guys had picked up while they were out. “We modified the shirt,” he said, holding it up so I could see they cut the sleeve off. “I think it will work.” He slid it over my cast and helped me get it the rest of the way on, then helped with the leggings.
“Do you guys need anything from me this afternoon? Because you have approximately twenty minutes before I’m asleep again. I’m about to be so warm,” I said as he helped me put his sweatshirt back on. He chuckled, leaning over to kiss my forehead. “You can sleep as long as you need to, solnishko.”
We set the meeting with the journalist a few days after he suggested it to give the guys time to watch him. Better to be extra safe right now. “I was correct. Recluses are quite possibly the best people to have to watch. He has the same routine every day. He’s only out of his apartment for precisely ninety-five minutes each day. He spends the rest of the time inside,” Stephen said.
“Seems boring. Oh wait, that’s me. That’s what I do every day,” I said, laughing.
Adrik clicked his tongue. “You’ll be able to go more places again once this is all over,” he said.
“I wasn’t complaining,” I said. “Although I do miss the gardens and the lake at the house, now that I think of it.”
“Soon, love,” Adrik said.
Viktor’s phone beeped to let him know that Chen was in the lobby. While he left to go fetch him, the rest of us moved down to Adrik’s office. The bruises on my face were much lighter now, so I didn’t feel so self-conscious being seen in public. The bruises on my body were still quite colorful, but they were much easier to hide. I still got a few curious looks from people here and there, but the guys were quick to pick up on it. They just moved in closer around me, so people had a harder time seeing me.
