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Adrik smiled at me. “I think I understand, but explain.”
“Your anger is beside me, looking for direction, if you will. Like all I would’ve had to do is point at Trino and you would’ve ripped him apart. But your anger is a part of me, moving through me. An extension. Just like mine is a part of you. Ivan’s is different. It’s broader and it’s focused outward. Away from me. His fire burns just as hot, but it’s directed away from me, where yours is not. His anger feels like a barrier in front of me. Your anger is always with me. A part of me,” I said.
“I caught a glimpse of your eyes, princess. They’re still getting darker when it happens. I’m surprised Trino didn’t piss himself,” Ivan said.
“I saw them change this morning,” Adrik said. “She was looking at me as they changed back to normal. I’ve never seen anything so amazing.” He turned me, so he could look in my eyes. He was still completely mesmerized. I reached up and kissed him gently.
“Did you get anything when Trino told me his guys were scared of me now?” I asked Andrei and Misha.
“I got a quick hit of nausea, gazelle. I don’t know about which one, or ones, but it wasn’t good. I’m glad you said something because I was going to if you didn’t. It’s definitely not Trino, but one of his guys is going to have a problem with this,” Misha said.
“Same as last night for me, spider monkey. You get more details than I do, but I knew the potential for there to be a problem exists,” Andrei said.
“I think you scared Trino enough that he’ll either keep this to himself or he’ll keep his guys away from you from now on,” Stephen said. “I’ve never seen him so shocked as when you threatened him. That’s going to haunt him for a while.”
“Good. That was the point,” I said, grinning. “Who’s hungry?”
They all laughed. “It’s good to have you back, sestrichka,” Viktor said, shaking his head.
Adrik, Ivan, Viktor, and Stephen paid another visit to Armando that evening. I’d needed a short nap after the morning’s festivities, but I was managing to stay awake for much longer. And my appetite was coming back slowly. I could snack periodically throughout the day without too much trouble, which was giving me more energy finally.
Misha and Andrei were both happy to stay with me in the penthouse while the others went downstairs to torture Armando.
“How do I get more details, spider monkey?” Andrei asked while they were heating up yet more broth for me.
I thought for a minute. “I’m honestly not sure how to answer that, Bubba. I haven’t always had all the details I get now come so easily. The more I practice, the more details I get. I think time is the answer. The more you use it, the clearer everything will be. Same as Misha. The more he uses his gift, the clearer it gets. I think there will come a time when he won’t need anyone else as a battery too. I think he’ll be able to do it on his own just as well as he can with us,” I said.
“Really? You think so?” Misha asked. He was clearly surprised at the thought of not needing anyone to see his visions.
“I do. It doesn’t make sense that you would always need me or Andrei to make it work. You didn’t need me in the beginning. I just made it different. Once you master it, you should be able to do it on your own. Which I think you’re getting closer to, if you could tell the difference between me and Bubba this morning,” I said.
“Yeah, that reminds me, how did you know the difference?” Andrei asked. “And how did you know I was holding back? I didn’t even know I was holding back.”
“With Sephie, it feels like she’s showing me how to do it, even though she has no idea how it works. There’s still this calm direction from her when she helps me, but I can tell that she’s jumped in with both feet. With you, Andrei, you really have no idea what’s going on, you’re just along for the ride. But you’re hoping you don’t die in the process,” Misha said, laughing.
“That sounds accurate,” Andrei said. He was laughing as well, not really knowing what else to say.
“This is all a little weird, if we’re being honest. It’s a lot to take in,” I said.
“Was it hard for you, spider monkey? You didn’t have anybody when you discovered you could do this, did you?” Andrei asked.
“It wasn’t hard. I did think there was something wrong with me, not gonna lie. But I’ve shown it more to you guys than I ever did to anyone else. Even my mom. Little bits here and there with her before she died, but I mostly kept to myself. It was only just starting when she was still alive. It’s gotten much stronger as I get older. Then I met you guys and I feel like I skipped ahead, like, ten levels. I’ve been more open with it this year than I ever have before. You can ask Adrik too. I was petrified he would think I was crazy at first,” I said.
Misha laughed. “We saw it. When you would tell him things about the bosses, you were timid about it. But you were always right.”
“Apparently, it was all meant to happen the way it did. You guys seeing it in me helped you see it in yourselves. There’s something special about Viktor and Stephen too, but they’re still scared by it,” I said.
“Should we make bets on what it is with those two?” Andrei asked.
“Um, yeah. Of course, we should,” I said, laughing.
“Before Andrei found out he was like you, I would’ve said Stephen’s superpower was his sense of humor that nobody knew existed until you came along, gazelle,” Misha said.
“Right? How funny is that dude? And how the hell does he keep a straight face literally every single time?” I asked. “And Viktor is still the father figure of the group. He just goes about his day, silently making sure we’re all taken care of and have everything we need. He’s kind of the best, really.”
We were being silly in the kitchen while I had yet another snack when Adrik and the rest of the guys got back from downstairs. Adrik immediately walked to me, leaning down to kiss me. “I’m happy you’re still awake, solnishko,” he said, his handsome smile stretching across his face.
“How was Armando? Have you offered to let him jump off the roof again? Is he ready to take you up on the offer this time?” I asked. I grabbed Adrik’s hand with my one free hand, inspecting his knuckles. He laughed softly and kissed my temple. “I’m so relieved you’re finally feeling better,” he said.
