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The doctor was back early the next morning to check on them both. I think he wanted to release them as soon as possible just to get them out of the hospital more than anything, but I wasn’t going to complain. I didn’t want to be there any longer than absolutely necessary. They both got the green light to leave. Both were instructed to take it easy for a few days. Both had their arms in slings. I’m sure it helped Andrei’s arm feel slightly less painful, but for Ivan, it kept him from overusing his arm and ripping the stitches out. He’d already tried to use it once because he forgot he wasn’t supposed to. It didn’t seem to matter that he was heavily bandaged. He still “forgot” that arm was currently under construction and not usable.
Viktor and Stephen pulled the vehicles to the door. The nurses showed up with two wheelchairs for Andrei and Ivan. I couldn’t help myself again. I laughed at them. “You guys wasted a trip,” I said, as both guys stood up behind me and walked out of the room. Yep, they were a different breed.
Ivan got in the passenger seat while I climbed in the back, moving over so Adrik could slide in beside me. His arms were immediately around me, pulling me closer to him. He whispered in my ear, “I appreciate why you did it, but I don’t ever want to be apart from you for that long again.” He kissed my temple. I felt my cheeks blush.
We drove to the house to give Andrei and Ivan a few quiet days. I was happy to be going to the house as well. After I took a nap, I was looking forward to a long walk. My hip was finally feeling almost back to normal, with only slight soreness now and then if I overdid it.
I leaned against Adrik, closing my eyes. Happy to be next to him. Happy that Ivan and Andrei were okay. Happy that we were all together still. Knowing that the storm was coming.
The guys all dispersed to their rooms, but not before I made sure that Andrei and Ivan would be okay on their own. Ivan slid his arm around my shoulders, saying quietly, “I know you barely slept last night because you were busy keeping me calm. You need to sleep for at least a few hours, princess. I’ll be fine.” I looked at him skeptically. He just held up his pinky and grinned. “Go. Your goddamn prince misses you.” He nodded to Adrik and walked toward his room.
I caught Viktor and Misha before they went to their rooms, on either side of Ivan’s room. “If you two hear him struggling again, come get me. I won’t let him fight this alone this time. I don’t care what time it is, come get me. He needs to keep that arm still anyway. If he messes up the doctor’s handiwork, he could bleed to death. Understood?”
They both nodded their heads. Viktor wrapped his giant arm around me. “Ivan is lucky to have you this time. We’re all lucky to have you.” He kissed the top of my head and continued to his room.
I felt Adrik’s arms around me. “How are you feeling, solnishko? Are you sore? Do you want a bath or a shower? You still have Ivan’s blood on you and I would much rather not see you in hospital scrubs,” he had a small smile on his lips as he pulled me toward the back stairs.
I sighed. “Which one will get me to bed faster?” I yawned as we walked up the stairs, finally feeling calm enough that I could sleep.
He laughed beside me. “Shower it is, then.”
We crawled into bed around 8:00 that morning. He had a few things to take care of that afternoon, so he made sure to set an alarm. I didn’t want to sleep the entire day and then be awake the entire night again either. As I laid across his chest, finally feeling warmth after an entire night of freezing in that hospital, I felt my body relax completely. My hair was still wet, so I wrapped it into a bun to keep it from soaking everything it touched. I felt Adrik’s hand slowly running up and down my back, under his shirt that I was wearing. It felt like less than a minute and I was sound asleep.
I found myself on a familiar path, in front of that same house where I saw my father the last time. This time, instead of cautiously entering the house, I ran inside. He was at the piano again and stopped when he heard me come into the room.
“Peanut!” he said, standing and opening his arms to me.
“Dad! I was wondering when I was going to see you again!”
“Well, technically, this is the second time in as many days. Ivan saw me yesterday too, although once again, I wasn’t really needed. Ivan had it covered.”
I looked at him, confused. “What do you mean?”
“The accident. I wrapped my wings around you right before the truck hit you, but then Ivan turned to use his body as a shield for you. Do you remember seeing his face, peanut?”
I nodded my head. “Yes. He looked confused and then he looked like he was in…awe?”
“Accurate. What he was seeing isn’t usually seen by many people, but once again, it needed to happen. He got his wings yesterday, peanut.”
I felt the tears starting to burn my eyes. “What do you mean. Is he leaving?” I asked, very seriously. “He can’t die yet. He’s fine. The doctors fixed him. He said he was fine.” I started to panic.
My father grabbed me and pulled me to him. “No, Sephie. He’s not going anywhere. He proved that he’ll give his life to save yours yesterday. He’s not allowed to go anywhere now. He has a job to do.”
I inhaled deeply, feeling a flood of relief that Ivan wasn’t dying. “But I still don’t understand.”
“It’s quite a long story, but the short version is that Ivan’s special gift, his inability to feel pain, is what was needed to protect you from what’s coming. It’s no coincidence that you’re the one that could calm him down yesterday. You two have been tied together your entire lives, you’re only just now realizing it.” He cleared his throat, seeing the look of confusion still on my face. “Sephie, people have many different forms of soulmates in their lives. You and Adrik? You’re the lovers. You two were always supposed to meet and fall in love. You complete each other, which is why he feels like home to you. You’ve fallen in love with him over and over through lifetimes. But there are other kinds of soulmates too. You and Misha? You’re here to teach Misha how to fully embrace his gift. You and Andrei? You’re both here to push the other to be better. That’s why he readily took on the job of being your trainer and why you keep reminding him how great he is all the time. You and Viktor? You’re giving him his confidence back. There’s more to the story of how he ended up in a Syrian prison. You’re helping to correct that. And you and Stephen?” He paused, smiling at me. “You’re showing him how to be himself. He’s got a secret no one knows about yet, but you’re pushing him to be comfortable enough to share it. Now, you and Ivan. You two have a special bond. This isn’t the first lifetime you two have spent together and I’m guessing it won’t be the last either. He’s your protector, Sephie. He basically stole my job yesterday. I’m not even mad at him, either. His wings are way cooler than mine. His swooping is going to be marvelous eventually.” He looked down at me, realizing he’d been rambling. He grinned. “Ivan will always protect you. He feels compelled to protect you. Everything he went through in his life prepared him for what’s about to come. The Powers That Be still have big plans for you, so they brought out the big guns to make sure those plans are seen through to completion.” He whispered, “Ivan is the big guns, in case you were wondering.”
“But Misha didn’t see this one coming. How did that happen?” I asked.
“No one saw this one coming, until it was almost too late. They saw an opportunity and they took it, which ultimately worked to your advantage. They weren’t as coordinated as they would have been had they had more time to plan. You guys were outnumbered, four to one, peanut. Clearly, they should’ve doubled that if they were to have any shot at taking you.”
I thought for a moment, remembering the chaos of the day, but knowing that Ivan and I missed the majority of it. I sighed, still feeling grateful that we all made it out relatively unscathed.
“How are his wings cooler than yours, Dad?” I asked, smiling. I felt like watching him talk was like watching myself talk sometimes.
“Oh, Ivan got a special deal. Ivan’s spent so much time walking amongst demons that he can now freely walk between both Heaven and Hell. My wings are white. I want no part of Hell. His wings are white and then they fade to black on the ends and because he’s the big guns, they’re crimson on the very tips. WAY cooler than mine.”
I laughed. “Can I tell him this?”
