King of the Underworld by RJ Kane

403

Sephle

While we were all in the gym that morning, Andrei was helping me in his normal patient way, even when I was

cranky that I still didn’t feel as strong as I did before Ivan and I were taken. I always tested his patience, but he

never got frustrated with me. He really was such a good trainer.

“So, I need to steal Stephen again. I know what his gift is, but I think he needs convincing of it. I also need Ivan’s

help. I don’t want you and Misha to get jealous that you two haven’t gotten to babysit for a few days.”

He laughed. “We always prefer hanging out with you, but I know Stephen has reeded you. We’ve all seen the

change in him since he saw his sisters. It’s been good for him. I also saw what he had to endure as a kid. It’s a lot. I

know he needs you. And I think you’re right. I think Ivan can help. They’ve both seen the face of evil.”

“You, however, are capable of seeing the good in people. That’s the glow you see. You’re seeing auras, Bubba.”

“How do you know?”

“I knew what you were seeing when you first told me, but my dad confirmed it. You and Ivan are kind of opposites.

He can see evil, but you can see good. I think it’s why you only see it sometimes on Ivan, me, and Adrik. We’re all

both. The acupuncturist is only good, so you see it on her all the time.”

“Stephen has it now, too. After you broke his sisters. I noticed it the next day. It’s not as bright as you three, but it’s

there.”

I smiled. “I need to tell Stephen first, but I’ll give you a sneak peak at what he can do if you promise not to tell.”

He readily agreed, looking at my thoughts. I replayed part of the conversation had with Lena for him. “You can talk

to Boss’s mom now too?” he asked, surprised.

“She had a message for Vitaliy. She felt bad for the way she came to me last time, because it worried you guys so

much. She learned how to come to me the same way my dad does.”

He continued to look, taking in everything she’d told me about Stephen. “Who. That’s heavy. But bad as s.”

I giggled. “I completely agree, Bubba.”

Ivan and Stephen were with me in the penthouse later that afternoon, helping me make dinner. Andrei was helpful

in distracting Misha and Viktor was on his normal master of schedule duties.

“Viktor is going to be so happy tonight, Seph,” Stephen said, smiling.

“I know. I’m surprised he hasn’t had a meltdown because it’s been so long since I cooked. I feel bad about that. I’m

going to have to make him cookies again to make sure he doesn’t hate me,” I said.

“He could never hate you, princess. But he does love you a little less when you don’t cook,” Ivan said, laughing.

“It’s funny ’cause it’s true,” I said.

We laughed and talked, but eventually the conversation came back around to Stephen’s sisters and everything that

had happened.

“Have you heard anything from your parents?” Ivan asked, curious.

Stephen couldn’t hide his grin. “My mom called me. Apparently, they’re still mostly catatonic. She wanted to know

what happened. She said my oldest sister wouldn’t talk about it. in fact, she said my oldest sister is barely talking at

all. She went between being worried about them to angry at me.”

“Did she ask how you were at all?” I asked. I could feel my anger coming to the surface, once again feeling

protective of Stephen.

He chuckled. “Don’t be mad, Seph.” He no sooner said it than his eyes went wide as he looked at me.

Ivan caught on immediately to what just happened. “You felt her anger, didn’t you?”

Stephen nodded. “That was so weird.”

I laughed. “Welcome to the club, Yoden.” I walked to him, sliding my arms arbind his waist. He hugged me tightly,

his vampiric vice-grip quickly becoming one of my favorite things about him.

“Sh it’s about to get so much weirder for you,” Ivan said, laughing.

“I can actually help with that,” I said. Stephen loosened his hold on me, looking down at me.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Have you figured out the details of what happened to your sisters yet? It explins your gift,” I asked him.

He thought for a moment. “I showed you my memories, asking you to give it back to them. You did the heavy

lifting. I just let you peak into my head finally,” he said. He looked almost confused as he talked.

I couldn’t help but smile at him. This was why Lena told me. He was still in complete denial of what happened.

“You’re not wrong, Yoden, but you played a much bigger role than you think you did.”

“I don’t understand,” he said.

Ivan, who was really very quick to catch on, suddenly got it. “He’s the one that broke them. He just needed you to

make it happen the first time.”

I grinned at Ivan, then looked back at Stephen as he fully comprehended what Ivan had just said. “That’s your gift,

Stephen. You know how to completely break people. You’ll be able to do it without me at some point, but Ivan is

right, you just used me to make it happen. Bonus points, too, because I didn’t need to touch you in order to borrow

your gift.”

Stephen looked worried. “But I don’t see how this is a good thing. I might be a serial killer after all.”

“Oh, honey, no.” I wrapped my arms back around his waist. “Let me explain before you start beating yourself up.” I

went through the details of everything Lena had told me in my dream. Ivan looked impressed. Stephen still looked

worried. “It does sound horrific, but you’re thinking on too small of a scale, Stephen. You’re saving their souls. I’m

still undecided if your sisters deserved another chance in the next lifetime, but ultimately that’s what you gave

them. When someone gives in to the evil, to their demon it eventually consumes them. That’s when Ivan is able to

see them. He can see when they’re totally consumed or right before they’re totally consumist. When that happens,

the soul will eventually die. There are no more chances then. The demon won. While they’re still broken in this

lifetime, you kept the soul alive. The soul gets another chance to make it right in the next lifetime. Although it’s

going to take quite a number of lifetimes for your sisters to clear their Karma, you gave them the chance to do

that. Without you, their souls would’ve been consumed completely and would’ve entually died.”

“I saw it on your middle sister right away. Your older sister, too, when they went to leave. Hers was hiding when I

first saw her, but Sephie brought it out,” Ivan said.

In his normal quiet way, he contemplated everything we’d just said. “I never thought I’d be relieved to know that I

didn’t completely destroy them, but I am. I’ve dreamed about killing them in so many different ways it’s alarming

You never gave in to the evil you’ve been carrying all these years. I haven’t told you guys yet, but Andrei can see

auras. Much like Ivan can see the evil in people, Bubba sees the good. He can see yours now, Stephen. He said it

showed up the day after you saw your sisters.” Stephen still looked skeptical, but he wasn’t quite as worried. “We

don’t always understand why we do things, but our souls know. Your soul knew what needed to happen. and you

listened to it. That’s the important lesson here.”

“They brought those consequences on themselves, Stephen. You didn’t condemn them, but you did hand down

their sentence,” Ivan said.

Stephen was thoughtful for a few minutes, but he finally looked between me and Ivan. He had an uncharacteristic

grin on his face. “Wait until Vlad