The Underworld Series, page 30
I considered the options for a moment. I rubbed my face with my hand. My nose still didn’t feel right. She had almost broken my nose. If she had been able to eat and train for the three weeks before, she would have, but she had lost some of her strength. I did have a black eye from it though, so she still landed a solid hit. “I don’t think it will be that difficult to talk him into staying an extra day or two. Not if she’s not feeling better when she wakes up this time.”
We stayed in the kitchen talking about variations to the plan until the sun came up. In the original plan, we were supposed to be leaving shortly. We heard nothing from Adrik’s room. We weren’t sure if he had overslept or if something was wrong. We had ditched our phones before getting on the plane. We had burner phones in our bags, but we hadn’t turned them on yet.
I went to his door and knocked quietly. I heard him softly tell me to come in. He was on the bed, in his underwear, on top of the covers, with Sephie laying across his chest, sound asleep. She was just in her t-shirt, giving me a full look at the wounds on her legs. It was bad. He put his finger up to his lips, but motioned me to come in.
I walked next to the bed as quietly as possible. The other guys were outside in the hallway, looking in through the open door. I saw the slight relief come to all our faces when we saw she was sleeping peacefully on him.
He whispered, “I can’t move. Anytime I try to leave, she starts crying out for me in her sleep again, then she’ll call for you. Stuck in that loop that she was in on the plane. I come back and put her on my chest, and she sleeps peacefully again.” He pointed to her fingers, lightly moving on his chest in a rhythmic pattern. “This is how I know she’s in a happy place. She plays the piano.” I couldn’t help but smile. Seeing her happy made me suddenly happy.
He looked down at her, lightly running his hands through her hair. She snuggled into him more, making a quiet whimper noise. He looked back at me pain evident in his eyes. “She wants nothing to do with me when she’s awake, but she won’t let me go when she’s asleep.”
I sighed. “She will come around. Her subconscious is still clearly attached to you. She just needs time to process everything. It will take her time to forgive all of us.” I paused, not really wanting to talk business now. “Boss, we can’t leave with her like this. She needs time. We all discussed it this morning. We don’t think we should leave with her. Either we stay here for a day or two more and give her a chance to recover, or you stay here with her, and we go on with the original plan.”
He was quiet for a moment, thoughtfully running his hands through her long curls. “We’ll stay. Nothing matters more than her. I won’t ever risk losing her for anything again. They can take my empire. I don’t want it if I can’t have her.”
I stood, placing my hand on his shoulder. I turned and walked back to the expectant looks on the guys in the hall. I closed the door quietly behind me, motioning for everyone to move from the door so we could give her quiet to sleep. We walked back to the kitchen.
“He agrees,” I said. “He said he won’t risk losing her again for anything and I agree. His empire is replaceable. She is not.”
There was a collective exhale. We were all happy to stay a little longer. If she couldn’t go with us, none of us wanted to leave.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Sephie
I was so exhausted that I fell asleep quickly, despite feeling as awful as I did. Adrik came into the room and climbed into bed behind me. He was trying to be as gentle as he could, which I appreciated. I wanted him to hold me, but I was still so mad at him that I couldn’t tell him that.
I had no dreams at first, but eventually I found myself back in the ballroom. I watched Adrik fall to the ground, screaming for him. Then I would look toward Ivan running away from me. I would scream for him, and the vision would restart.
This time, when I screamed for Adrik, I heard his voice. The scene around me faded and I was back to the abyss. The void where I could see my body, but nothing around me. I heard his voice clearly now.
“Sephie, I love you, solnishko. Please come back to me. I can’t live without you.”
I tried to go toward the voice. It felt warmer. It was a stark contrast to the cold of the void. The warmth was surrounding me, making me feel safe. I lost his voice though. I couldn’t find it and I was back in the ballroom, screaming for him once again as I watched him go down.
“Sephie, I love you. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. I don’t care how many times I need to tell you for you to believe it again, but you’re my everything.”
The warmth was back with his voice. I could feel it envelope me. I looked down at my arms and legs. They were brighter. I could see them more clearly. I could see just barely in front of me.
“I’ve loved you since the first night I saw you, when you were standing at the bar. Your eyes were so wide when you saw Viktor and Andrei walk in. It was adorable. But then you locked eyes with me and I saw the look in your eye immediately change, giving me that spark that only I can see. Your friend Max had to push you to come show us to the meeting room. You almost tripped on your way to us. I was trying desperately to control myself as you walked closer. You were so different from any woman I’d ever seen. When you asked what you could get us to drink and Viktor told you waters for all of us, you cocked your head to the side and said, ‘Different.’ Then you immediately got worried you had offended me. It was all I could do not to kiss you right then. I stepped close to you, able to smell the floral scent of your shampoo. It drove me crazy. I sat down at the table and all I could think about was running my hands through your hair and what it would look like not in a braid.”
The void no longer felt cold at all. I could see in front of me. I could see where I was going. I could get out of here.
There was a path that I followed to a vaguely familiar house. As I got closer to the house, I could hear music coming from inside. Something felt right about this. Like I knew this house, even though I didn’t recognize it. I walked the path to the front door. I pushed on it, opening it slowly. The music was louder now. I knew the song. It was my mother’s favorite song. Who would be playing that song?
I walked inside, trying to be quiet so I wouldn’t disturb the person playing. I couldn’t see them yet, but the music was getting louder with each step I took inside the house. I could almost feel my fingers wanting to play the next note before I heard it.
I peeked into the first room I came to, revealing a grand piano. A man was sitting at the piano, absorbed by the music. He hadn’t heard me come inside the house, he just continued to play my mom’s favorite song. I stood, motionless, watching him. Who was he? Why didn’t I feel scared of him? How does he know that song?
When the song ended, he sat for a moment and stared at the keys. He sighed. Without turning to look at me, he said “Hello, Sephie baby. It’s been a long time since you’ve seen me.”
I looked at his back, confused. Just as I was about to speak, he turned around to face me. His face. It looked so familiar, yet not, at the same time. Like I’d looked at his picture for years and now that I was seeing him in person, it wasn’t the same.
I gasped. “D-Dad…?”
He smiled, his eyes squinting like mine did when I smiled. He stood up and walked toward me, his arms wide. “Hey, peanut.” He wrapped his arms around me. “I’ve missed being able to hold you, little one. That’s the one thing I miss the most. But I’m so proud of you. I’ve watched you grow up. I’ve been there the whole time and Sephie, I’m so proud of you.” He hugged me tight.
“How? How are you here?”
“Eh, the logistics are a bit complicated. You can say I’m a bit of a guardian angel, if that’s easier for you to understand.”
I stepped back to look at him, my eyes wide. “You saw…everything?”
He chuckled. “Well, not everything everything. I know when to give you privacy. But every tough situation you’ve been in, I was there in case you needed me.” He looked at me thoughtfully, brushing a curl from my face. “You know, you’ve never once needed me, Sephie.”
“No, that’s not true. In the…basement?” my voice cracked as I thought about that horrible night.
He closed his eyes, sighing. “That was the first time I thought you might need me. I was just about to step in when you saved yourself.” He put his hands on both of my shoulders. “Sephie, look at me. What you did that night, it was meant to happen. Sometimes karma uses you to deliver justice, if you will. You were simply the one that delivered his sentence.”
I sucked in a breath. “So, I did. I did kill him that night?”
He nodded. “Nobody found him for months. The knife was mysteriously gone.” He looked at me, raising one eyebrow.
“You?”
“Okay, maybe I helped just once. But I mean, seriously. Do you know how boring it is being the guardian of such a…capable child? You gotta throw me a bone once in a while, peanut.”
I smiled at him. Clearly, he was where I got my sense of humor from.
“There’s my beautiful girl. You know you can light the way for ships into harbor with your smile? You almost give Adrik a heart attack every time you smile at him. I’m not even joking about that one. We’ve had extra angels on standby because it got close a few times.”
My smile faded, thinking about Adrik.
“You’re still mad at him. You have every right to be mad at him, peanut. He should’ve told you the plan, but I know he will never, ever underestimate your strength again as long as he lives. Do you know he hasn’t moved from underneath you for twelve hours now? He got up once to pee and you got sucked back into your nightmare. He hasn’t had anything to eat or drink since then and he won’t move so you can sleep in peace and your body can heal.”
“No, it hasn’t been that long. It’s only been a few hours.”
“Peanut, time is different here. He’ll lay there as long as it takes. I’ve never seen him so determined. And he’s got a bloodlust that is, well, impressive.”
I just looked at him, dumbfounded.
He smiled down at me. “You can remember being in the nothing, the darkness, before you found your way here?” I nodded my head. “Do you remember how every time you heard his voice, when he would tell you he loved you, how you got a little brighter and could see further into the darkness?” Again, I nodded. “It’s because he can’t exist without you and you can’t exist without him. You’re light, he’s dark. One cannot exist without the other. His darkness allows your light to shine. The brighter your light, the darker your shadows. You figured that part out on your own.” He made a fist and pressed it to my chin. “Seriously, chip off the ol’ block, you are.” He looked at me, a look of pride on his face. He cleared his throat and continued. “But Adrik hasn’t figured that out yet. Guys are sometimes slower on the uptake. You’re helping to show him that even though he has very dark shadows, he also has a very bright light. And right now, he’s the spark you needed to remember that your light is always within you. You’re the only one that can ever turn it off. You just momentarily forgot that part. Which is understandable. You’ve had a hectic few weeks. Years,” he added, clearing his throat again. “But what happened needed to happen. Not just for you, but for all of them. Each of them has something special to offer the world, but it never would’ve happened without the events at the ball. Misha, for example, has a gift that warns him when something isn’t right. He started to believe it more after the attack on you two, but the others didn’t. Now they do. That never would’ve happened otherwise. There’s always a reason, peanut. It’s your job to figure it out.”
I stared at him, trying to understand everything he just told me.
“You already know everything I’m telling you right now, peanut. You just have to let go of the fear. Sure, he fucked up. They all did. Big time. You got hurt in the process, but you have yet to quit in situations much worse than this one. Don’t start now. You’ve got a 100 percent survival rate, remember that. And know that I’ll be there, ready to swoop in when needed. You should see my swoop. I practice a lot because you know you never need me. Whatever. It’s magnificent.”
I laughed at him. I definitely got his sense of humor.
He looked down at me, smiling. “You know you need him just as much as he needs you. They all need you and you need all of them. You’re destined for great things. Always have been. Why else would we have given you your name if you weren’t meant for great things?” He hugged me once more, then pulled me toward the piano. He sat me down on the bench. “Now, make an old man happy and play me your song.”
“My song? I don’t have a song.”
“You do. You call it your mom’s favorite song, but it’s really your song. I used to sing it to you when you were a baby. I wrote the melody just for you, hoping that one day you would finish it. I didn’t even tell your mother that it was your song. She just thought it was some melody I had picked up somewhere and sang to you, but it’s yours. It’s always been yours.”
I looked up at him with tears in my eyes. I suddenly missed all the time I had missed out on with him in my childhood. As if he was reading my mind, he said, “I know, peanut. I miss it too, but can you imagine both of us in the same room at the same time? I don’t think the world is ready for that many emotional support sloths.”
I laughed, tears falling on my cheeks. He sat down next to me, looking every bit a proud father. “Now, play for your old man, peanut.”
I played my song, as he sat next to me watching intently. When the song ended, he leaned his shoulder against mine. “It’s time for you to go back, kiddo. You’ve still got great things to accomplish, one of which is to love that man as hard as he loves you.”
“Will I get to see you again?” I asked.
“I’m always around. Practicing my swooping,” he made a swooping motion with his arm in front of me. He winked at me. “I love you, peanut.”
“I love you too, Dad.”
My eyelids fluttered open slowly. I heard Adrik snoring softly, felt his warm body beneath me. I lifted my head to look at him, but the slight movement jolted him awake. “Sephie? Are you okay??”
I rested my chin on his chest, looking at him. He looked stressed, his blue eyes were now also red. He looked like he hadn’t slept very much, if at all. He sat up a little so he could look at me better. I looked into his eyes, searching. I found what I was looking for immediately. He was looking at me with all the love and adoration as he always had, but now there was fear there. Worry that he had ruined it all.
I wasn’t sure what to say to make it go away, but I remembered what my father had said. “You almost give Adrik a heart attack every time you smile at him.” I closed my eyes for a moment, remembering my dream. When I opened my eyes, he was still looking at me, clearly worried about what I was going to do or not do.
“Sephie?” he asked, his voice cracked with worry.
I smiled at him. Like I hadn’t seen him in days, like I thought he was dead and now he was underneath me, watching over me while I fought my own darkness, like I loved him more than anything in the world.
It took him a moment. He was still concerned and confused, but he couldn’t help but smile back at me. I slowly lifted my very sore body off him, moving so I was sitting on his hips, straddling him. He sat up a little more, so he could look me in the eyes. I reached out and ran my fingers lightly over his face, the way I knew he liked. He closed his eyes at my touch, his breath hitched. A single tear fell from the corner of each eye. I leaned into him and kissed him gently. He went to put his hands around me but stopped himself. He was still worried he was going to hurt me or I was going to do something rash. I leaned back so I could look into his eyes again. “I love you, Adrik. I will always love you. I love you more than anything I’ve ever known.” I looked into his eyes, relief washing over him. I added, “But if you ever let me think you’ve died when you haven’t again, I will kill you myself.”
He sat up, still wanting to grab me, but uncertain where his hands could go that wouldn’t hurt. He put both hands on either side of my face, looking deeply into my eyes. “I swear I will never leave you out of any plan ever again. I will never withhold information from you again. I almost lost you. I’m so sorry, Sephie. Can you ever forgive me?”
I put my hands on top of his, enjoying the warmth. I closed my eyes, remembering how cold the darkness felt but how warm it got when I heard his voice. I opened my eyes, his eyes pleading, searching mine. “I forgive you. Besides, you’re my spark. I can’t get rid of you,” I said, smiling at him again, enjoying the thought of extra angels on standby in that moment.
He raised an eyebrow at me, but instead of asking what I meant, he just leaned forward and kissed me. He was gentle, at first. His hands still on each side of my face. I pressed my body against him, timidly, and wrapped my arms around his neck. I deepened the kiss, feeling his body relaxing from the stress he’d been under for the past however many days.
“I love you, solnishko,” he said, pressing his forehead to mine. “I will spend every day of the rest of my life trying to make sure you know that and how sorry I am.”
I kissed his lips once more. “Don’t hang on to this. Don’t keep beating yourself up. You made a mistake. I mean, a big one, but I’m still here. I’ve got a 100 percent success rate at surviving horrible situations so far. But I have been thinking that we should get a whiteboard or something that says, ‘It’s been this many days since Sephie got seriously hurt.’ That way we can keep track. You know, data is king and what not.”
His smile stretched across his face. “There’s my Sephie.”
