King of the Underworld by RJ Kane

384

Adrik

“I think it’s worth taking another look at Henry, no matter what Misha can find tonight,” I said. “Something feels very off with him now. Like we missed something last time, I don’t like surprises.”

“I’ll see what I can start to find in the morning,” Viktor said.

Sephie stood up, extending her hands to both Misha and Andrei. They readily stood up and took her hands, walking a short distance away from the kitchen. She looked back over her shoulder, asking, “who has it that he wants to be the evil overlord of the city?” She waited for a few of us to raise our hands. Then she asked, “who has it that Henry’s the one in Sal’s pocket instead of the mayor?” She put her own hand up, along with me.

“Oh, that’s not fair. I change my bet,” Misha said.

“I could be wrong, my adorable Russian guardian. It’s happened before,” she said, grinning at him.

“Yeah, like once. Seven years ago before you knew us,” he said. He just shook his head and grabbed her hand. “Let’s see what we can find,” he said, getting that faraway look in his eye.

Vitaliy was extremely curious to watch what was happening, even though it didn’t look like much. They all looked like they were in a trance when it happened, but once they saw something, it was obvious. They were watching something in front of them that the rest of us couldn’t see. I could still feel what Sephie was feeling when she was watching the movie, but I couldn’t see what she was seeing.

It took them a few minutes, but we heard Misha say, “got him.” He squeezed both Sephie and Andrei’s hands harder, which always meant he had found what they were looking for, Vitaliy looked to me, his eyebrow raised. I walked closer to him, so I could be quiet, not wanting to interrupt anything.

can do it as well, since he’s like her. They

head. “That’s a useful skill,” he

rise the longer they watched, so I knew something was happening. Vitaliy picked up on both me and Ivan focusing on her. “She’s feeling something,

anger. It likely means Sal is involved,” I

moved closer, so he could speak quietly as well. “Her anger feels different for different situations. Whenever Sal’s name is brought into the picture, it feels like she’s going to burn the world to get

he said.

to be that angry. Sal is evil. It sounds like he’s only gotten more so over the years. His son was no better.

usually did. Sephie’s anger levels stayed high the entire time, so I was

for real, for real. Spontaneous human combustion is a real thing. You need to be careful,” he said.

guessing that Sal is involved somehow?” I

to look at me, her anger still clearly visible, but she was also surprised. “How did you know?” she asked, walking

he’s involved, princess,”

walked to me, Vitaliy extended his hand to her. “Come, I want to feel,” he said, motioning for her to give

was not a good idea. He definitely wasn’t ready to feel her anger when it was this

laughed. “You better

wide, his cheeks flushed, and his breathing immediately sped up. He dropped her hand, almost like it had burned him. Her eyes went wide in response, looking apologetic. She was suddenly scared she’d hurt him. She tried to hide herself behind me. Ivan, Andrei, and Misha all felt her panic and quietly moved to surround her.

didn’t hurt him. He just wasn’t ready for it,” Ivan said quietly. His voice was soft, like he was trying to coax her out of her panic. She turned to him, burying her face in his chest

level you felt before was nothing. This isn’t even the highest it’s been,” I said, smirking