King of the Underworld by RJ Kane

Chapter Two Hundred Sixty-Eight

Adrik

Once Trino and I ended the call, we all stood in stunned silence for a few moments. Not only had Dario dropped heavy information on us, but Sephie and Misha had seen what happened to Trino, seemingly as it was happening. How?

Sephie was still standing next to me, tucked into my side like she was made for that spot. I had a tight hold of her, feeling even more protective than usual of her. I’d lost count of how many times I’d told her that she was the most amazing woman I’d ever known, but she continued to raise the bar on that standard. I found myself curious to see what else she could do.

I glanced at Misha, who was still stunned at what had happened. He had his hands on his hips and was staring at the floor in front of him like he wasn’t sure what to do or say.

“Misha, how does your gut instinct usually work? Can you normally see things as they happen?” I asked him.

He snapped back to reality when I called his name. He looked to me, then to Sephie, then back to me. “I get snapshots of what’s going to happen, but it’s like still pictures. When Sephie was holding my hands, it was a full-on movie. In real-time, apparently.” He still looked stunned and almost baffled at what had happened. We all were, really.

I looked down at Sephie, who looked back at me. “Don’t look at me. I have no explanation,” she said. She looked just as stunned as Misha did.

I caught Ivan’s eye, then looked back at Misha. “If I’ve learned anything from Sephie, it’s that she shows you what your potential is,” I said. “She shows you how to get to the next level, if you will. Think of her like the Game Master.”

I know what the he ll this game is that’s happening with all of us. I’m in the dark just as much as the

Trino. It got worse when he didn’t answer. It got worse still when Misha had the same reaction. You know more than you think you do, Sephie,” Andrei said. Sephie looked at Andrei, but didn’t know how to respond. She was chewing

eyes go dark this time when she was talking to Dario, too,” Ivan said. Stephen nodded beside him.

conversation with Dario, but she had it under control just as quickly as it

it now,” Viktor said. Sephie looked to me quickly, confused. “Blink, love,” I said, kissing her temple. Her eyes were as dark as I’d seen them, but she felt completely calm to me. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. I got hit with a sudden feeling of panic that I knew wasn’t mine. When she opened her eyes and looked to me for confirmation they were

her anger, but her fear was clearly a different story. She was losing control quickly. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling

was your villain origin story, but I think it’s exactly the opposite. I think it’s your hero origin story. We may not know what happened just now, but you’re doing what you always do- making sure that people you care about are taken care of. That’s hero behavior,” Ivan said.

something important?” I asked her, trying to coax her head

me. The look of fear was slowly disappearing. She turned so she could look at Misha, but she kept my arms wrapped tightly

said, looking at Viktor. “I

I could tell by the look on his face that she was smiling at him. His face always got softer when she smiled at him. She glanced up at me and

she said, laughing. “I don’t know how many lifetimes I’ve spent with the rest of you, but Ivan gets the role of my protector

version of us that he meets in his one extremely long lifetime,” Misha said. The smile that Sephie gave him was enough to make the room twice as

I am,

it to the surface,” Andrei said, laughing. “Just like you did with the rest