Page 26 of Found In Destruction

“Yeah, bro, Feathers is a fucking saint. He’s been running himself ragged looking for a way to help Diana’s mom, and trying to right his wrongs. When you fucked Diana over you just said“Oh well, Birdie. You’ll eventually like being chained to me for the rest of your life.”Ares’ fake British accent was ridiculous, but it got his point across as to how badly Bash actually handled the situation.

“You weren’t even this hard on me, and I got brainwashed and stabbed her to death for fuck’s sake. You need to get over yourself,” Mal scoffed.

It felt good having the guys stand up for me. I’ve felt like shit for the past few months, no matter how hard I worked toward righting my wrongs or tried to remind myself why even though what I did was wrong, it was for what I thought were good reasons.

“I…I…” Bash stood there, speechless in his slate gray button down shirt and black dress pants.

Objectively he was the textbook definition of tall, dark, and handsome. His chiseled, devilishly handsome face hooked me right away. I used to think he was worth getting kicked out ofheaven for and never regretted my decision until Diana left, and I realized his personality made him ugly at times.

Don’t you dare go easy on him, Feathers. Don’t say everything is fine before he’s apologized. You deserve more,Ares linked me. When I glanced at him, he winked.

He was right. I had to have the courage to say my piece, because if he didn’t apologize, I was done with him. There was only so much one person could take, and I was done being his doormat.

“The way you treated me since Diana left has made me rethink the way I feel about you. I get that we were all going through an emotional time, but I can’t think of a reason to so viciously treat someone you claimed to love. You turned on me, when we could have been supporting each other…” I said each word carefully, trying not to lose my nerve.

His face fell and he sat on the couch, raking hand through his hair. After a few tense moments of silence, said “You’re right. I was so furious that she left us and took Mal with her. Instead of admitting my own guilt, I just blamed you because it was easier…” He shifted in his seat, sighing. “I’m sorry.”

Shellshocked. My brain went completely offline, because I had never heard Bash apologize before,ever—not the first time we dated, and certainly not this time. “Okay,” was the only thing I could manage to say.

“Okay?” he parroted back. “That’s it?”

“Yeah. I’m still processing it, and I’m really hurt…”

“Just to clarify, Diana didn’ttake me with her. I begged to follow her. I wasn’t about to let her go into the past without one of us in the state she was in. If anyone else has an issue with me choosing her over you, speak now or forever hold your peace. Better yet, don’t fucking speak at all, because If you were in my shoes, none of you would have done differently,” Mal snapped.

“I think you did the right thing, and I’m thankful you made sure she was safe,” Desmond said.

Bash scowled at me, probably realizing that I shut my mind to his mindlinks a while ago. I didn’t feel like dealing with him now. Just because he could get over himself didn’t mean I could.

“Me too, Mal,” I agreed. “I’m going to go get some sleep. I’m helping Judas welcome some of the new reinforcement troops tomorrow morning before breakfast…” I took the opportunity to leave.

Ares lifted the wards, and I faded out into the kitchen to get a bottle of water. I opened the refrigerator, letting the cold air hit me for a few moments before grabbing a bottle. When I closed the door, I saw Diana on the other side of the room. Her body was clad in black silk sleep shorts that barely came to her mid-thigh and a matching tank top, both with matching lace trim. She was quiet, her icy blue eyes taking me in. I hadn’t seen her since she came home, purposely giving her space to heal and letting her seek me out.

“You lost weight,” she said, her voice soft as her eyes roamed over me from head to toe.

“You look beautiful,” I told her. No matter what, Diana always took my breath away, whether she was in her pajamas or a ballgown.

She cleared her throat, then went opposite of me to grab a mug and bag of sleepy-tea from the cabinets. “You want one?”

“Sure.” I wasn’t a fan of herbal tea, but I’d suffer through a mug of it to spend time in her company, even if it hurt to be faced with how awkward things were between us.

She filled both mugs up, then used her fire magic to heat the mugs until the water boiled before dropping a teabag in each. We stood together waiting for the tea to steep in silence. If I had the courage to face Bash, I could have enough to apologize to Diana.

“Diana…I’m so sorry. It doesn’t matter what my intentions were, what matters is that I kept something so monumental from you.” I waited on pins and needles for her to say something.

“I hated you for a long time when I left. But Lucifer said something the other day that made me rethink how I felt about you.” She took a long sip, and my nerves somersaulted in my gut. That man was evil incarnate and I wasn’t sure how he could make her any warmer toward me. “He said you both did what you did so I wasn’t distracted, because if I failed, death would be a mercy. Were you trying to protect me when you lied?”

“Yes, in more ways than one.” I wouldn’t lie to her ever again. “I watched over you after you lost her the first time and didn’t want to watch you go through all that pain again. That was a cowardly move, and I regret it.”

“You were trying to protect me, like you’ve been doing my whole life. You went about it the wrong way, but the intention was good. I think it’ll take time for us to be okay, but I don’t hate you anymore, Zaz.”

Hearing her call me Zaz warmed my heart. I hadn’t heard that nickname since the day she left. “Can I hug you?” Asking her was a kick to the gut, but I didn’t want to overwhelm her like Ares did—that wasn’t my style.

She didn’t answer right away, then turned her body toward me, so our hips were against the counter. When she nodded, I carefully took her in my arms and held her close, burying my face in her bouncy curls.

“He said you’ve been searching for a way to bring her back?” she whispered into my chest.

“For almost three months. That’s why I didn’t see you when you came home. I was meeting with Bain to see if he knew of a way. He’s looking into it for me. I even met with Rafael…”

---