Page 36 of Found In Destruction

Please tell me you’re joking,Az begged.

I saw her dress earlier this week–it’s insane,Mal bragged.And the heels. For fuck’s sake, I want her to step on me.

I’d rather have them dragging down my back, but do you, Mal,Bash snarked.

The double doors at the front of the ballroom finally opened, and the crowd parted as she glided through the room, Ares hot on her tail. My jaw almost hit the floor. The dress was a bodice of black leather straps that crisscrossed, drawing attention to herfull breasts. It had enough of an opening in the back to allow her wings to fully open, every feather shimmering in the low light. The skirt of the dress was some sort of black silky material, and it fanned out until it hit the floor. Her blood red lips and long, soft waves gave her a timeless look. She walked right past me, sparing me half a glance before she took the stage to give her speech.

“Good evening,” her voice rang out. “Thank you, Judas, for hosting such a lovely event, and thank you everyone for being here tonight to welcome me home! I’m so sorry to have been away so long, but we hit some unexpected roadblocks, and I wanted to make sure I made my fathers proud.”

As she talked to the crowd, her eyes landed on me, then on Turquoise, who was smiling up at me like I hung the moon. Diana’s smile didn’t fool me, I felt her jealousy rolling off her in waves and saw the anger blazing in her eyes. She didn’t like that I was talking to another woman. Maybe she did care about me after all.

I can make this work…

I leaned down and whispered into Turquoise’s ear, “Do you want to dance after the speech?”

She smiled at me with teeth so unnaturally white they refracted the light. “Sure!”

Diana’s distance from us since she returned sparked breakup rumors. Rumors I’m sure this poor woman wanted to cash in on. I had promised Diana I wouldn’t use my emotional powers on her, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t manipulate her feelings the old fashioned way. I wasn’t above using someone to make her jealous.

I missed some of her speech, but whatever she said had the crowd eating out of her hand.

“Thank you to all the soldiers who defended us from Red’s attacks. You are prime examples as to why we fight this war–for the right to freedom everyone deserves. For the right for all magical beings to live their lives as they please, free from oppression and hierarchy. As we get deeper into this war, the fighting will ramp up. Times will get darker before the light shines again. But know that I’m here with you. I’ll lay everything on the line and show Red why targeting the Morningstars is the wrong move. I’m ready to help my father get back on the throne and restore free will back to the underworld!”

The crowd’s raucous cheering vibrated through the room. Diana’s speech brought vampires, shifters, and magical beings from all four realms together under a common goal, and I silently commended her for how much she had grown over the months. The woman I met at the jazz lounge that day was beautiful, somewhat shy, and I had read her like an open book. This woman was a force to be reckoned with.

An elegant instrumental music floated through the room, and Turquoise wasted no time pulling me out to the floor. My skin crawled under my navy tux, but I reminded myself this was a means to an end. I’d do whatever it took to get her attention.

Turquoise’s atrocious lack of coordination gave me pause. This plan could blow up in my face before it even started. I pumped a bit of relaxation through her, enough for her to get her shit together. As I waltzed her across the floor, I made sure to pass right by Diana and Mal. After a few more turns around the floor, I peeked over to see her the possessive jealousy I detected earlier replaced by a crushing sadness.

Fuck. I misread this situation. I may have destroyed my chances of getting another chance. The guys all scowled at me as she excused herself and walked toward the side door.

You fucked up, thanks for ruining the whole evening before it started,Mal linked me.

You’re an asshole,Az seethed as he followed her out.

“This was a mistake, excuse me,” I snapped before I followed them both out.

It took too long to find my way through the crowd. Everyone wanted to stop and talk to you when you were in a hurry. I found Diana and Az in the hallway, her crying in his arms. I angled myself so I was hidden behind the giant fern plants that flanked the doorway.

“He doesn’t want to be with me,” she sobbed, her tears leaving streaks of mascara down her face.

“No, he does. I wouldn’t lie to you about that. He’s just going about it the wrong way. I’m so sorry, angel. Do you want to go home?”

I stepped out, pushing Az out of the way as I grabbed Diana’s arm. We weren’t having this conversation here, where anyone could easily walk out and see her crying. They needed to see the strong woman who was up on that stage, not a broken hearted one. After I faded us back to the barrack, I locked it down so there’d be no interruptions.

We stood there for a couple of minutes, staring at each other. I wasn’t sure what to say–I had already screwed everything up so much, made it worse when she came back, and set it on fire with my stunt tonight. Emotions were like kryptonite to me, and nothing I did seemed to work with her.

“So, you’re just going to stare at me while I cry? Wanted to make sure I got the message? You made your point clear.” She sounded defeated.

“What are you talking about?”

“You came to visit me once in the hospital, vowing that you’d wait for me…then you ignored me for days and now you’re dancing with some random woman in front of everyone? If you changed your mind, you should have had the decency to tell me instead of playing games with me.”

She sniffled, then wiped away some of her tears. I handed her a tissue from the coffee table, and she discreetly used it to wipe the mess away from her eyes.

“She means nothing to me, and I used her to make you jealous,” I admitted.

“That’s what Zaz said. He thinks you still want me.

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