Page 73 of Found In Destruction

His lumbering footsteps proved that the universe didn’t give a shit about my pride, and I quickly pulled my blanket up to my chin and pretended to be sleeping.

“Di!” he shouted. When I didn’t respond, he shook my shoulders, almost dislodging my blanket. “DIANA ROSSI MORNINGSTAR, wake up!”

“Oisín, go away you ginger ogre. I’m exhausted,” I said, pretending to be half asleep.

“No can do, sister. Our dads are looking for you, and none of your penis-paraders knew where you were,conveniently–surprised their pants weren’t on fire. I figured you were still sleeping. Come on, we have to start packing. Deployment in three hours.”

He stood there, and I looked from him to the door, giving him a silent cue to leave. He didn’t get the cue.

“O, can you give me some privacy?” I asked.

He took in the state of the room. There were clothes everywhere, the sheets corners were messed up, and an empty box of donuts sat on the bedside table.

His sharp cackle slapped me right in the face. “My sister is a WHORE! The great Diana R. Morningstar was taken out by a gangbang!”

“O, shut up!” I snapped. My face heated, and I knew it was turning beet-red. Half the building has superhearing and it wasn’t their fucking business what I did in my bedroom.

“I wondered why they all seemed so happy this early in the morning, but I figured it was because they all loved bloodshed and violence, especially Ares. You’d have thought he won the lottery…which I guess for him, he did.”

“You asshole, get the fuck out of my room!” I screamed, throwing my pillow at him.

He caught it and lit it on fire, laughing as the ashes hit the floor. Then he saw the note. His eye practically sparkled with mischief as he teleported it into his hands.

“Oisín, you fucker, give that back right now. That’s private!”

“All the more reason to read it,” he said before reading it aloud in a ridiculously high pitched voice. He wretched, pretending to vomit all over the floor, and laughed at his own humor.

“Theleastthey could do was get you a fucking parfait. No bacon? No eggs? Not even a bagel with a flavored cream cheese?! You need to either upgrade or train these men better, Diana.They have five somewhat functioning brains, this is amateur hour.For shame.”

Rolling my eyes, I got out of bed, wincing because I underestimated how much this would hurt once I stood up. I started casting the spells needed to augment the inside of my only suitcase. Mal and O had taught me how during ourtrip, so I could bring everything I needed, but the task of folding and packing everything was daunting.

“Contrary to my actions, I didn’t come here to make fun of you,” O assured me as he pointed at the pile of clothes. He magicked them so they landed in the suitcase in neat, folded piles. “I can’t even talk, I’ve done so much worse over the years.”

“I’m sure you have. How old are you again? I’m surprised your bones aren’t crumbling to dust where we stand. I’ll make sure to pack you some of those calcium chews Nonna likes to take.” I internally gloated at how hilarious I was.

“Ha, ha, ha. At least I’m out of diapers, you little baby. You’re almost twenty three? That’s nothing. I’ll make sure to buy you some cool stuffed animals once we get to Hell’s gift shop. Think of them as an early birthday gift.”

O and I continued to trade barbs as we packed all my things. His witty comebacks were on an entirely new level, and I wanted to be just as ruthless when I grew up. I loved bonding with my brother, even when he was being a complete shit.

I brushed my teeth and got ready, changing into a black tactical catsuit and combat boots one of the guys left out for me. My brother carried my suitcase as we made our way to the front door.

“Say goodbye, sister.We’re going to Hell.”

All the memories I made here flashed before my eyes, good and bad.

Watching movies, eating snacks. The sex, love, and snuggles. The fights, the make-ups. The horrendously goodpuns. Watching the guys wrestle and beat the crap out of each other. Reading books with Ares and Mal. Looking over Desmond’s shoulder at his iPad while he monitored their businesses they had to leave behind. Deep conversations with Zaz. Trying to ignore Bash watching me like a creeper.

“I’m going to miss this place…” I admitted. “But onward and downward, I guess.”

Oisín patted my back, and we locked the door on our way out. This was the beginning of a new era.The Morningstar Era.

“I don’t likethis part of the plan,” Ares grumbled. He grabbed me around the waist, lifting me off the ground as if I were a feather, and threw me over his shoulder. Everyone was in the training facility, along with half of our soldiers. The rest were waiting in antechambers around the compound, ready to fade in when it was their turn to cross through the portal.

“Put my daughter down,” Michael snapped.

“I changed my mind, she needs to stay with me.” He didn’t let go.

“Luci, talk some sense into this one. We’re way too close for everything to go tits up right now,” Michael huffed.

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