Page 48 of Absolved In Death

“I guess I have to tell her…” The idea of telling her whose voice was in her vision gutted me. I didn’t want her to be discouraged or to connect the dots and come to the worst conclusion. She needed to believe in herself.

“You did promise you wouldn’t lie to her again…” he reminded me, as if I could ever forget how epically I fucked up. Or how I promised to earn her forgiveness every day. “You should tell her who the voice is, but you don’t have to offer her our doomsday interpretation. Their words were meant for her to find the meaning in.”

“And as her de facto guardian angel, I’ll guide her in the right path…” I said, catching onto what Michael meant.

Regardless of what her prophecy meant, I would do anything it took to ensure Diana’s safety. Because nothing would separate her from me, even if the fate of the world depended on it.

“You lied to her…”Ares said with a deceptively calm voice. I asked him to gather everyone in the living room of our apartment, so I could update them on this new development. Of course, he asked why, and I sort of word-vomited the whole thing to him.

“Yes, I wanted to talk to Michael about it first. This is a huge development.” One that changed everything.

His frown took me off guard. Aresneverfrowned. The guy was the definition of unhinged energy, and his smiles were next-level maniacal…but his disappointment packed a shame filled punch right to my gut.Ouch.

“Set this right, Feathers. We all agreed that we were going to be better men, and when one of us fucks up, it impacts all of us, whether we like it or not. If I can’t make a baby with her, you can’t keep life-changing secrets. Desmond can’t be an asshole. Bash can’t be an overly obsessive freak, and Mal…um…Mal can’t stab her again.”

I rarely felt jealousy, but Mal had it easy.

It must be so hard not stabbing someone.

I mentally castigated myself for being so petulant. Mal had his own trials with Diana, and it wasn’t an easy road. He had grown so much and deserved his happiness.

Desmond and Bash walked into the living room, with curious expressions.

Everything okay?Desmond checked in.

Yeah, what’s going on, Az?Bash echoed in his usually annoyed, posh tone.

Um, not really. I’d rather wait until everyone is here to talk about it. Where’s Diana?I linked them both.

They looked over their shoulders at her room, and Desmond’s lips curled into a smirk.

Mal is helping her get dressed, because she’s sore…he cryptically commented.

Yeah, she had aroughmorning,Bash added.

I took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, and then let it out. Sex always put Diana in a better mood, so maybe she wouldn’t be upset about it. If Bash and Des did half the things to her I assumed they did, she'd be too tired to be angry.

Mal and Diana came into the room a few minutes later. His hair was pulled into a bun, and his neck sported a fresh bite mark. A rosy blush colored her cheeks, and she did seem relaxed, even in uniform. Her lazy smile was a good start.

“What’s up, Zaz. Is everything okay?” she asked me

“Feathers has something he needs to say,” Ares announced in a steel voice.

Hells Bells, way to lead it off. May as well just say it and hope for the best.

I looked Diana directly in the face and went for it. “Last night, I saw your vision, in its entirety. I lied and told you about an old vision I saw, because I had to check something with Michael. I didn’t want to worry anyone if it wasn’t what I thought it was, and I am sorry.”

Her warm smile was not the reaction I expected. She sat on my lap before giving me a huge hug and kiss on the cheek. I exhaled deeply as I wrapped my arms around her.

“I know, you’re an awful liar on the spot. Your Sight can be difficult for you, so I gave you space to work it out. Thank you for telling me, Zaz.” I truly didn’t deserve this woman.

“Soooo,” Ares drew out the last syllable. “Can I get some space to work out having a baby with you?” he asked.

Diana rolled her eyes while the rest of us gave him varying‘What the actual fuck’expressions. Mal’s was my favorite, because his glare was glacial, as if he were over it before the words were even out of Ares’ mouth.

“No. As a reminder, Ares, I want to wait,” she patiently answered him. “So what did you check with Michael?”

“The voice in your vision was God. That was a prophecy, Diana.”

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