23. Diana

"Birdie, we need to wake up soon," Bash whispered in my ear.

I lifted my head from his chest, almost horrified at the amount of drool I left behind while sleeping. Almost. That was on him for setting up a dreamscape where he let me sleep this way.

"You can't make me leave this paradise," I whined.

Bash dropped us in a glamping tree house in a forest in the middle of nowhere. There were no bugs, or critters. Just us, a bottle or two of my favorite red wine, and chicken fingers with honey mustard dipping sauce, his guilty pleasure snack. He had one-upped himself with the amount of thought and planning he put into these dream dates.

He pulled me on top of him, burying his face into my neck. Then he gave me the loudest, wettest, most uncharacteristic raspberry in the history of raspberries. I screamed as I tried to push him away, but he held me in place as he continued to assault my skin.

"Sebastian?!" I cackled. "Who are you, and what have you done with my broody, moody incubus? Are you his sexy evil twin?"

He rolled his eyes, but that didn't hide the flicker of jealousy that flashed in them. "You better not be giving my less attractive, not-as-sexy evil twin any of this," he said as he grabbed my pussy.

The dream around us started to shake, and I heard the chimes of my alarm float in the distance.

LG! Wake up! It's time to see your mom!Ares' voice came in loud and clear. I had almost forgotten that I fell asleep between him and Bash last night.

"It's time to get up…" I trailed off, anxious about seeing my mom today.

"Same time tonight. Don't worry, I'll be here with you the whole time, Birdie."

When I opened my eyes, there were a pair of bright hazel eyes staring back at me. Ares' face was mere centimeters away from my own, and his body weighed mine down.

"Ares," I gasped. "Get off me."

He rolled off and out of bed, picking my naked ass up and carrying me bridal style to the bathroom. After he placed me on the open toilet, he started the water in the shower.

"You should pee first, just in case you can get a UTI from dream-sex," he suggested, like it was medically proven and a perfectly normal thing to do.

"Um…can you leave…I'd like some privacy, you shower pirate."

"He does that to me all the time too," Zaz said as he walked into the bathroom and searched through the medicine cabinet for something. "Ares, if someone is in here, you need to ask first before you just walk in."

How the fuck is he able to say that, the hypocrite.

"Says the man who just waltz in here and pretended to look for moisturizer to see Diana's titties," Ares scoffed. "And I carried her in here with me—loophole."

"I wasn't even facing her, how can I possibly see them?"

"The mirror on the medicine cabinet door, when it's open you have a direct line of sight to the boobies in question. Don't even fucking try me, Feathers. The Greeks gods were the original detectives."

"Y'all invented fuck around and find out, huh?" Zaz said before flicking his fingers and shooting water at Ares.

"That's COLD!" Ares screeched.

I got up, then washed my hands at the sink. I didn't have to pee anyway, and I desperately needed a shower. Using my magic, I erected a barrier that pushed them both out of the space.

"Thanks for running my shower, but I need some alone time so I can chill. You can both use the bathroom after I'm done." I shut the door.

As I showered, I couldn't help but think of all the things that could go wrong. Mom barely knew me. She passed when I was nine, and I was a far cry from the plucky, loud kid that she last saw. I silently hoped that I was a woman my mother could be proud of.

Whispers spreadthrough the dining hall. Vampires had no sense of propriety at all. Actually, paranormal beings in general lived for gossip. Apparently the woman sitting between Michael and Lucifer—who were already at the center of the rumor mill—was the hot topic of gossip today. They weren't even subtle about it. And to give my mom credit, she pretended not to notice.

My mother looked exactly like she did the last day I saw her, not a day older. Her big, curly black hair was tied up in a messy bun, showing off her multiple ear piercings, and her high cheek bones were still breathtaking. She wore a flowy black maxi dress with bell sleeves. She was the definition of fabulous, and I hated myself for watching her from afar behind a giant potted plant instead of rushing up to her and hugging her for dear life like she deserved.

What is wrong with me?

A hand brushing across the top of my shoulder caught my attention. I welcomed the distraction. "Diana Rossi Morningstar, who's that woman who looks just like you sitting between your Daddies," Judas asked, his voice ripe with fake scandal. That fucker very well knew who she was because he got to see her before I did. I'm not jealous or anything…

I tried to give him a death glare, but I couldn't muster any hate toward him. He flashed his fangs at me, and I burst into a fit of laughter. Judas was a vibrant, hilarious, ball of everything, and one of my favorite people in the entire world, spare my men and my family.

"Ew, what's wrong with your teeth?! They're peroxide white and pointy. Are you a…vampire?!" I jokingly gasped. "Joke's on you, night creature. I ate a shit ton of garlic flavored hummus this morning, in preparation for this very occasion."

I faked blowing a breath into his face, and he mockingly put the back of his hand over his forehead, stumbling back.

"Whatever he is, he better back the fuck off," Bash said, pushing Judas aside. "What are you doing here? Your mom is in there." He put his hand around my waist, guiding me to the front of the dining hall where my parents ate with Oisín and Angela.

Bash, I'm not ready! I whisper shouted at him.

Sorry, I'm too busy being a conniving bastard,he linked me back.

By the time I processed what he said, we were already standing at the table. In front of Mom. She stood, and before I knew it we were squeezing each other, crying like babies.

"Mom!" I bawled. "It's really you?!"

She kissed my cheek and rocked us back and forth. The world stopped as we held each other, just taking in each other's presence. Mom was back, in the flesh, hugging me like she did when I was a child. It was a fucking miracle.

"I'm back, Di!" her tears ruined her mascara, and I used my magic to fix the smudges.

"I forgot how alike you two looked, oh my stars!" Angela exclaimed. "O, can you take a picture of the three of us?!" She handed him her phone, and I realized that I didn't even know where mine was. I was that nervous that I didn't have it on me.

"The three of you can pass as sisters," he commented as he snapped away. "Look, Marilyn." He showed her the pictures, and her smile spread from ear to ear.

"I can't believe this is a cell phone now," she whispered to him. They laughed together, and a weight I didn't even realize I held lifted from my shoulders. I loved that they got along. O could be extra for some people.

"It is. Oh, you're going to flip a lid when you see Desmond's tablet he's always carrying around. It's razor thin, and when I threw it against the wall last week, it didn't crack. That's craftsmanship."

"I haven't met him yet, I just met Ares so far. I'm looking forward to meeting all of your boyfriends, Di."

"I'm Sebastian, one of the boyfriends. It's nice to meet you," Bash said, extending his hand to my mother.

She assessed him lightly, taking in his crisp black Armani suit and white dress shirt. He wore cufflinks today, because he was a fancy incubus at heart.

"It's nice to meet you." They shook, and she smiled at him. It was genuine, full of warmth. "Is that a British accent I hear?"

"Yes, I lived in what's considered London for centuries before I met Desmond," he answered, giving her his most charming smile. The tips of his fangs peeked out, and I wanted to laugh. He was pulling out all the stops to impress my mom.

"Yep. I gave him a British accent for fun," Lucifer said after he sidled up to Mom and wrapped an arm around her waist. "I did create all the creatures of Hell, after all."

"Yeah you did. Thanks for making me so attractive. Diana loves the tall, dark, and handsome look, you know?" Bash took my hand and squeezed it. This pissing match was a bit much pre morning coffee, but it was hilarious.

"Lucifer, can you show me where I can find a chocolate croissant? Angie ate the one she brought back for me," she pouted before my father could snipe back. They walked off, and Bash and I made our plates at the buffet line.

Aside from Ares hugging Mom a bit too tightly and me spilling iced coffee all over myself, breakfast went off without a hitch. Lucifer and Ares had a meeting, so they left early. Michael and Judas took my mother on a tour of the compound. I wanted to go with them, but Zaz and I were meeting Tempus for our first lesson today.

"What is he like?" I asked him as we walked through a hallway. Fading was fun, but sometimes I missed walking like a normal person.

"He's…ancient. I don't know how old he is, but I know he's seen time from the beginning, if not close to it. He's very quiet, but when he talks, it's meaningful. Grunting is a language for him."

When I walked into the training facility, I knew exactly what Zaz meant. Tempus was…striking. He didn't look a day over forty, but I knew he had seen the test and trials of time because of the wisdom in his eyes. Handsome wasn't even a suitable adjective for him. He was beautiful the way Mal was, with sharp features and silky long hair that he tied into a bun. But he had an added layer of impenetrability, like a century standing tall and alert. My magic registered his right away, because I had never felt anything like it. It was…layered. Never-ending in its depth. Ancient was definitely the word for it.

I realized that I was staring at him, and promptly closed my mouth. Gosh, I didn't want him to think I was interested in him—I wasn't. I just hadn't met anyone like him before.

"I am so sorry for staring at you!" I blurted out. "I've never met a Time Walker before, and your magic is like, so layered, it's insane," I continued to babble on, metaphorically kicking myself.

A deep rumbling laughter escaped his lips. He tilted his head, then smiled at me. "I know. No worries, Diana Morningstar. My name is Tempus, and I'm honored to teach you how to responsibly time-hop."

The implication in his voice was clear. He knew about my magic destabilizing.

"The first thing I want to do is ask you how you time-hop, then I want you to take Azazel and I somewhere that's at least a few centuries in the past or future."

"Azazel told me to never travel forward, so I haven't tried that yet. I don't want to spoil anything or change a major time event by sneezing, and the idea of knowing what's going to happen scares me."

He gave me a sympathetic look, then grunted at Zaz. "Although I understand your concern, you need to know how to travel in both directions. I'll teach you." He clapped his hands, then led us to the center of the facility.

"Okay, describe your process to me, Diana."

"I used to have to say the time and place aloud and concentrate super hard, but now I just think about the time and place. If I'm familiar with the destination, I'll envision it in my mind."

"That sounds about right. Each person with our ability has their own slightly unique process. Stay true to it and hone it over time. It's an extension of your magic. Do you have an idea of where you want to take us?"

I mulled it over, deciding on the lavender field Zaz and I met in. Civil War era, America. It was crazy to me that happened less than a year ago, when it seemed like a lifetime had passed. When we arrived, the cannons were still firing in the distance. The vibrant purple flowers stretched as far as the eye could see, and the only thing that rivaled them was Zaz's smile.

"You're romantic today," he teased me. "Do you know how hard it was to let you come to the conclusion that you could time-hop on your own and not give everything away? I felt like such a low key stalker, meeting you in what you thought were your dreams and following you around."

"Ha! Please say that in front of Bash when we get home. I want to see him get all moody and explain how he is, in fact, not a stalker." We laughed and took a moment to appreciate the earthy scent of the wildflowers.

"I understand why she's your animaspecl, old friend. I can feel your hearts, and they beat in sync." Tempus dropped that wisdom on us, then walked through the field. "Your actual movement through time is satisfactory. You got us from point A to B in one piece. But you need to work on making it a smoother ride for passengers, and that can be achieved with better focus."

He went on to teach me some focusing and visualization techniques. The three of us sat in the field together until sunset, and I couldn't believe how lucky I was. I'm learning about time travel from an ancient being who can manipulate time. Who needed law school? My life plan may have been derailed when the guys found me, but it was replaced by something so much better.

"I missed a whole day"s worth of meetings and lessons, but it was worth it. Thank you so much for taking the time to teach me, Tempus."

"You're welcome…and you only miss it if you want to. You can hop back to a minute after we left and experience your day as it will be. Remember, you control time now."

His words stuck with me. I controlled time—and that was a responsibility I couldn't carry lightly. I time-hopped us back at the training facility a few minutes after we had left, giving myself the next hour to unwind and process everything. Or at least I thought I'd be by myself. You were never truly alone when you were Diana Morningstar.