“Yep.” I squeezed him with my arms and legs, and for just a few moments, I let reality soak its way in. I’d helped him find his way back to me, just as he promised, and even though he came back...different, it was him. There was a whole lot of bad stuff we still needed to face, but with him by my side, there was more than just a chance that we’d defeat Gabriel. There was hope. There was a light at the end of the tunnel. He was the silver lining, and this moment was proof that miracles were possible. There was a future beyond all of this.

Pulling myself together, I slowly disentangled myself. Once I was on my two feet and ninety-nine percent confident that I wasn’t going to launch myself at him again, I said, “Okay. I need to focus. I am focused. You can answer all of the questions about Heaven later, but back to what’s important. What did the angels tell you—?” I started walking again, pulling Zayne along with me until I stopped. “Where am I walking to, by the way?”

“I figured we’d catch a ride, since I’d rather speak to Nic before I take to the air,” he reasoned, and I wholeheartedly agreed with that. “I can get high enough that humans can’t tell my wings aren’t like a Warden’s, but I want to make sure none of the Wardens think I’m going to kill them.”

The Wardens.

He’d said that like he was no longer one of them, and he wasn’t. Obviously. I already knew that, but it was still a shock to the system.

“Good call,” I murmured, and then got back on track as we started walking down the path. “Is it possible? What Gabriel claimed? That Bael and the souls would infect Heaven and that God would close the gates?”

“Yes, which basically means any human that dies would no longer be able to enter Heaven. All the souls would be trapped on Earth, either becoming wraiths or tortured by demons,” Zayne finished with a sigh. “With the spheres of Heaven closed off, demons would have no reason to stay hidden. Earth would become Hell, and parts of Heaven would be lost. What Gabriel plans is possible.”

“I was kind of hoping he was just delusional.”

“Unfortunately not,” he said. “Some of the Alphas and other angels already want to close up shop.”