I sighed. “Probably not, and I don’t know if those orders are recent, like coming after Roth and Layla had spoken to him, or if they were issued before. I’m hoping they came before.”

“But even if they came before Roth and Layla met with him, it’s still an issue.” Zayne’s hands returned to my shoulders. “That needs to be dealt with.”

“It’s been added to the ever-growing list,” I murmured.

Zayne squeezed my shoulders again. “I’m guessing we don’t know where Gabriel is hiding?”

Nicolai shook his head. “We’ve been keeping an eye out for Bael or any sign of Gabriel, but there’s been nothing since the night at the school.”

“There’s been no more Warden deaths?” Zayne asked.

“No,” answered Dez. “There’s also been very little demon activity.”

As they talked, my mind wandered as it often did, skipping from one thought to the next, starting with the horrible final moments under the school, when Zayne showed up and killed Sulien. My mind snagged on the other Trueborn. Had it been him who left the angelic weapon behind? Or Gabriel, since only archangels carried them? Either way, it was incredibly reckless of either of them, to the point it seemed impossible for either of them to have been responsible. The golden, luminous spikes were angel blades, capable of killing anything, including angels—

Holy crap.

I’d totally forgotten about the damn angel blades and the fact we had in our grasp a plan A and B this whole time.

And that was one of the strange, marvelous mysteries of a random brain. No joke. Sometimes all the random thoughts served a purpose and were connected. Sometimes they didn’t and just led me to do things that were quite impulsive or nonsensical to most.

“We need the angel blades,” I blurted out.

Nicolai’s head inclined. “Angel blades?”

“That’s what those golden spikes were.” I looked back at Zayne. “Remember when Roth saw the writing in the tunnels?”

Understanding washed across his expression and his gaze snapped to Nicolai’s. “They’re angelic weapons used by archangels, and they can kill anything with angelic blood, including an angel. We need them.”

Dez let out a low whistle as Nicolai nodded. “We’ll get them to you ASAP.”

“Why would Gabriel leave them behind if they can kill him?” Danika wondered the same thing I had. “Or anyone working with him?”

“They were found on Morgan,” Zayne said, referencing one of the Wardens who’d been killed. “Gabriel was the one killing Wardens, and I seriously doubt he would’ve left them behind.”

“Unless he’s that arrogant,” Dez mused. “And thought we wouldn’t figure out what they were.”

“Possible.” Zayne’s thumbs pressed into the tight muscles at the base of my neck.