I didn’t know what that said about the three of us, but I was glad that I got to spend more time with Jada. We caught up, chatting about non-Harbinger-related things, and it was nice seeing her and Zayne interact.

It felt so...so normal.

It felt like a future, and even though Zayne’s and my future wouldn’t be easy considering the whole aging thing, it made me feel good. I held on to that feeling after returning Jada to the compound and while Zayne and I walked the city, hoping to draw out one of Gabriel’s goons.

“What were you thinking you’d want for breakfast?” Zayne asked as we walked past several shops closed for the night.

I’d made plans to meet up with Jada and Ty for breakfast. That was if they weren’t still fighting. I doubted that they would be. I knew that they’d have to return to the community in the next day or so. I was still expecting Thierry or Matthew to show up.

“I don’t know.” I scanned the dark trees, having not felt one single demon. All of them had to be congregating around either Lucifer or Gabriel. “I know they’re not picky. Neither am I, so if you can think of a good place, I’m sure it will be okay.”

“What if I picked a place that only made egg whites and spinach?”

“I’d stop talking to you.”

“But you’d keep loving me.”

“Reluctantly,” I quipped.

Zayne laughed as he swooped down, kissing my cheek. “I’ll find us a place with all the fried bacon you can eat.”

“And waffles.”

“What about pancakes?”

“Ew. No.”

“What?” He looked down at me. “How can you like waffles and not pancakes?”

“I just don’t.”

“You’re weird.”

“I’m not the one who eats egg whites willingly.”

“How is that weird? It’s healthy—”

“That’s all you need to say to prove my point.” We neared an intersection. “You’re not going to die of clogged arteries, so live a little and eat the yolk.”

Zayne laughed as he placed his hand on my lower back and we crossed the street. He waited till there were several feet between us and anyone who could overhear our conversation. “I’ve been thinking about how to draw Gabriel out. The last you saw him, he was at that school. Obviously it was a trap, but what if that trap works both ways?”

I immediately picked up on what he was saying. “You’re thinking about going to that school—to the portal, to possibly catch Gabriel’s attention?”

“He has to have eyes on the place.”