“I just... I’m not sure how what I’m supposed to do won’t actually kill him.”

“I’m going to need details, Trinity,” Nicolai said.

I rubbed my palms over my knees. “The Throne said that my grace would never harm someone I cared about. That I needed to use it to strike at a heart encased in chaos.”

“The Sword of Michael.” Nicolai’s brows rose. “I’m guessing that means you’re supposed to stab him in the heart with the Sword of Michael.”

“Pretty much.”

“How will that not kill him?” Danika’s eyes went wide.

“That’s what I’m wondering, but the Throne was all like, ‘You got to have faith,’” I told them.

“I can’t imagine the Throne lied to you,” Gideon said.

“Really?” came Dez’s response. “Angels don’t often outright lie, but they sure as Hell leave a whole lot of truth out.”

“Thrones are different, though. They are the speakers of truths and seers of lies,” Gideon argued, and I thought of all those creepy eyes. “If the Throne told her this, then it has to be true.”

“True or not, I have to do it.” My hands stilled. “Zayne’s out there right now, and I have no idea what he’s doing. Hopefully he’s napping or eating unhealthy food. That’s probably not the case, and the Throne...he warned that it could already be too late. That all those things he felt when he Fell, what he’s feeling now, could’ve already...infected him.”

Danika turned her head away, and I knew she, like me, couldn’t bear the thought of that.

I took a shaky breath. “If I don’t try to bring him back and take that risk, he will become evil. He’s going to do things that Zayne would never do.”

“He already has, by the looks of it,” Nicolai said softly, staring at me, and I knew what he saw. New bruises.

The truth in that burned. “I can’t let him turn into a monster. I won’t do that to him. I won’t let that happen to him. I can’t.”

“Agreed,” Dez said without a second of hesitation.

“Then what’s the game plan?” Nicolai placed his hands on the desk. “What happens next?”

Shower? There was dirt and mud on me. And blood. I doubted that was what Nicolai meant. I also doubted there was time for that. “I’ll head out there and look for Zayne. He found me once and I guess he’ll find me again. The Throne made it sound like he would be drawn to my grace. Then I will...I will bring him back.”

“Okay, then.” He turned to Dez. “Let’s roll out.”