It took me a moment to realize what that meant. “You guys can’t go out there looking for him. I told you that he’s back so you all stay away from him.”

Nicolai faced me. “We are in this with you. You head out there to find Zayne, we’ll be there with you.”

“Thanks, but I don’t think that’s wise. He’s very—”

“Confused. Possibly even dangerous to us. Yes, I know. We all know, which is why you shouldn’t be out there on your own.”

“You’re a Trueborn,” Gideon said. “That’s pretty cool. And it’s also something I should’ve figured out, especially Zayne being your Protector. You’re strong and deadly in your own right, but he’s a fallen angel, Trinity. He may not be fully Fallen, as in the sense that he’s completely lost to us, but you’re going up against a very powerful class of angel that may not be able to stop himself from doing some major damage. You can’t do this alone, and I doubt he’s just going to allow you to walk right up to him and stab him. You’re going to need us to distract him.”

I tensed, humbled by their willingness to not stand by and also downright terrified. “Look, I appreciate the offer, but I didn’t come here to ask for help—”

“I know. We all know that,” Nicolai stated. “You came here to warn us off, and I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m not offering our help. You’re getting it.”

A knot formed in my chest as I tipped forward. “And what will happen if Zayne takes one of you out?”

“That is a risk we would take,” Nicolai answered.

“Gladly,” Dez tossed out, and when I looked over to him, I saw Gideon nod. “We would gladly risk our lives to help bring him back.”

“That’s great to hear. All of you are amazing. Really. But what if that does happen? And I succeed in bringing him back?” I asked, scanning the room. “What do you think that’ll do to Zayne?”

Everyone in the room fell quiet.

“He’s going to have to deal with enough crap as it is.” I hoped said crap was minimal and limited to throwing me around, but knowing him, that would cut him deep. “We don’t want to add to that.”