“Yeah,” I whispered, stomach tightening deliciously low.

He kissed the pad of my finger, those burning eyes still holding mine. “I love you, Trinity.”

There was a catch in my breath and in my chest. I could never grow tired of hearing him say that. Ever. Each time he said it, it was like hearing it for the first time, as was the realization of how utterly wondrous it was to feel that deep and to know that kind of love was returned. And I knew I would do anything to protect that.

“I love you,” I whispered.

He tipped his head back, and I thought I saw a smile as he stared up at the sky. I followed his gaze as I chowed down on a handful of fries. All I saw was the glare of the moon and different shades of black.

“Are the stars out?” I asked, hoping that he would say no, but sort of already knowing what the answer would be.

“There’s a few of them. They’re bright.” Lowering his chin, he looked over at me. “You don’t see any of them?”

Shaking my head, I shoveled the remaining fries into my mouth.

“Have you seen them since that night?” Zayne fished a napkin out of the fast-food bag as I finished off the fries. “Switch?”

“Thank you.” I handed over the empty carton and took the napkin. “No. I haven’t.”

He was quiet for a moment and then took the balled napkin from me. “How’s your vision otherwise?”

“Pretty much the same, I guess.” Clasping the edge of the warm stone, I swung my feet. “I mean, I don’t ever notice exactly when my vision worsens. It’s usually so slow you can’t really pinpoint the change.”

“But it was getting harder to see the stars before then?”

“It was.” I stared down. Other than the streetlamps and the headlights of passing cars, there was nothing but a void of darkness. “It was strange, though—how I saw all the stars so perfectly clearly. If it was real, it makes me wonder if... I don’t know, like if my father had something to do with that?” As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt foolish, so I slurped half of my drink. “I know that sounds stupid—”

“No, it doesn’t.” He touched my arm first and then my cheek. “I think it’s possible. Your father knows about your vision. Like I said before, I think your father finds ways to show that he cares—ways that aren’t always obvious.”

I smiled faintly, lowering my drink. “It felt like a...like a gift.”

“It sounds like it was.” His thumb swept over the curve of my jaw. “I wish you could see them now.”

“So do I.” I looked over at him. “But I have the Constellation of Zayne.”

He smiled, and it amazed me how clear his features were now despite the lack of lighting and my eyes. Granted, someone with functional eyeballs could probably see him even better, but normally, his face would’ve just been an unfocused blur to me.

“We should get going,” he said. “We need—”

I knew he felt the presence of demons at the same moment I felt the pressure on the nape of my neck. I sat my drink on the ledge. “You see them?”

“Looking.” He took ahold of my hand, helping me stand as he turned to look over his shoulder. “Incoming.”

I pivoted on the ledge, squinting. Several man-shaped blurs passed under the moonlight, their skin a shiny onyx. There were four pairs of deep red eyes. That’s all I needed to see to know what I was dealing with.

“Hellions,” I groaned, hopping down on the thankfully flat roof. Forbidden topside, Hellions were created by pain and misery, and somehow, Gabriel had swayed way too many of them to his cause. “Let me guess, they’re naked.”

“Unfortunately.”

“Why are they always naked?” I asked, summoning my grace. With the lack of light, I wasn’t going to mess around with the daggers. The corners of my vision brightened as white light powered down my arm. My fingers curled around the handle as the sword flamed to life, cracking with fire and energy.

“Try to keep one alive,” Zayne reminded me.

I nodded as the faint glow of Zayne’s skin pulsed. Static charged the air. The back of his shirt ripped as his wings tore free.

“You should check out the shirt the Warden Jordan was wearing,” I told him. “He’d cut two slits in the back for his wings. You’d go through less shirts if you do that.”

He shrugged the ruined shirt aside. “But then you wouldn’t get to see me shirtless.”

I grinned. “Good point.”

“Just looking out for you,” he replied as golden fire spiraled down both his arms, forming those wicked sickle blades.

If any of the Hellions hesitated at the sight of Zayne going full Fallen, I couldn’t tell. They rushed us, and that was when I realized there were more than four.

I’d never seen so many in one place. Good God, there had to be a dozen.

Zayne shot forward, slicing one blade through the chest of a Hellion as his wings lifted him in the air. He landed behind it as it burst into flames, his blades sweeping in a wide arc around him.

The Hellion in front of me disappeared. Cursing, I spun around and jabbed the flaming sword through its belly as it appeared behind me. It roared as I danced back, spinning. “Do you guys really not have clothing in Hell?”

“Would you like to find out?” one of the Hellions snarled, darting to my left and shooting forward, trying to come into my field of restricted vision.

Someone had been talking.

Oh Hell to the no, we were not going to play that game.

Growling under my breath, I shot back into the moonlight, lowering the sword. I stilled, centering myself just as Zayne had taught me. The Hellion’s rasping chuckle came from my right. I heard his steps, and I turned sharply. The Sword of Michael caught the Hellion in the chest.