Page 101 of Saints & Sinners

“That can’t be right. Someone must know where she went—”

Veronica gave me a humorless laugh. “Even the Celestials at this academy don’t bring her up. It’s like she never existed.”

I looked away, whispering, “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you have the same look in your eyes as she did.”

My head swung in her direction. I wanted to open my mouth to argue, but the words caught in my throat. I wasn’t even sure what I would be arguing towards. I was the one to come up to her with questions and she saw right through me.

“Whatever you’re doing, Grace—” She leaned forward “—Whether it’s with an Ascendant or a Celestial themselves... I suggest you stop. I, for one, would hate to have my memories erased or, worse, be killed at the hands of a Riftkeeper over something such as falling in love with the person you weren’t supposed to.”

I didn’t say a word.

I couldn’t.

Veronica must have known it too, as she cast me a singlewarning glance before turning on her heel and walking away.

The evening rain had finally stopped, causing the clouds to part and the sun to stream across the training grounds, casting golden hues over the weapons racks and sparring pits.

I caught sight of Hunter; his broad shoulders turned away from me as he ran his fingers over some of the weapons. He looked focused, his hair curling slightly at the nape of his neck. My pulse quickened, and I hated how my eyes always drifted to him. However, no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t stop. And I hated it even more that his gaze immediately found mine when he turned slightly.

And then I noticed it.

The chains were gone.

For the past few weeks, despite us, not able to be together, those iron bindings had clung to his wrist, dimming his power, weighing him down during training. But now—

Now he stood tall. Unchained. Unyielding.

He tilted his head slightly, as if to sayyeah, I noticed you noticing.That stupid cocky glint returned to his eyes like it had never left, and it made something stir in my chest.

My cheeks heated, and I quickly turned my attention back to Azrael as he paced across the center of the grounds.

“We are days away from the ball and competition.” His wings flashed out as if even they were impatient. “Many of you have shown great strength and endurance throughout these months, and I know that myself and Nadael are proud of that.” His chest swelled with pride. “That is why today, you’ll once again participate in an exercise the Council values highly—the EclipticHunt.”

Everyone around me either nodded or fist-bumped one another. I, on the other hand, was nervous about the Ecliptic Hunt. The last time I participated, I was terrible at it.

Azrael continued splitting us into teams, and my heart sank and raced simultaneously when I heard Hunter’s name called for the opposing team. Of course, he wasn’t with me. We were always on opposite sides, and it felt cruelly poetic in a way.

But it was even worse when Azrael declared my group would be the ones with Celestial Energy this time.

Azrael pried open a chest containing hundreds of glowing orbs and handed us a few each. I placed them in my pockets before he sent us into the woods in scattered directions.

I gripped one of the orbs tightly as I darted between the trees. I remembered the first time I did this, how Lucas had been by my side, always covering for my mistakes, always cheering me on. The ache in my chest tightened, but I swallowed it down.

He wasn’t here to cover for me anymore. I had to do that myself. I had to do a lot by myself.

Soon, the first encounter happened quickly. A boy from the opposing team burst out from behind a bush, and I dodged his first strike as he tried to grab the orbs from me. My movements were faster than I thought possible, as a sharp twist of my body and a sweep of my leg had him tumbling to the ground. Before he could recover, I struck him with the energy beam, and he glowed faintly blue, signaling he was out.

“Good job, Gracie.” Silas appeared at my side, throwing an orb in the air before catching it. He winked. “Keep moving.”

I nodded to myself and pushed forward, my senses sharper and more alert. The woods became a maze, but I navigated it well enough, knocking out one, two,and threemore opponents.

On the third, I grinned and tried to stop myself fromattempting to perform a happy dance in the middle of the woods.

“Are you kidding me?” The boy on the ground tsked, wiping at the blue smeared on his shirt. “This is going to be a pain to get out.”

I chuckled with an apologetic shrug as he stood and marched off, muttering under his breath how annoyed he was.

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