Page 129 of Saints & Sinners

I knelt beside him, trying to get a closer look at the stone. It was impossible to tell which was the real stone and which wasn’t.

My fingers trembled slightly as I reached for it, but Hunter gripped my wrist, pulling it back. I glanced up at him, and the warning look in his eyes sent an unexpected pulse to my core. Swallowing, I stared right back at him with as much conviction as I could muster. “I can handle myself.”

His jaw flexed. “I know.” A pause. “But that doesn’t mean I want you to.”

I pulled my wrist back. “Then, who else will do it? You?”

“If it means that you’re not the one risking it, then yeah,” he shot back without hesitation.

Sometimes, I wanted to punch him and kiss him all at once. It was a baffling thought.

“You don’t get to decide for me.” I have had too much of that in my life.

“I’m not—”

Before he could fight me on this, I slapped my hand over thestone’s smooth surface just as he yelled my name not to.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then, the ground beneath us trembled.

The golden light from the stone spread outward in a wave, illuminating the glade as the trees groaned and their branches curled unnaturally toward the sky.

I stood with the stone in my hand, staring at everyone else as the light continued to spread, swallowing the clearing in its glow.

“What’s happening?” Marnie called out in panic, but I could barely hold myself up. I grabbed Hunter’s arm as he held me, ensuring I didn’t fall.

The ground shifted, cracked, and splintered, and the blade Hunter had given me slipped from my grip, disappearing into the cracks below us.

“It’s changing!” Brandon cried out as the glade went silently still, and then branches twisted together, forming thick, impenetrable walls.

My wide eyes shot to Hunter before another branch came between us, separating me from him, from everyone.

“Grace!” His voice sounded urgent, but I could no longer see him as the world fractured. Everything around me became an endless maze that stretched as far as I could see.

Mist crept in through the branches, and everything became colder, heavier, and still. The only sound was the faint hiss of the sigil stone pulsing in my hand. I looked down at it, its angelic carvings glowing faintly in the dimness.

I was alone.

Fear settled in my chest, and my breaths turned shallow as I whirled around. Everything started spinning, and I couldn’t focus. Pressing a hand to my chest, I could feel each thump of my heart pounding against it, almost as if it were trying to escape its confines. Much howIfelt right now.

Trapped and alone.

My fingers curled into the fabric of my uniform, and nails dug into my palms as the edges of my vision blurred.

Stop, I tried to tell my mind, but the panic didn’t lessen for one second. My legs felt even more unsteady than before, and I stumbled forward, bracing myself against the rough bark of the maze-like wall.

I started clawing at my neck, wanting to breathe, but then my fingers brushed something cool and smooth.

Hunter’s necklace.

I closed my eyes, gripping the small charm between my fingers as its familiar shape grounded me.

I could still hear his voice from the day he’d given it to me.

What’s this?

It’s something to focus on. When it gets too much, hold it and ground yourself.

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