Page 13 of Saints & Sinners

Disappointment sunk into my stomach like an anchor. It wasn’t that I didn’t like Marnie—she was kind, after all—but the look of pity in Nadael’s eyes made it clear she didn’t see me capable of much more.

“She’s a Healer, which involves treating injured Warriors and—”

“Can I not choose where to go?” I cut her off with a pensive frown.

She blinked at me and almost chuckled at the idiocy of my words. “Grace, this place revolves around an Ascendant’s specific ability. Everyone has a future to pick. A Warrior, once ascended, will become an Authority in the angelic hierarchy—”

“And a human falls nowhere, right?”I looked away and sighed deeply. My thoughts tangled with those of my childhood—the ones where I would move homes each time and where, even in a school full of humans, I still felt like I did not belong. “Why did you accept Joe’s offer for me to come here?”

I was met with silence, so I faced her again.

Nadael’s gaze dropped to her hands, fingers tightly intertwined on the desk as if she couldn’t bring herself to look at me. “I’ve known Joe for over a century, and more importantly, I havewatched you grow up. I felt it was my duty to give you a chance.”

I wanted to shake my head and tell her I didn’t believe a word she said, to challenge her and question her morals as a Celestial. But the words stuck in my throat, locked behind fear of what consequences it would give me or Joe.

“He thinks you’d be excellent in the Healers’ Sector,” she spoke softly. I bit the inside of my cheek, unsure if it was out of irritation or just a desperate need to feel something other than helplessness. “I know that you enjoy that side of—”

“I want to join the Warriors,” I admitted, the words spilling out before I could second-guess myself.

Nadael’s fingers tightened briefly, and she finally lifted her gaze to meet mine. There was a flicker of something in her eyes—worry, perhaps, or frustration—but it quickly disappeared behind the usual veil of professionalism. “Grace, the Warriors... it’s not like the other sectors. It’s brutal. And you—” She paused as if carefully considering her words. “You don’t have the same advantages as the others here. The Ascendants are born with abilities for a reason. The physical demands of a Warrior are not a question of willpower. It’s survival.”

Her words struck a nerve, as I knew she was right in every sense of the world. “I know that,” I replied. “But if I’m trying to protect myself from Riftkeeper’s. Involving myself with the Healers won’t help me with that.”

Nadael sighed, but I decided I wasn’t done just yet.

“I don’t want to stay here hiding forever, and if the Riftkeeper’s were so dangerous to me that Ihadto come here, then Joe should never have taken me in as if I were one of you.” My heart pounded in my chest, resenting the fact that I had spoken those words aloud—thatpart of me detested growing up with too much knowledge. “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life scared of everything out there.”

Nadael studied me for a long moment, her expressionunreadable. The silence between us stretched until it felt like the room itself was closing in, and I had no way of escaping.

She leaned back in her chair, inhaling slowly through her nose. Her eyes narrowed as if there was more to it all. She stared off to the side momentarily before shaking her head slightly. Without a word, she reached for the phone on her desk, punched in a few numbers and brought it to her ear.

“I need a fresh set of rank 1 clothes sent to room 104,” she said briskly.

A flicker of relief passed through me, but I kept my face neutral as Nadael’s gaze shifted toward me, her eyes assessing me.

“Small,” she muttered, her eyes drifting over my uniform. I frowned, glancing down at my outfit, wondering if she was making a jab or simply stating a fact.

She gave a curt nod into the phone before slamming it back into its handset. Without missing a beat, her gaze shifted to me. “You can start unpacking in your new dorm if you wish.”

The thought of living with Hunter made a jolt of nerves race through me. “No training?” I asked, trying to steady my voice. I had to remember that I was the one who chose to stay in that dorm.

“Tomorrow,” she clipped as she handed me a piece of paper. “Today, you can sit in on a Guardian lesson. Here’s your timetable and the Celestial you’ll report to. Other than that, all Ascendants are usually required to attend certain lessons, which you will see on that sheet. Now, go. Don’t make me regret this more than I already do.”

I glanced at the timetable, and then the name scribbled at the bottom—Azrael. My stomach tightened as I mumbled a quietthank youand stood up.

Just as I reached the door, her voice made me halt. “Oh, and Grace?”

I paused, glancing over my shoulder as she wrote something onher notepad.

“I trust you’re already aware,” she began, her tone clipped, though her gaze flickered up to meet mine as if searching for any sign of defiance. “But it bears repeating: we have a strict policy regarding... romantic entanglements.”

I remained silent.

“The life of an Ascendant demands’ sacrifices, the same for any Celestial. And while these rules may not concern humans outside of these walls; we prefer to avoidcomplications. If you wish to form friendships, then by all means. But it can never go beyond that.” Her eyes narrowed. “Do not jeopardize yourself or the path of an Ascendant to Celestialhood for the sake of fleeting emotions. Remember the Angelic Code states: To love is to fall and to fall is to be forgotten.”

Her warning hung in the air, and I felt the weight of her words press down against my chest, forcing me to take a deep breath.

She didn’t want me distracting anyone.

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