Page 134 of Saints & Sinners

“Messengers have it easy,” Silas grumbled, narrowly dodging a crack in the ground as it split open beneath his feet.

“They’re not the only ones,” I said, pointing toward a Healer who had crouched near a fallen friend. Her hands glowed withgolden light as she quickly patched up the competitor’s twisted ankle.

“Hey, we don’t always have it easy. Sometimes it’s too late to heal,” Marnie said, clutching onto Brandon as he helped her from further back.

At least everyone was using their strengths—that’s what the Council wanted to see: that the Ascendants could use their gifts to their advantage.

I had nothing to show for it, but I had the will to compete and win, at least.

A Guardian suddenly surged toward the sigil, clearing the gaps in the floating paths with impossible ease.

I gritted my teeth and pushed forward, my boots skidding on the unstable ground as I ran.

Hunter was ahead of me as he leapt across crumbling platforms and intercepted the Guardian with a fist swing. The Guardian staggered back, but not before grabbing Hunter by the collar of his jacket and dragging him off one of the moving platforms. They both fell to the ground, and I panicked, wanting to run to him, but he looked over his shoulder, telling me to just go as he fought off the Ascendant.

My feet faltered, and I debated whether to listen to him or not.

“Grace,” Silas said. “Marine, both of you go. We’ll be there soon.” Him and Brandon jumped onto other platforms, trying to get to Hunter while Marnie looked at me and without needing to say anything, we raced toward the sigil stone.

We dodged cracks in the ground and bursts of energy from platforms as we manoeuvred through the glade. I tried to look back to where Hunter was, but Marnie kept me steady before someone appeared in front of us, her hands glowing as she conjured another vision. The image flickered for a moment, showing an alternate path to the stone, but before she couldfinish, Marnie struck back.

Her glowing hands lashed out, disrupting the Guardian’s concentration and breaking the vision. The Guardian stumbled, and Marnie grabbed my arm, pulling me forward.

Leaping over a cracked platform, I landed without much effort, but Marnie slipped and fell onto a lower piece of land.

“Marnie!” I yelled, but the storm nearly drowned out my voice.

“I’m fine!” She coughed, lifting herself from the ground and scanning the glade. “You’re closer to them; grab whichever you feel is right!”

My brows furrowed as I looked over my shoulder at the sigil stones just ahead.

“Grace, justgetthe stone!” Marnie yelled, and a groan slipped past my lips as I jumped onto the next platform, the stones glowing a bright blue with every second I got closer to it. But as I reached for the one in the middle, the air around me changed. The storm above crackled louder, and a bolt of lightning struck the platform I was on. It cracked into pieces, and I fell, hitting one platform, then another, then another.

Pain shot up my entire body as I landed on my back and fought to open my eyes.

Everything around me began to fade, and suddenly, I was no longer on the ground. Instead, I was standing in a small, cosy flat—the same one Joe and I used to live in when I was younger. Joe was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea in his hand as he glanced up and saw me.

“Welcome back home,” he said, “You’ve been gone so long, I was beginning to think you’d never come back at all.”

A pang rippled through my chest, seeing him there, smiling at me warmly as if nothing had ever changed between us.

The sigil stone and competition were gone. There was only Joe, the smell of freshly baked bread, and the warmth of the sunlightstreaming through the windows.

“You don’t have to do this anymore, Grace,” Joe said, his smile softening. “You can stay here where you’ll be safe.”

For a moment, I wanted to believe him.

But even back then, I was never safe. We were always running, hiding, searching.

“I don’t want to stay.”

Joe sighed. “You’re not ready for what is out there, Grace. You never will be.”

I stilled.

No.

I wanted to be ready. I believed I could be.

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