Page 135 of Saints & Sinners

If not now, then maybe someday.

Slowly, I raised my eyes to meet his. He was smiling again, waiting expectantly for me to take a seat beside him andstay.

“This isn’t real,” I whispered, my voice shaking.

Joe’s smile faltered. “What did you say?”

“You’re not really here. You never were.”

“Grace—”

I ran towards the door to our apartment, Joe’s voice calling my name over and over again. I didn’t listen, and I didn’t stop once. But every corner I turned, the door didn’t seem to be there. Shadows appeared around me, whispering, taunting me, and manifesting into people like Matias, Norah... Lucas.

Pushing through all of them, I rushed toward the end of the hallway where my old bedroom used to be and pushed through the doorway. When I stepped out, I wasn’t in my bedroom. Instead, I found myself falling, falling,falling.

I jolted awake with a sharp gasp, my eyes snapping open to the swirling sky above me. The air was cold and sharp against my skin, grounding me in the reality of it all as I lay sprawled on the uneven ground.

Every muscle in my body protested as I pushed myself upright,and pain radiated through my limbs. A fierce determination bloomed in my chest, steadying me as my gaze locked on the other two glowing stones hovering just out of reach.

One pulsed brighter than the other, flickering with an almost hypnotic glow. For a moment, I thought the answer was obvious. The middle stone seemed unassuming, waiting—safe. So, I reached for it. And I fell.

But the last two stones...

The one on the left glowed in the darkness like an ember. It was inviting and powerful. Which was exactly why I knew that it wasn’t the right one.

Sometimes the most powerful things were those that could only be witnessed from the inside.

Taking a deep breath, I steadied myself and leapt toward the nearest platform. My hands caught the edge, but my legs dangled beneath me as I tried to haul myself up and managed to scramble onto the platform. I didn’t stop to catch my breath. I didn’t want to.

I lunged for the next platform, then the next, each leap carrying me higher.

The stone was right there within reach, and my hands trembled as I focused on nothing but the goal ahead.

Somewhere from below, I heard Hunter’s voice calling my name, but I had already reached out and grabbed the sigil stone, its light spilling over my fingers as the storm above us crackled again.

Chapter Sixty-One

The moment my fingers closed around the sigil stone, the floating platform beneath me cracked like glass, and I dropped onto the other platforms. Everything else started to fall away, revealing the forest again as sunrise began to loom over the glade. Then came the sound—a guttural, bone-chilling growl that echoed through the trees.

The shadow beasts were back.

Hunter rushed toward me, and I stumbled forward, clutching onto the stone tightly as I leapt off the last crumbling platform. He managed to grab me by the waist in time and lowered me to the ground before Marnie came over, frantically trying to heal my cuts and bruises.

I shook her off, hearing another distant growl. “We need to get back before we get stuck here.” I glanced at Silas and Brandon. They didn’t hesitate as we all sprinted through the dense forest, some of the other competitors fighting to get back themselves.

Silas was ahead this time, his breathing labored but determined while Brandon kept pace beside him. Hunter stayed close to me, his spear drawn at the side, ready to fight off anyone and anything who tried attacking.

“Keep moving!” he yelled as one of the monsters lunged fromthe darkness, and Brandon turned to help Hunter fend it off.

Once struck, the creature dissolved into black mist, but another took its place, snarling as it chased after Marnie.

“Behind you!” I warned her, and she turned, her hands glowing faintly. She threw a burst of light at the beast, and it screeched, retreating into the shadows.

“We’re almost there!” Silas yelled, his voice strained as he pointed at a shimmering oval of light carved into the forest, separating the glade from the academy.

I could feel the creature’s presence pressing against our backs, urging me to run faster. But as I reached the portal, I hesitated.

My hands shook as I stared at the three sigil stones in my grip.

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