Page 142 of Saints & Sinners

I thought the same. Igrievedthe same way as him.

Brandon hovered nearby, his face pale, muttering something about needing to move Marnie.

But I didn’t want them to do anything.

I wanted them to go and get the rest of the competitors, makesure they were fine and find somewhere they could all be safe.

So that was exactly what I told them to do.

They argued, of course, but when I didn’t respond—when I just sat there, staring at nothing—they finally gave in. One by one, they left, their footsteps echoing as they disappeared down the bloodstained halls.

And now, it was just me.

I had no idea how long it had been. It could have been hours or minutes that I stayed there like that, and the only sound accompanying me was the distant wail of the alarms.

I stared at the wall in front of me, its smooth surface blurred by unshed tears. My mind was empty yet so full that it felt like it was about to burst open. I couldn’t stop replaying the scene —the look on Marnie’s face as she trembled, telling me she didn’t want to go.

I had let her down.

The one person that was there for me from the start. The one person who deserved to ascend more than anyone else.

The thought lodged itself deep, carving a hollow space in my chest that I could not shake. I couldn’t even heal her myself. I couldn’t doanything.

Footsteps broke through the silence, but I didn’t look up. I was too tired to care who it was.

“Grace,” Joe said.

A slight tilt of my head was all that was required to catch a glimpse of him standing a few feet away. His face was etched with lines of exhaustion and grief as he stared at me.

He crouched beside me, his movements slow, almost cautious, like he feared I might shatter if he got too close.

What he didn’t realize was that I had already shattered long ago.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, but the words felt like theyweren’t meant for me.

I nodded numbly.Bring her back,I wanted to say. I didn’t care whether it disrupted the equilibrium or if her soul had found peace. I wanted Marnieback.

Instead, all that came out of me was, “Are there still any demons out there?”

Joe let out a slow breath, rubbing a hand over his face. “No. They attacked not long after the second part of the competition. They tried infiltrating the Council quarters but luckily, we managed to put barriers up for that, and once they fed from the chaos they inflicted, they left on Eden’s orders.”

“So, Eden planned it all,” I said what we already knew. What she’d already told us.

A brief pause. “Yes,” he admitted quietly. “She waited until the Council were too focused on the competition to notice what was happening outside. It was all too late by the time enforcement came. We evacuated as many Ascendants as we could, but...”

My heart was torn to shreds.

There were children here, Celestials...

“Why?” was all I could whisper.

“She wanted control. Eden demanded that Nadael give over her position as the leader of Celestia. She thought she could use the chaos to force her hand.”

“But Nadael refused,” I said, already knowing what came next.

Joe nodded, his mouth set in a grim line. “Nadael refused, and Eden... she didn’t take it well.”

I glanced toward Marnie’s body, and something sharp and horrific twisted in my gut. “Did you get her?”

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