Page 15 of Saints & Sinners

I didn’t answer her because I didn’t know what to say in the first place. I couldn’t deny and be rude, but I also didn’t feel confident enough yet to agree and say I would consider it as much as I wanted to.

Nodding, I left the room, my chest heavy as I made it down the stairs and never looked back.

The long, dark corridors stretched out before me, eerily silent and empty of Ascendants. I glanced down at the map Eden had given me, but the Enochian lines and symbols were too hard to decipher.

As I turned the corner, my steps slowed, and I found myself standing before one of the countless paintings lining the walls of Celestia. This one, though, caught my attention. Glancingleft, then right, I made sure I was alone before focusing on the moving painting again.

It was of a statue bathed in light, standing tall in the center of a gleaming marble room. Wings enclosed the statue, hiding the angel behind it, and for a moment, I wondered if that was where the Council held meetings. A veil between the human world and the Celestial world—not quite heaven, but not relatively humane.

A door on the right swung open, and I stumbled away from the painting. When people started emerging from a class, I turned the other way and sprinted before they could see me.

Chapter Eight

I stood outside room 104, clutching the packet of fresh clothes and combat boots in one hand that was left outside the doorstep and the key in the other. My fingers twitched nervously, but I hadn’t moved for ten minutes. The hallway was empty, and the light streaming through the windows hinted that it wasn’t even evening yet. No one would be in the room, right? Why would they be?

Fuck it.

I shoved the key into the lock and swung the door open with more force than necessary. The room was completely empty, and a wave of relief washed over me, loosening the tension in my chest. But I knew it wouldn’t last long—soon enough, the boys would return, and peace would be a distant memory.

I stepped into the dorm, where there was a hallway past the kitchenette and a door to my right. You could tell men occupied this place—clothes and shoes scattered the floorboards, and I could smell the faint earthy cologne that no doubt belonged to one of them.

I walked down the hallway, jiggling doorknobs to see which was my room. Instead, I almost gagged when I entered a room with hundreds of leftover foods on top of a desk. Another room hadposters of Star Wars and action figures, while the last room was entirely locked.

I huffed, knowing the other door led to the bathroom. “I amnotsharing a room with one of them,” I muttered to myself and stalked back into the main living room toward the last remaining door.

When it opened, I had never felt such joy to see an almost barren room. A single bed, a simple wooden desk and a wardrobe where all my clothes had already been stashed—thanks to Eden—stood waiting for me. I sighed, dropping the new uniform packet onto my bed.

I suppose this was home now. I wasn’t sure if the gnawing feeling in my stomach was dread or anticipation. Maybe both. I hadn’t felt this before, not even when Joe would move us to a new town.

Just as I was about to lie down, my phone buzzed inside my pocket, and I noticed it was Joe calling.

I grimaced before answering. “You know, this is the most you’ve used a phone that wasn’t decades old. I’m proud.”

He chuckled. “Have you eaten?”

I sighed, making my way towards the window and pulling the curtain aside. The view wasn’t much—just the stretch of forestry sprawling under the dull light of the afternoon. “Yes, Joe, I have. Do you also want me to tell you if I showered, brushed my teeth and tidied Eden’s room before I left?” I couldn’t help the snarky tone behind my words. I couldn’t even tell him that I had joined the Warriors yet. I knew sooner or later he would find out because of Nadael, but I just wasn’t ready for him to scold me. To tell me I was too much of a dreamer or that I was reaching for something that was beyond me because that’s all I ever did.

“Did you?”

I shook my head at the teasing tone in his voice. Clearly, hehadn’t picked up on my frustration yet. “You’re annoying.”

He chuckled again, unfazed. “What about classes? Did Nadael stick you with the Healers? Thought you might love it there.”

I nearly choked as I swallowed. I was thankful he couldn’t see the color drain from my face as I faced the mirror beside the desk. ‘Oh, yeah... it’s perfect,’ I said, forcing a smile into my voice.

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line, and I winced. I should’ve felt guilty, maybe even ashamed, for lying to him. But they never surfaced, no matter how hard I tried to summon those feelings.

Licking my lips, I exhaled slowly, “Joe?”

Before he could respond, I heard the distinct sound of the door locks turning.

“I’ve got to go,” I blurted out. “I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Wait, Grace—”

I didn’t give him the chance to finish. I tossed my phone on the bed and dashed toward the bedroom door, positioning myself just out of sight. From the crack between the door and the frame, I saw Brandon, Silas, and Hunter walking into the dorm. All three wearing the Warriors’ uniform.

“I swear Azrael has an agenda set out to just kill me with his drills,” Silas said, throwing his jacket onto the sofa and revealing silver arm guards engraved with runes against a tight-fitted black shirt.

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