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I sat stiffly in the chair across from Nadael. My wrists still ached from where Hunter had grabbed me, and my head only kept spinning, the longer I sat here.

Nadael leaned forward, her fingers clasped together as she gave me a measured look. I was starting to despise this office. “Grace.” She sighed. “Do you understand what happened today?”

Not really, no. But that wasn’t the answer she was looking for. “Yes.”

She studied me for a moment longer. “I want you to know something... the people there today, watching the training—they weren’t just Celestials from the academy. Some of them were members of the Angelic Council.”

My eyes widened on their own accord. Just when I thought I couldn’t embarrass myself any further, I realized I had done it in front of the most important figures.

“And it’s a good thing,” Nadael added with a sigh, “that Joe wasn’t there to witness what happened.”

Shame washed over me as I lowered my eyes to the desk. The thought of Joe seeing me made my chest tighten. He would have been furious, maybe even disappointed.

“What I said... I didn’t...”

“You need to remember your place here,” Nadael told me. “You are already under intense scrutiny as a human staying at Celestia. I’m trying my best here to help Joe by keeping you away from the outside world, but incidents like today only reinforce the Council’s doubts about you.”

I nodded, my throat tight with the need to plead my case, but I had none.

“And another thing,” she continued, her voice much gentler now. “It is in your best interest that you apologize to Mr Cain.”

My head snapped up. “What?”

“You provoked him.” She raised a brow. “And whether or not his reaction was justified, you share a dorm together. So, I suggest you find him and make amends.”

I wanted to argue, to tell her that Hunter had pushed me first and that this whole thing was his fault. He wanted me gone, and granted, mentioning his brother had crossed a line, but he was just as much in the wrong.

With a resigned nod, I stood up. “If that is what you wish, then I will. Sorry for the display I caused.”

Nadael seemed content with that answer, which was far from what I felt when I left her office and returned to the dorm.

When I walked through the doorway, I found Silas lounging on the sofa, his feet kicked up on the coffee table. Brandon wasn’t back from training, but I assumed Silas had made an excuse to come up here earlier.

I approached him cautiously and asked, “Where’s Hunter?”

Silas glanced up at me, then shrugged lazily. “No idea.”

That clearly meant he did have an idea of his whereabouts.

“You always know where he is.”

He smirked. “Not today, Gracie. And even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.”

I scowled at the new nickname I had been given and crossed my arms over my chest. “Fine then. I’ll find him myself.”

Leaving Silas behind, I stormed out of the dorm and down the hallways until I found myself in the common room.

I paused by one of the dark sofas, wanting to scream out of frustration.

I hated this place—everything about it. I wanted to call Joe and tell him to move me somewhere else.

I didn’t care about all the towns we’d end up living in—I was used to that. But this? I wasn’t used to this.

“Well, you look like shit,” someone drawled from behind, and I spun to find Matias leaning against the doorway.

I ignored the sudden unease that crawled up my spine as he stared at me. “I’m not in the mood, Matias. Have you seen Hunter?”

“Why?” He smirked. “After today, I’d say you need a new sparring partner to teach you to fight.”

I crossed my arms, covering my chest. “I don’t need a partner.”

“Oh, come on,” Matias said, pushing himself off the doorway as he walked toward me.

I staggered back before hitting a bookshelf.

“It’s not like Lucas can teach you anything.

If you ask me, it should have been his sister in the Warriors Sector, not him.

Besides, I could show you a few moves. You know, to stop you from getting pinned down so easily. ”

My pulse quickened, but before I could respond, another voice—one I seemed to attract wherever I went, cut us off.

“If she wanted help, you’d be the last person she’d go to.” Hunter stepped into the room, his expression dark and his hair a tousled mess as if he had run his hand through it one too many times.

Matias glanced at him, his smirk faltering for a second before he raised his hands in mock surrender. “Was just offering a little help, that’s all.” He started backing away. “I’ll leave you two to it.” The smugness never left his eyes. “I’ll see you on the field, Cain.”

As Matias disappeared from the common room, the tension didn’t ease one bit. If anything, it grew thicker, more suffocating, more... dangerous.

“I was looking for you,” I said, my voice hoarse.

Hunter hummed, his finger brushing against one of the sofas as if checking for dust. “Was that Nadael’s doing?”

I swallowed my nerves. “I didn’t... I didn’t mean to—”

“Bring up my brother?” He asked, puncturing each word he spoke.

“It was a mistake,” I whispered.

There was a beat of silence. His jaw tightened, and I just watched him—watched how his thoughts consumed him.

Brother? Was he also an Ascendant?

No, but I doubt he’s alive anymore if the Riftkeeper’s took him.

The memory of what Marnie told me faded in the back of my mind, and I frowned more at myself than at him. “Is that why you hate me?”

It all made sense now as Hunter’s eyes flashed with something I couldn’t quite place. I took a step closer, wondering if what I was about to say would fuel my curiosity or not. “Because I got a chance? Because I’m here, and he isn’t?”

His hands clenched into fists, and for a moment, I thought we would be heading for another round in combat.

“Do you want me gone from here so that the Riftkeeper’s can kill me?”

“No.”

“Or are you just that spiteful that I was given the opportunity—”

Hunter closed the distance between us in one swift motion before I could finish. His hands shot out, grabbing my arms as he pinned me against the wall with a force that made my breath hitch.

For a heartbeat, neither of us moved. His face was inches from mine, strands of his hair brushing against my forehead. I was breathless, taking in the intensity of his grey eyes.

“You don’t understand,” he whispered, his voice raw with frustration. “You never will.”

I stared up at him, my body trembling under the weight of his hold.

It felt like everything else had disappeared for a moment—the academy, the fight, even the anger between us.

It was just us two on the precipice of something dangerous.

And then, just as quickly as it had started, Hunter pulled back.

His grip loosened, and he stepped away, leaving me standing there with my heart in my throat.

Without another word, he turned and walked out of the common room towards the dormitories. Our dorm.