Page 64

The maze shifted and groaned as Hunter, and I ran through its tangled corridors. Each turn felt like a gamble, and another dead end was waiting on every path.

“Where do you think they are?” I asked, my breath hitching as I kept pace beside him.

“We’ll find them,” he said tightly, and I caught a glimpse of his face as we turned another corner. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes were swirling with something I couldn’t quite place.

“Hunter?” I started, but he stopped, grabbed my arm, and turned me to face him. I stumbled slightly. “What? We have to keep moving—”

“There’s something I need to tell you.”

I blinked. “Now? Are you serious? We’re in the middle of—”

“Grace, just listen to me first. If something happens—if this—”

“Stop—”

“Would you still stick by me?” he asked, his voice dropping lower, almost into a whisper.

“What?” I breathed, staring at him. Had he been affected by the stone, too? I didn’t understand any of this.

His eyes searched mine with something raw and unguarded in them. “If you knew something about me—something that could change everything. Would you still... stay?”

I opened my mouth to answer, wary of the Council, but when I saw that vulnerability that I wasn’t used to seeing in him, I couldn’t help what came out: “Yes but... what are you trying to—” before I could finish, a deep groan echoed through the maze.

The ground trembled beneath us as I looked to my left.

The sharp scent of damp earth filled the air before thick, gnarled vines snaked from the stone and lashed out at us like tendrils.

One barely missed my shoulder before Hunter yanked me back.

“Fuck,” he hissed and grabbed me by the arm again as we ran. My boots pounded against the uneven ground as vines whipped at our legs and thorns slashed at my arms.

With every turn we took, more vines would come spiralling toward us before we skidded to a stop, and the path ahead disappeared. Another wall rose behind us as Hunter pulled me into another turn.

The maze wanted us lost.

Branches clawed at my clothes, the roots beneath us shifting unnaturally while the walls twisted and groaned, reshaping the corridors before our eyes.

We couldn’t outrun it forever. We needed to find the sigil and move on.

A sudden voice echoed through the maze.

I recognized it immediately and skidded to a halt. “Marnie!”

Hunter cursed under his breath, eyes darting to where the sound came from.

“That was her,” I gasped, my heart pounding as I ran down the maze corridor.

“Grace—” Hunter called after me, but I was already forcing my way through vines. I knew he was right behind me even as I sprinted toward the distant cries.

We rounded a corner, and there, half entangled in vines, was Marnie.

Silas and Brandon were with her, slashing wildly at the vines wrapping around them. The tendrils had sneaked up their arms, coiling around their waists, pulling them toward the walls as if the maze was trying to consume them.

“Fuck—” Hunter lunged forward, tearing a vine away from Brandon before it could wrap around his throat.

I scrambled to Marnie’s side, grabbing the tendrils and holding her. “Okay, just hold on!”

Marnie coughed, her fingers clawing at the vines constricting her ribs. “Grace—the sigil—it’s in the roots—it’s—”

My eyes widened as I glanced at the ground in search of it. “Hunter—” I hardly got his name out before another vine lashed toward my throat. I stumbled back, dodging just in time before slamming my boot down on it. The tendril coiled violently, like a severed limb writhing in pain.

Hunter was already at my side, his expression focused. “Keep them off me.”

He didn’t wait for a response before dropping to his knees, shoving his hands deep into the mass of writhing roots. The moment his fingers dug into them, the vines screamed.

I didn’t have time to process how unnatural it sounded before the walls closed in.

A thick vine struck Silas across the chest, knocking him flat on his back and causing Hunter to look over his shoulder.

In that one second, a vine lashed out at him.

I reacted on instinct. I dove toward him, shoving his body aside as a thick root snapped towards his face.

Pain seared my arm as thorns slashed through fabric and skin alike, but I bit down the cry that tore through me.

Hunter’s arms tried to catch me before I could collapse, but the vines wrapped around his wrists, pulling him back.

I gritted my teeth against the pain when another vine circled my ankle, and I grabbed onto a trunk, holding myself in place before I could be dragged.

“Grace!” Hunter shouted, fighting off the vines. “The sigil!”

I nodded and used my other hand as I reached inside the roots, searching for the sigil. A strangled scream slipped past my lips. I couldn’t help it.

“Come on,” I whimpered in desperation. I could feel the smooth exterior of the sigil, but it was too far out of my reach.

I kicked at the vine, holding onto my leg, and placed all my strength on grabbing that sigil.

Marnie was still struggling to breathe, her body growing limp by the second.

Shit, shit, shit.

Determination pushed against my chest, and I pulled myself up. Another tendril wrapped around my waist, and I knew now was my only chance. With a pained cry, I stretched my arm until my fingers could close around the sigil.

Everything stilled.

Then, something ancient and enraged groaned from within the walls.

The vines loosened their grip on all of us at once before recoiling back into the walls, and a shockwave of golden light exploded outward.

Marnie fell beside me as Brandon raced to catch her.

Hunter rushed toward me, cupping my face as I shielded my eyes, and the walls dissolved around us, melting into nothingness.

The air shimmered, and the maze around us transformed into something surreal and otherworldly.

Hunter helped me stand as the ground beneath me wavered again, sending a ripple through my body as if I were standing on water instead of land. Fragments of floating paths and patches of grass hovered in the air, breaking off and reforming.

Brandon muttered something about getting high, and Marnie nudged him hard enough to make him stumble, but even then, Marnie was struck by awe as she looked around at the swirling colors of reds and golds bleeding into the sky.

A storm churned in the distance, its crackling energy throwing shadows against mountains and hills before I noticed the other competitors standing in different parts of the glade, looking just as confused as us.

Some were already moving, hopping across the unstable paths toward something in the distance.

I looked at where they were heading and saw the unmistakable glowing orb hovering in the center of the landscape. Two other stones were on each side of it.

“Well, that’s subtle,” Silas said as all of us spotted the sigil stones floating in midair.

“It’s the last part of the competition,” Hunter said grimly. “And we’re not the only ones who can tell either.”

He was right.

A Guardian to our left raised her hands as her fingers traced glowing patterns in the air. A vision flickered to life in front of her, showing a clearer path to the stones.

“That’s cheating,” Silas mumbled. “I thought they couldn’t control their visions.”

“It’s called strategy,” Hunter corrected. “Now move.”

We lunged forward, leaping across fragments of floating paths. Each step felt unsteady as every competitor who hadn’t been affected by a cursed stone or beast moved closer to the sigil stones like we were predators circling their prey.

A Messenger on another path stopped, her eyes glowing faintly as she focused on someone else from her sector. She wasn’t speaking, but her silent telepathy directed the person toward the stone with precision, guiding him through the chaotic shift in paths.

“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 with golden 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 could finish, 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, just get the 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 sunlight streaming 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.

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 and stay .

“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.