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Grace held Marnie’s lifeless body in her arms. The weight of her cries was tearing me apart from the inside out, and it felt as though my chest was going to collapse in at any moment.

I moved closer to her and muttered, “Grace.” I was uncertain about whether I should reach for her, and I was also uncertain about whether I had the right to do so.

She didn’t raise her head as her shoulders shook furiously, and her sobs soaked the fabric of her uniform. The sound of her anguish hurt more than any injury I’d ever endured.

I crouched down next to her and took a deep breath. “Grace,” I said, this time in a quiet voice, as if uttering her name could somehow bring her broken pieces back together.

I was completely unprepared for the look that she gave me when her head suddenly snapped up. A mixture of grief and rage contorted her face, and for a brief moment, she appeared to be someone else.

“Don’t,” she snapped, her voice breaking as she spoke. “Don’t you dare .”

I froze, my hand hovering in the air before I slowly pulled it back. “I’m just trying to—”

“To what?” she cut me off, her voice rising. “To make me feel better? To tell me that everything’s going to be okay? Because it’s not, Hunter. Nothing is okay.”

Her rage struck me with more force than any weapon could ever have the ability to deliver.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I said firmly, my voice steady despite the storm raging in my chest.

She stood abruptly, her hands trembling as she wiped her tear-streaked face with shaking fingers, smearing blood across her cheeks. Her movements were sharp, almost frantic.

“Don’t,” she said again, her voice quieter but laced with venom. “You don’t get to say that to me.”

I rose slowly, towering over her as she shook and sobbed, her grief pouring out in waves. For the first time, I understood what it meant to truly hate myself. To hate what I’d become.

“Grace, I—”

“Was it Eden?” The question came out of nowhere as I blinked, caught off guard.

“Was it her?” she repeated, her hands curling into fists at her sides. “Did you have something with Eden? Was she the one that you lost your…?” Her voice broke, and I saw the realization dawn on her face.

I couldn’t answer that at this moment in time.

Because the truth was a poison I couldn’t force out of my throat. How was I supposed to tell her that her whole life had been a lie, that the Riftkeeper’s—her actual mother, me...

‘Do you realize how insane that is?”

‘I was—”

“She manipulated you, Hunter! Do you not see that?”

I didn’t at the time. Even now, I struggle often to see it that way.

“You lied to me,” she whispered, her voice thick with betrayal. “You lied, and I let myself trust you.”

Her breath hitched, her chest rising and falling unevenly as tears fell down her cheeks. She took a step closer, her fists trembling.

“Grace—” Before I could say anything else, her fists smashed into my chest. They were not strong enough to cause me physical harm, but they still tore me apart in ways that I had not previously considered they were capable of doing.

“I trusted you!” she cried, her voice breaking with every word. “I cared for you! I—I—”

I caught her wrists gently, trying to still her, but she yanked them away. Her glare pierced through me, filled with so much pain it made my soul ache.

“I never wanted to hurt you,” I said, my voice cracking for the first time. “You have to believe me.”

Her tears fell harder as she shook her head. “How did it happen?”

“What?” I asked, confused and desperate.

“How were you corrupted?” she demanded, her voice rising. “Why did you even stay here, knowing you would never be worthy of ascending? Why did you let me get so close to you!”

I tried to speak, but the words lodged in my throat. I couldn’t tell her how Eden had found me at my lowest, how she had whispered lies that I was too desperate to question, how I had let her pull me into the darkness when I thought there was nothing left to save.

Grace’s lips trembled as she watched my silence. She nodded slowly; her voice hollow when she spoke again. “You knew, didn’t you? About Lucas. About that demon that infiltrated the academy. About the Council wanting me to fail. You knew, and you said nothing.”

I stepped toward her, my hand outstretched, but she stepped back, shaking her head.

“Grace,” I pleaded, my voice raw and broken. “I tried to change. Once I met you, I tried. I thought if I stayed away from Eden if I distanced myself, I could—”

“Redeem yourself?” she finished, her voice bitter.

I faltered, the weight of her words crushing me.

“I told you I’d always be here, no matter what, right?” she interrupted, her voice trembling. “I lied. See how easy it is for me to do that, too?”

I flinched as the words sliced through me, repeating in my head like a cruel mantra.

I lied. I lied. I lied.

“Leave,” she whispered, her tone cold and final.

I didn’t move; my feet were rooted to the ground despite the crushing weight of her gaze.

“Leave!” she screamed, her voice cracking. “Just fucking leave me alone!”

I stared at her, my chest hollow and aching, knowing I couldn’t fight her anymore. She looked at me like I was the monster she always feared I’d become. And maybe I was.

She came up to me and shoved me hard, Marnie’s blood painting my uniform. “Go,” she whispered brokenly this time.

My heart was burning and aching, and there was nothing to soothe it. So, I did what I should have done from the moment Grace came into my life. Turned and walked away.

Every step felt heavier than the last, her sobs following me like ghosts, breaking me apart piece by piece.

And for the first time, I didn’t think there was anything left of me to save.