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I felt cold... dead even. It was a feeling that penetrated my bones and that refused to leave. The only thing that seemed to be able to prevent me from falling further apart was the fact that I was sitting against the wall with my knees pulled in close to my chest and my arms wrapped around them.

Marnie lay a few feet away, her body still and silent. Her blood had dried on the stone floor, leaving a dark stain that I knew, no matter what happened, would remain there forever.

I couldn’t bring myself to look at her for too long.

The boys had tried to get me to move. When they returned without a Healer in sight, knowing it was already too late for any kind of help, they began pleading with me to leave this place.

Silas had crouched in front of me, trying to coax me out of my stupor.

But even I could tell how hurt he was, how he wondered where Hunter was, and how he could fail him when they were friends.

I thought the same. I grieved the 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, make sure 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 do anything .

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 they weren’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 Marnie back .

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?”

Joe’s silence told me everything I needed to know.

“No,” he said. “She got away.”

As much as I wanted to scream and cry at that moment, I still couldn’t help but feel empty inside. It was the kind of emptiness that was just as bad as being able to feel everything.

Joe’s gaze searched mine. “Where’s Hunter?” he asked, but there was a bite to his words.

My jaw tightened suddenly, and every bit of emptiness I felt became an anvil, pressing down on me like the world itself was trying to break me. “It doesn’t matter where he is.”

“Grace—”

“You were right about him. About all of it.” I looked at him, my throat tight.

“And I’m sorry, I didn’t listen to you when you were just trying to help.

” My lower lip trembled. “I know... I know that there is so much I have yet to ask, to find out but you’re also the only person now left in this world who actually cares about me, so please don’t leave me, Joe.

I don’t think I could handle another loss. ”

He didn’t respond right away. His brows furrowed as he studied me for seconds, maybe minutes. Then, he reached out, hesitating momentarily before placing a hand on my shoulder and wrapping his other hand around me.

I clung onto him, gripping the back of his jacket as I pressed my face to his chest and let out a shaky breath.

“We’ll fix all of this, Grace,” he said quietly. “I promise.”

I nodded, but I couldn’t bring myself to believe him.

Not when Lucas was gone.

Not when Marnie risked herself for all of us.

And not when everything around me had fallen apart, and the one person I’d come to trust had proven me wrong.

Eden was right. I was so stupid. I had always been.

I made a promise to myself then. A promise that I would never let anyone have that kind of power over me. Never again would I let my guard down.

Because doing so cost me everything. And I refused for that to be my undoing.