A Warrior's Second Chance (Faye and Alexander) novel Chapter 171

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Chapter 171

SILVER HOLLOW

FAYE

I stood in front of Sage’s door for almost a full minute before I knocked. There wasn’t any real reason to hesitate…it was my sister, after all…but something about the moment felt heavier than it should have been. Maybe because it would be the last night I spent here before leaving for Blood Crescent. Maybe because Sage and I hadn’t really talked since… everything.

Her voice came softly from inside. “Come in.”

The door creaked a little when I pushed it open. Sage was sitting cross–legged on her bed, her hair down for once, the moonlight from the window spilling across her face. She looked peaceful–almost too peaceful–like she’d already made peace with something I hadn’t.

“Faye,” she said, a bit surprised. “Is everything okay? How is Alexander?”

“He’s alright. Everything’s fine. I came to tell you,” I said, standing awkwardly near the door,” that Alexander and I will be leaving for Blood Crescent tomorrow.”

For a moment, there was silence–just the faint sound of crickets outside. Sage didn’t say anything right away. She looked at me for a while, her expression blank. Then, in a tone so casual it almost startled me, she said, “So you really do have gifts, huh?”

It wasn’t an accusation, but it wasn’t quite curiosity either. Something sat beneath her voice- something old and cautious.

I nodded and moved closer, perching at the edge of her bed. “Yeah,” I said quietly. “I guess I

do.”

Sage tilted her head slightly, studying me. “So,” she went on, “you can heal… or bring someone back to life. What’s the other gift?”

I hesitated, drawing in a small breath. “I had a vision,” I said. “The night we arrived here. I saw Alexander–he was bleeding. It felt so real, and then it actually happened.” I forced a small laugh. “So I’m guessing the other one is… sight. Or something close to it.”

Sage nodded slowly, almost absently, as if she’d already known but wanted to hear it from me. For a while, neither of us spoke. The air between us was thick…not with tension, but with everything unsaid over the years.

Finally, I felt the need to say something, anything to bridge the silence. “Sage,” I began, my

voice soft, “I hope you know that I didn’t choose any of this. The whole thing about absorbing both powers while we were in the womb…” I shook my head, trying to make sense of something that never had any logic. “It sounds ridiculous. It makes no sense. But I just… found myself in it. I didn’t ask for this.”

Sage looked down for a moment, her expression thoughtful. When she spoke again, her tone surprised me–calm, even understanding. “Honestly, Faye,” she said, “I don’t envy you on this

one.”

I blinked. “You don’t?”

She gave a soft laugh and shook her head. “No. I’ve come to realize that I was missing something important all these years. I spent so much time being jealous, so much time thinking you were just… lucky, special. Favored by the goddess or by everyone around you. But that was ignorance. Pure ignorance.”

Her words caught me off guard. I didn’t know what to say.

She went on, her eyes lifting to meet mine. “You weren’t handed anything, Faye. You’ve never been given special treatment. In fact, when I think about it now, your life has been one challenge after another. For every good thing that came your way, there was always a price

attached.”

I felt my throat tighten. She wasn’t wrong.

“When you became the Delta of Silver Hollow,” she continued, “I remember being angry. I thought it should have been me. But I never stopped to think about what it took to get there- the sleepless nights, the endless training, the pain of war. You spent more hours on the training grounds than you did at home. I would’ve given up halfway through. The universe knew what each of us could handle.”

She smiled faintly. “And if these gifts were given to you, it’s probably because the goddess herself knew I would’ve broken under their weight… or worse, abused them.”

A small, shaky breath left my lips. “Sage…”

She lifted a hand gently, as if to stop me. “It’s okay. I mean it. I understand now.”

There was a long pause. I studied her face, half expecting to find bitterness hiding somewhere beneath her calmness. But there was none–just quiet acceptance.

Then, softly, she added, “Now you can save lives with your gifts. You already saved Alexander’s. But at what cost?”

The question hit me like a chill. My eyes darted to hers in surprise. “How did you-?”

She gave a little shrug. “I heard Edna talking to Mother last night. She said for every life you save, there’s a price attached.”

I swallowed hard. The memory of Edna’s warning echoed in my head–the way she’d looked at me with that mixture of awe and fear, the way her voice trembled when she said the balance must always be restored. That the power to call life back from death was never

meant to exist freely.

Sage reached for my hand. Her fingers were warm and steady. “You’re strong, Faye,” she said. “Stronger than you think. Whatever the cost is, I trust you can weather it.”

Her words should have comforted me, but they didn’t. They felt heavy, like a promise I didn’t know if I could keep. Because deep down, I could already feel something wrong inside me- something off. My wolf had been quiet ever since that night….too quiet. I hadn’t told anyone, not even Edna, but the silence scared me more than anything.

I squeezed Sage’s hand gently, forcing a small smile. “Thank you,” I whispered.

She smiled back–a real one this time, the kind that made her eyes soften. “You know,” she said after a moment, “you could invite me to visit Blood Crescent sometime.”

“I was actually going to say that,” I replied, laughing. “You should come visit. It’s not as gloomy as people make it sound.”

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