"Where were you!" He roared. "Tell me before I make you!" He threatened.

"I was in Cora's hidden room." The lie sounding pretty convincing as it rolled off my tongue.

"You, think I'm foolish! I checked there! I had information that I thought you were responsible enough to handle, clearly I was mistaken." He spat. "Maybe the councilmen were right. You're not fit to be queen." He said disgusted.

"I'm more capable then you know!" I yelled thinking back to Jasper's words.

He unclipped his cloak letting it drop to the cement floor.

"I highly doubt that, but if you would like to spend a few months in the dungeons feel free to try and beat me in a duel." He smirked, does he not realize that I can kill him.

"Fine." I spat.

He raised his arms and made fire surround me, I was quickly able to put it out.

"Levantante." I chanted and sent candles flying at him.

I wasn't ready when he sent a force of flames towards me. I was sent flying back my head bashing into the wall causing me to wince.

I could feel the demon creeping around inside my skin, begging, itching for me to let it out. I saw he was ready to send another force of flames at me.

I let it take over....

My father had a look of surprise written on his face.

The darkness swarmed the room creeping along the walls and floor inching towards him.

He raised the flame and threw it at me, it didn't even make it a foot before it was absorbed by my magic.

"How does it feel to know I'm the most powerful person in hell, Father?" A voice rolled out of my mouth except it felt foreign coming off of my tongue. Everything felt wrong.

Control Laylah, Control.

I sucked all of the demonic energy back inside of me, the force sending me falling to my knees.

My father grabbed my shoulders and began pushing me towards the door.

"You need to release more of your magic."He snapped. "But before you do, Where were you! And don't make up some bullshit answer."

"Will you get mad?" I asked for reassurance.

"That depends on where you were." He said giving me a look.

"So you know the intruder guy,person thinga-majig. Phoenix." I chuckled scratching the back of my head nervously.

He gave me an unamused look.

"I kind of met him and traveled with him to where all the phoenix's are and they all want my help to defeat the uncontrollable spirits in the unbalanced district." I spoke really quickly.

He came to a dead stop and now I knew I was definitely dead meat.

"YOU WHAT!" He roared causing me to flinch.

"You are so fucking stupid! You could have been killed." He screamed.

"They are good people." I told him. "They are just misunderstood."

"You will not go back!" He Yelled.

"I have to! They need help and as future queen of hell, I plan on helping them!" I yelled back.

"Bring it back in." He told me. I gave him a confused look when I noticed the cloud of black dancing around us.

I took a deep breath until I felt myself gain control again.

"This is getting out of hand." He muttered grabbing onto my wrist and pulling me faster towards the Faction of the Forgotten. I frowned but nodded agreeing with him. How did I not notice?

"What if Cora knows the answer?" I asked him.

"Definitely not! You will never see her, do you understand me!" He yelled. He looked angrier than I've ever seen him.

"But..What if she could fix me?" I asked desperate to get this monster out of me.

"She is a manipulative liar! She didn't even have you because she wanted a kid! She had you for an experiment!" I know I said that when I was reading her journals earlier but hearing it from someone hurt on a different level. Especially my father, who I think only wanted me for an heir.

"I don't want to release it today." I told him.

"I don't give a crap about what you want! It's what the kingdom needs to be safe! When will you understand this." He snapped dragging me towards the Faction of the Forgotten.

"No!" I yelled pulling away. I muttered a quick spell causing my father to lose his footing and fall to the ground.

"Transportal memor." I chanted and thought of the phoenix's home. I felt the familiar feeling of nausea and heard my father yell.

I slammed into hard dirt and looked up to see about ten phoenix's sitting at a meeting table.

"Laylah?" I looked up and saw Jasper.

"My father caught me." I spoke getting up and dusting off my pants.

"We were actually planning on going to get you tomorrow anyway so why don't you just stay here the night." I just nodded and looked around the room I was in. It was almost like a tent with dirt floors.

Jasper nodded his head towards the opening in the tent. I followed him out into the misty area. 

"What does he know?" He asked me quietly.

"Where we are, but he wouldn't dare come here when he is theoretically powerless against these uncontrollable spirits." I told him. My head was pounding right now from all the events I've gone through. That's when I got the idea.

"I..I think I have an idea." I told him looking up into his light blue eyes.

"What?" He Questioned looking shocked that I already had an idea.

I haven't released my powers yet. That could do it. Anything is better than fueling the Faction of the Forgotten.

"I can try using my demonic powers, it's a long shot but it could work." I told him, my head was throbbing uncontrollably and I felt almost distant.

"Look I know you're powerful but against these. I..I don't know." He spoke. "But if you think you can do it."

"I can do it trust me." I told him.

We walked towards the edge of where the fog most heavily is separating the area inhabited by the Phoenix's and the Uncontrollable spirits.

There was a sound that resembled nails against metal, it was awful.

"They are coming!" Yelled Jasper.

I looked ahead and saw ghostly looking things with red eyes come towards us. I screamed unleashing my inner monster at them.

I didn't hear anything but when I opened my eyes they were gone.

"You obliterated them." He smiled. " you really can do it."

"Never underestimate your future queen." I joked.

"Believe me never again." He laughed. "More are coming." He told me.

I screamed again and let out some more crushing the evil spirits before they even got close to the mist wall.

"I can't do it much longer." I told him as I began feeling back to normal. My mind not as fuzzy and crazy.

"I released a little more until there were no more in front of us."

"I need to go back to the castle." I told him.

"What about your father?" He asked.

"He'll understand." I told him even though I wasn't sure he would.

I opened a portal with the little energy I had left and sent myself back to the palace throne room.

"Look who decided to come home." Laughed my father but all laughter ended when he saw my current condition.

"What happened?" He asked getting up.

"I found a way to kill the uncontrollable spirits." I coughed tasting blood in my mouth.

"The same way I destroy everything in the Faction of the Forgotten." I told him. He grabbed my arm and pulled me up.

"You can't release all of it, same way with the Forgotten." He scolded me. "It could kill you." He spoke.

He lifted my small body up and carried me out of the thrown room. The taste of blood in my mouth was overwhelming. I felt myself get placed gently on my bed. He pulled a chair over and sat down next to my bed. My vision was a little blurry, but I could make out him lifting his hands up over me. I felt a shocking pain in my head before everything went dark.

———————————————————————
The next day

I groaned as I sat up from my bed. I felt a lot better than yesterday, I only had a slight pain in my head which was manageable. My bare feet touched the cold stone floor as I walked out of the room, still in my clothes from yesterday.

I walked into the throne room and saw him sitting on it watching me as I walked in.

"How are you feeling?" He asked me.

"Fine." I spoke quietly.

"You do understand that if you pull a stunt like yesterday I won't be as forgiving. Correct?" He asked me. I just nodded my head.

"You will listen to me from now on, am I clear? I only want what's best for you and the kingdom."

"The unbalanced district is apart of the kingdom, father. Please let me help them; they desperately need it." I knew I was testing my luck with this.

He looked torn before waving his hand up dismissing me.