Stella POV

"We will walk through the city," Graywick said as he turned the car off in front of a walled city.

I nodded silently as I got out of the car to stare at the enormous stone wall in front of me. It stood with such grandeur, as if it was designed to things out of whatever was inside the walls.

My mind went back to the drive I just had. It felt short, but as the sun started to set, I realized it was longer than I thought. I was just too focused on taking in my surroundings, trying to remember every turn we took, just in case I would have to travel back without him.

I had been nowhere besides the school, so I didn't know Churchwell outside of that. But as we passed small towns of cobblestone roads and old looking houses, rivers and forests, it was clear that Churchwell was not much different from the European countryside.

"Where are we?"

He smirked as he got out of the car and walked towards a pair of large wooden doors to enter the city. "This is my home."

I thought Graywick was an enemy of Churchwell. I never thought he would claim a city as a home. For some reason, I thought he would live in the shadows, not out in the open like this.

With wide eyes, I followed Graywick through a broken set of doors. On the other side lay a town made of beige stones and sand colored cobble stones. It looked like something from a travel magazine, but as I paid closer attention, I saw crumbling buildings and blood-stained walls. The deeper we walked into the city, the clearer the image of bloodshed was apparent.

There was a war here, and it was recent.

I couldn't help but wonder if it was related to Graywick.

Graywick walked with such confidence down the road. It was as if he didn't care about the state of this city. Or he just chose not to see it. However, that was all I could focus on.

"What happened here?" I asked as we walked up a pair of stone steps.

"What do you think happened here?" he replied.

"A war."

He nodded in silence as he stepped over a strained red cobble stone.

"And it was because of you?"

He smirked at me. "What we want most in this world always needs a little sacrifice."

His comment made me feel sick to my stomach. Everything about this told me I should stop and run away. But yet I couldn't. I could see there was something he knew about the monster in my dreams, and I would do anything to get that information out of him.

As I looked around, I caught sight of a mother and child running into a small house down the road. That was the first time I saw people within this city. I wondered how many people stayed after he claimed his throne.

Silently, I followed him through the massive front doors of a castle. I wondered if this was the royal family's home before he murdered them.

"Are you king now?" I asked as I followed Graywick deeper into the castle.

"I'm not one for titles, but it's something like that."

"And what are your plans now?" I asked.

He smiled at me. "Aren't we here for you?"

I nodded in agreement.

"And tell me, how are your dreams?"

"What do you know about them?" I snapped.

He chuckled as he walked into an extensive library full of rows of old leather books. "I know a lot, but what is interesting is I know little about your case," he mused as he pulled out a book and dusted it off.

I caught a glimpse of some gold lettering on the cover. However, it was in an alphabet I did not recognize.

"No human has survived a Darkling attack in decades. It forced me to look here for answers. This library is one of the oldest in all of Churchwell. You see, I wasn't planning to storm the castle when I did, but I wanted to get to the answers about you, so you rushed my plan."

"And did you find the answers about what is happening to me?"

He flipped a few pages to allow me to see swirls of color and letters. "I have some answers, but not as much as I would like."

My heart soared with disappointment. I came here for answers, but maybe he was here to string me along. He would do all he could to keep me around for reasons I didn't understand.

"What information do you have?" I begged.

"Well, you dream of this shadow monster, right?" he probed as he showed me a hand drawn image of the same shadow creature from my dreams.

"Yeah, that's what I dream of."

"That's what I thought. Well, it's an Umbra Mortine. It is when the human side splits with the Churchwell breed."

"But I am not from Churchwell."

He chuckled as he shook his head at me. "You weren't. But that changed when you survived the Darkling attack."

"And that is why the royal family told me I shouldn't be alive," I muttered as I remembered the moment up in the dean's office.

He smiled with a nod. "Churchwell has seen nothing like you in a long time."

"I feel like the shadow within me in growing stronger. It is scary. I want it gone. How can we reverse it?"

He shrugged as he closed the book in his hands. "That is something that I am still trying to understand. But you are welcome to look through these books as much as you like. I will warn you, most are not in English."

"Thanks," I replied as I looked around at the shelves of books.

I told my parents I would be gone only for the weekend. Looking through these books will take more time than that. Maybe I would have to come on every weekend until I find how to rid the shadow monster from me.

"Please know that I will continue to search for the answers for you. But in the meantime, you are welcome to stay here within the castle."

"Why are you being so kind?"

"Because I know how it feels to be left in the dark with no answers. Well, I have some things to do, but if you want, I can show you to a bedroom that you can stay in."

"Alright. Sure."

He smiled as he turned on his heels and walked out of the library.

I followed him through halls, trying to pay attention to every step, in order to get back to the library. That was where I wanted to spend my entire weekend. There had to be information on how to stop the monster. I just had to look for the answers.

Breaking me out of my concentration was when I heard my name. It was from a voice that I never thought I would hear again.

"Stella?" Else asked again, causing me to stop and look around for her.

Quickly I laid eyes on Else as she was being dragged down the hall in chains. Her normal put together appearance was completely gone. Her hair was a frizzy mess, her clothes were ripped and smeared with blood. Else was broken. Else was a prisoner here.

Seeing her brought so many questions to my mind. How did she get here? What did Graywick want with her? And if she was here, where was Gray? Was he safe?

"Graywick, whatever you have with Grayson, leave the girl out of it. She shouldn't be here," Else shouted at him.

"Oh Else, if only you knew Stella came here on her own free will," Graywick said with a chuckle as he placed his hand on my shoulder.

I instantly shook his hand off. But the comment was enough to get a reaction from Else.

Her eyes widened as she stared at me. "Don't listen to what he has to say, Stella. He is a liar. He will tell you whatever you want to hear. Don't fall for it," she begged.

Graywick looked at the person dragging Else and sighed. "Please take Else back to her room. I will talk to her later."

"Stella! Run from here! Don't fall for his charm!" she warned as she got pulled farther from me.

With my feet firmly planted on the floor, I watched silently until Else was no longer in sight.

"Well, that was a little exciting reunion there. But let's get you to your room."

My head snapped towards him with a frown. Suddenly, I didn't want to follow him any further. I wanted to run from here. What was I thinking to come here with him? I shouldn't have even got into his car.

"Don't give me that look, Stella. You're not a prisoner here."

"I'm not?"

"Never. You can leave whenever you want."

"And how about Else?"

"What about her?" he replied.

"She's not a prisoner?"

He smiled as he looked at his darkened hand. "She is a different story."

"Why is she here?"

"My goodness, you ask a lot of questions."

I stared at him as I waited for an answer. I would not move from my spot until I got more information from him. There were things that I wasn't understanding, that he was hiding from me. It made me feel stupid for even being here.

"We both know you care little about Else. You want to know if Gray is safe, and he is. He's far from here in Churchwell academy."

I felt comforted to know that Grayson was safe, but I still wanted to know why Else was here. "But that doesn't answer my question about Else."

"If you stay around, you might get your question answered. You might get all your questions answered."

Silently, I stared at him, waiting for his next move. Something told me I shouldn't provoke him, so silence would be my friend.

"It's really up to you. You can leave right now if you want. But you won't get any of your questions answered."

"And I can leave at any time?"

He nodded. "At any time," he reiterated.

"Ok. So where is my room?"

He smiled as he looked down the hall. "It's just over there."

I followed him to a room that was large and full of windows. In the middle of the room lay a four-poster bed draped in golds and reds. Plush furniture was around the room, complementing the bedsheets and carpet. It all felt very royal. It made me wonder who had this room before me.

"This is your space," Graywick said as he readjusted the pillows on the bed. "I'll be back in a few hours to get you for dinner."

I nodded as he walked to the door again.

"Make yourself comfortable," he said as he walked out of the room.

And as Graywick left, it made me wonder if I made the right choice. I needed answers, but was this the right move? Could I have found the answers I needed somewhere else?