Gray's POV

Look out for the <>!

I looked at the staff in my hand and pounded it on the ground as I looked at a boy the same age as me on the ground. His eyes had such worry to them as he prepared for the final blow.

"What are you waiting for, attack him," Egrick commanded me.

I dropped the staff and shook my head. "He's already down. I don't need to attack," I said as I turned to Egrick. As I did so, I felt something pierce my side, causing me to topple to the ground.

"Grayson, we have been through this. Don't turn your back towards the enemy. Just because they are down, doesn't mean they will stop fighting," Egrick said to me then turned to congratulate my opponent.

I placed my hand against my side and saw blood ooze between my fingers.

"Let me guess, you didn't finish the blow?" Else asked as she walked up to me. Her posh clean appearance demanded attention as she looked down at me. Even with all this uncertainty, she still remained polished. Things had changed a lot since my father killed the royal family, but her style would never change.

I shook my head as I stood up from the ground.

She gave a tired sigh. "It doesn't matter if you are one of the best people on the team, Gray. If you don't finish the blows, you might be kicked off the team."

"That's not possible. They need me. I am Graywick's son. They want me around. That much is clear," I said as I watched Egrick talk to the group of young fighters he was training.

Else shook her head as she pushed her hair behind her ears. "Gray, you have to at least try to fit in. If you want to stop going to the infirmary, you should actually start fighting back. You used to want all of this not too long ago."

Her words caused my blood to run cold. There was so much that had changed since I wanted that. This place wasn't for learning anymore, it was for training. We were all fighting for a war that my father would bring. I didn't want to be a killer; I didn't want to be in this war everyone was prepping for.

"Is there anything you wanted to actually tell me, Else?"

It had been over a month since my father's attack on Churchwell and this place looked just as broken as the day after the attack. Cleanup had been slow, and it had to be because all the talented magical beings were on high alert for my father, meaning there was little time to clean up the castle.

Everyone was waiting for what my father would do, but it had been silence. That silence was probably worse than the actual war though. Churchwell had been in chaos since the royal family had died. There was no clear ruler and that left a perfect place for my father to slide in. We all expected it, but we expected it almost instantly.

In the meantime, I had stepped up my training. Everyone told me I was the key to stop him. I had devoted every moment of my last month to gaining new skills, practicing, preparing. When I wasn't training, Else whisked me away to meetings about different topics. All this business keeps my mind too preoccupied to think of Stella. Maybe that was my goal, I couldn't think of her in a time like this. It didn't matter if she still haunted my dreams and caused a longing for her deep in my heart. She was safe in Jackson that that should have been enough for me. But deep down, I knew it wasn't.

"I picked up your homework. It's laying on your bed."

I smiled at her knowing that she didn't like going to Jackson to get it, but I appreciated her doing it. "Thank you."

She nodded then opened her mouth but closed it, figuring it wasn't worth sharing. She looked at the books in front of her then turned back to me. Finally, she mustered up what she wanted to ask.

"Tell me this, what made you want to continue school? We were in Jackson for over a year, and you hated everything about that place but now you still want to graduate? I don't quite understand your thinking to be honest."

"I just thought it would be useful. That's all," I shrugged. 

I wouldn't tell her why I really wanted to study though. Even though I was here, I dreamt about a day returning to Jackson to see Stella. Having that degree might make me want to stay in Jackson if it meant being with her. I wanted that more than I would dare to say out loud. But for now, I needed to stay away from her and Jackson. As painful as it was, I needed to stay away to keep her safe. The war was here. I needed to be here. Stella needed to be far from here and me. I couldn't dare lose her.

"I didn't see Stella at school."

"I didn't ask about Stella." Although the mere mention of her name caused my head to spin. I wondered if she was safe and if she was happy. 

"But I know you were thinking about her."

I frowned. I thought about her every day and today was no different. "There is nothing wrong about thinking." 

"No, but you it would be better if you stopped." 

"It's not that easy." Especially when she held my heart.

She shook her head in silence, not liking my comment. "After you get out of the infirmary, come to my office. I have another meeting I want you to attend."

With a nod, I walked towards the castle as I held my side. With a limp, I walked into the grand entrance that was still in the process of being cleaned up. The remains of the battle were still apparent. The shattered windows, the crumbling spots in the wall, all showed what happened a month ago.

As I walked a little deeper into the halls, the remnants of the fight slowly vanished. The entrance took most of the damage and the halls were easier to clean up.

I as I pushed the door to the infirmary opened, I gave a sigh of relief knowing that I wouldn't have to walk any longer.

<>

"Another low blow attack, hu?" A girl that I knew as Birch asked as I crumpled to the nearest bed. She lifted up my shirt and frowned. "I didn't think they were using knives any more since the last attack."

"Guess Egrick changed his mind."

"Or maybe it's his boss. It doesn't seem like Egrick to do that."

"Egrick doesn't have a boss. He's the only school's combat specialist."

"Listen, all I have to say is that I saw him talking to a man a few times this week. It looked like a boss to me," she said with a shrugged as she started to clean the wound, making me wince. "Sorry."

"It's fine," I mumbled as I sank into the bed.

"This wound is deep. Deeper than it should be for just a practice."

"Are we that surprised in that?"

She gave a frown as she poured some kind of goo on the wound. "No. Guess not." She sighed then looked at the clock on the wall. "This should sit for 30 minutes."

"Ok," I said as I propped myself up against some pillows.

"While you wait, want to play a game of chess?" Birch asked eagerly as she pulled out a chess board.

I chuckled with a nod. "Sure. It's not like beating you will take more than 30 minutes."

"Hey, I've gotten better. You should see all my other opponents."

I smiled at her. "So, you have shown others the game of chess? I thought it was our thing. I'm hurt Birch."

She gave a panicked look towards me then said," I just wanted to play with more people. You've been so busy recently."

I nodded as a grimace came to my face. I thought about the last game I bailed on because of surprise meetings. "I'm sorry that I've been distant. I've just had-"

"Meetings, I know. I know you are busy. I'm not mad. But don't be mad when I ask more people to play with me."

"Ok. Deal."

She smiled as she set up the game in front of us. "So do you want to be black?"

I shrugged. "Sure. Why not."

"Grayson, are you ready?" Else's voice rang out from the entry way of the room.

Both Birch and I looked at Else then back towards my wound. Quickly, Birch peeled of a corner of the dried mixture the looked at me. We both knew it wasn't done healing the wound.

I have a sharp nod towards her as if telling her it was fine, that I was fine. When Else called, I had to go, no matter what. Birch struggled with that idea but she didn't say anything about it. Birch was quiet about a lot of things. Maybe that was why we got along so well, she wasn't there to stand in the way.

"Yeah, he should be good to go."

Carefully I stood up from the bed as I felt my side ache. I held back a sign, wishing I could stay a little longer with Birch. It felt like she was the only one that didn't want to kill me for what my father had done. She was the only one that understood or at least tried to understand. Lately it feel like the infirmary was the only time I could spend time with her and even then Else insisted on pulling me away quicker than either Birch or I would like.

"Good. Let's go," Else said as she started down the hall, expecting me to follow.

"Too important to wait?"

Else nodded as she took another hall. "Your father has been spotted by the royal boarder of Elgin."

Her words caused me to frown as I knew what this likely meant. He would soon be trying to take control of the castle. After a month of not seeing him, he had finally gathered his army and he would continue his war. "What do you need from me?" 

"For now, nothing. I am on my way to the castle to meet with other leaders in the area to discuss what will happen next." 

As much as I wanted to ask if I could join her, I already knew the answer. For now the leaders wanted nothing to do with me. They would use me as bait if needed but they didn't trust me. They wanted me far from the information. "And you will inform me of what the next steps are?"

"Of course I will. But for now, wait here, do your homework. I will keep you informed," she said as she patted me on the shoulder in a poor attempt to develop a relationship with me.

Ever since the war happened, there were a lot of half said comments that lingered in the air like smoke in a small room. It swirled around my mind, causing confusion. I had waited for a long time for Else to finally come clean about some of those things she said during the battle. But Else didn't want to bring them up, or maybe she forgot. Her bringing up the mention of my father caused all those questions to pop into my mind again and this time I didn't want to wait patiently for answers. I wanted them now. 

"Do you have a moment?" I asked Else as she looked at her watch. 

She met my eyes and instantly frowned. "It depends on that it's for."

The memory of what she told me on the stairs of the school as we tried to get to Stella popped into my mind. She told me the Royal family were half-bloods. The royal family cast out all other half bloods because they want to be the only ones that hold that power. She said that half-bloods were more powerful than pure, and they want that for themselves. "Is my dad a half blood?"

She nodded silently. "He was one of the few remaining."

"That means he should be part of the royal family, right?"

She nodded again. "Yes."

"And that makes me..."

"A member as well." 

Anger rose within me as I connected the dots. More hatred towards the royal family boiled within me. "So, I was banished because of that, not because of my father."

Else sighed, not wanting to answer any more questions. "Grayson, please, do we need to have this conversation now?" 

"Yes, Else. We need to have this conversation because honestly it is long overdue. You should have told me so many things and you failed. You thought you were protecting me but that was a foolish thought."

She flinched back as if I slapped her, but I had no remorse for what I said. She closed her mouth as she tapped her foot on the ground, regaining herself. "I have to go." 

"Good," I snapped back at her. 

She turned her back to me and sighed. "Grayson, we didn't need to be like this."

"No, we didn't. But you remain faithful to the royal family who is dead rather to me who you raised. You don't need to protect them any longer. You don't need to hold back any truth."

She turned to face me again with a tired face. "It was never my mission to disappoint you in anyway."

"But yet you continue to do it. You are like a mother to me but yet I continue to feel second place." 

She gave a sharp nod as she smoothed out her hair. "I have to go." 

"I know." 

And with that she left me in the hall, alone with very little information collected.