Gray POV

Song for the start of the chapter

As I sat on the floor to my small dorm room, I held up a gem from Else's box into the light. It glittered, causing rainbows to appear on the ground in front of me. It lit up the room with such a brightness that didn't seem real. The brightness caused me to squint and drop the stone on the ground.

I still wasn't sure what I was supposed to find in this box, but something told me that there was something important in here. I spent hours hoping for answers, but all of it looked like fancy jewelry and gemstones for evening wear.

There had to be more to it than that, though. Else kept them in a box that looked like a book, shoved in a drawer. That meant she wanted to hide them from prying eyes. This box was important, but I wasn't sure why.

My mind drifted back to when I asked Egrick why he searched Else's apartment. He never gave me a straight answer. Just like Else, there were things he was hiding. A part of me believed he was searching for the box in my hands. I just wanted to know why. What did he know about it that I didn't? What was so special about this box?

Breaking me from my thoughts was a knock on the door.

Not sure who it was, I jumped to my feet and quickly shoved the box under my pillow.

"Come in!" I called out as I sat on the bed, trying to look casual.

Egrick walked in without wasting a second. "Hey," he said.

"Hey," I echoed.

In silence, he looked around my room for a moment before meeting my eyes again. "Grayson, we have a meeting I would like you to attend."

"When?"

"Now."

I nodded as I stood up from the bed and slipped on a pair of shoes as Egrick continued to look around my room. It was as if he knew I was hiding something and that set me on edge. It made me not want to leave, fearing he would find the Else's box.

"Are you looking for anything?" I probed.

He stuffed his hands into his jeans and shook his head. "Nope. So, are you ready to leave now?"

"Yup. I'm ready," I replied. Quickly, I followed him out of the room, locking it behind me, praying that was enough to keep Else's box safe.

I followed Egrick through hallways and up a few flights of stairs until we ended up in the dean's office.

As the people in the room watched as we entered, my thoughts shifted to the place time I was in this room.

I hadn't been in this room since the night the royal family was murdered. Their blank expressions on the wooden floor were the only thing I could think of when I looked around the room.

If I would have fought better to stop my father, we wouldn't be here talking about how to stop him. I failed Churchwell and few people knew that. Few would know. That was something that I would keep to my grave.

However, as I looked around the room, it worried me that everyone knew my secret about that night. There were a million reasons I was hated, and that was just one of them.

"Grayson, Egrick, good, we can start," the dean of the school said as Egrick closed the door behind him.

The dean was a strong, powerful lady that stood nearly six feet tall. She commanded the room as she should with her power.

I didn't know the dean well, but I knew she was someone that Else trusted. Else told me herself that she was one of the few in the school that she believed in. Maybe if I had a question about Egrick or even Else, she would be the best person to ask.

There had never been a time when I sought the dean out. I wasn't sure she would even make time for me, but I had to at least try. If I were to learn more about the box, she might be the best resource I had.

"If I have a chance to speak," one official by the name of Ophelia voiced.

"You may," the dean replied as she sat down at her desk.

"We have waited almost a week as he settles in. The Darklings around school have increased and the Forest Witches have taken over towns. I don't even want to mention what the Shifters have done," Ophelia said as she shook her head.

There were dark rings under her eyes that told me she had slept little since my father took the castle. I think most of the officials were on the same boat. Most have slept little, fearing what steps they would take next. They all knew that my father already wanted them. If they failed to take him off the throne, they would die. Any supporter of the original royal family would die soon enough.

"But Ophelia, our warriors are still recovering from the last attack," another one piped in.

I didn't know many people in this group, but the more I attended these meetings with Egrick, the more names I managed to collect. Ophelia was one that was most vocal, but many did not agree with her. She was often faced with opposition, but that didn't seem to shake her confidence. She fought with every disagreement with a quick response.

"This is war. We don't have time to recover!" Ophelia shouted back as a few people agreed with her.

As people talked with one another, I turned my attention to Egrick, who had been silent since we arrived.

We made eye contact, then cleared his throat. "Then why not have a small team go in? It would be stealthier," Egrick voiced from the corner of the room. He pushed off the wall he leaned against and walked toward the center of the room with long strides.

Suddenly, the commotion around the room ebbed as they turned their heads to him. Egrick said little in these meetings, so the fact that he said something now meant that it was important.

"That might be a good idea," a man named Wes said.

"I think it's the best idea we have," another said.

"Who would go?" Ophelia asked as she eyed Egrick.

"Me, Gray, and my five top combat specialists," Egrick said as he glanced at me, waiting to see how I would react.

"And Grayson, what do you think of that?" Wes asked.

"I'm on board," I replied as I tried to stand up a little straighter. With as confident of a look as I could muster, I glanced around the room. "I think we have already waited long enough to attack."

The dean sighed, then looked at Egrick. "Ok. Egrick, you have a day to get your team together. I'm trusting you can make your plan of attack that quickly."

Egrick nodded in silence.

"I'm afraid we have little time than that. We have already waited too long."

"I understand. We will be ready in the day," Egrick said as he turned to me. "Ready to gather the team?"

I nodded, then looked at the dean with a frown. I wanted to talk to her, not join Egrick to prep the team. He could have easily done this on his own, but he wanted me to join. I should join. "Yeah, I'm ready."

With a heavy sigh, I followed him out the door and down the stairs.

"So we have little time. But I want you to lead the plan to get to your father."

"Me?!" I asked in shock.

He nodded. "You are the only one that saw the throne room. You are the only one that actually made it into the castle."

"But I really don't think I can do it."

"Of course not. At least not with that attitude. You need to learn how to lead at some point. I am giving you everything that you begged Else for. What else do I need to do for you? How much do I need to give you for you to be exactly what I want you to be?" he shouted in frustration.

I shrunk under his words in silence. His words sank in like an anchor in the water. I never really understood his motivation for me as he brought me under his wing the last weeks. There was something about it I wanted to trust, that I wanted to disregard Else's comment about him. But this showed that he was just doing everything I wanted in order to get something in return.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fire off on you like that," Egrick sighed as he kicked a dust bunny with his leather boot.

I silently stared at him, waiting for more than that as a response.

"It's just I thought you would be perfect for the job. You have the flighting experience and you have seen this coming."

"But what about what you found in her living quarters? Can you use any of that to plan an attack?" I asked, hoping to get any information from the search they did.

If searching the room was so important, Egrick would have found anything we could use to stop him. That room would have been more useful than a plan I would make.

He frowned as he shook his head. "There was nothing in there that we could have used."

"What were you looking for?"

He sighed. "A spell book, love notes, magical items she kept... anything really"

Magical items. He mentioned it causally, but there was something in his eyes that told me that was what he was really interested in. But what was so special about those items? "And you found nothing like that?"

He shook his head, looking disappointed. "No. Nothing."

In silence, I looked at my shoes, then glanced at him. "It feels all so rushed," I voiced.

"So, you don't want to plan the attack? You don't want to claim the glory? Think of what would happen if this was successful. All the negative thoughts related to your father would be gone."

"But what if it goes wrong?"

"Then I'll take the credit."

As his words sank in, I couldn't help but feel temped. For so long, I waited for a moment to prove myself. Maybe this was exactly what I was waiting for.

"You really can't lose in this."

"Fine, I'll start planning something and run it by you in a few hours."

Egrick smiled at me, then clapped me on the shoulder. "There we go! That is the spirit!"

"Yeah," I mumbled as he walked down the hall again. "I'll meet up with you later," I called out to him.

"Fantastic. I will be waiting," Egrick called back to me, not turning his attention towards me.

As exciting as this should have been, there was something about this that didn't feel right. It was as if Egrick didn't want to even help me prepare. This would be the first time I made a plan of action; I may have experience on the battlefield, but not nearly as much as Egrick. And I surely did not have any experience planning an attack. That was something that professionals should plan, not a kid. But Egrick pond it off on me as if this was the greatest thing in the world.

With a heavy sigh, I leaned against the wall, questioning what I got myself into.