Gosh, last week was an absolute mess and I didn't have time to write. Thanks for your patience as I navigate getting The Invincible Invisible published. I am hopeful to start a regular cadence again for Gray and Stella.

Darla

Gray POV

With a one track mind, I walked up to Else's apartment space within the building and walked in, knowing that it shouldn't be locked since it never was. "Is Else here?" I asked a man who I had never seen before as walked into the large apartment looking space.

He nodded as he fixed his shirt with a frown as if I just walked in on the wrong possible time.

"Else?" I asked before he had time to ask for me.

"I'm here Gray, what do you want?" Else asked with a tired sigh as she came out of another room wearing a silky robe.

I looked at the man, then back at her, knowing exactly what they were doing but not caring they did or caring to know who this man was. Instead, I cut straight to what was important to me. "Did you lock the gate?" Else told me she would lock it. Those words were fresh in my mind, like she just said them. Right before I stepped through the gate she gave me her word and I trusted her. But if she locked it, then why was Stella here and why did she get through?

She nodded as she crossed her arms across her chest with a frown, upset that I accused her of such a thing. "I did."

Either she was lying or she didn't do her job well enough because the one person who I didn't want to be here was here. "Well, Stella got through it."

Her frown only deepened as she looked at me. "That's impossible for so many reasons."

Clearly, it wasn't as impossible as she thought it was. "You can tell her that," I said as the man she was with left the apartment almost silently. "He's lovely," I pointed out with sass, then turned back to her.

"He's no one."

I raised my eyebrows at her, not believing her. She never invited anyone to her place, so seeing someone here caught me off guard for a moment. I never knew Else even though we spent years together, but seeing him in the room just made me so tired of everything. "You know Else, I am getting really tired of you lying to me about everything."

She sighed as she sat down on the couch. "He really is no one. I just met him last week from a nearby town. We were just getting to know each other."

"Looks like you got you know each other really well tonight."

She placed her head in her hands and stared at the floor in front of her for a moment before looking back at me. "I'm not appreciating your attitude right now, Grayson."

"I wouldn't have such an attitude if I actually got some answers from you."

Else nodded as if I had a point, then got up from the couch. She paced around the room as if she was sorting out her thoughts, no doubt figuring out what she wanted to tell me. "The girl, where is she?"

The fact that she didn't call her by her name caused me to become more frustrated than I actually should. "Stella is in my room. Else, she got through the gate because my father led her here. He left her a note claiming it was me that needed help and she walked through the gate to save me."

My words caused her to stop in mid walk and frown in silence.

Secrets were written all over her eyes as she stared at me. I wasn't sure if she wanted to tell me the truth or if she was bound to keep me in the dark, but I wanted at least some guidance. I wasn't demanding all answers, just some, she could at least do that. "Can you please tell me why my father is interested in her?"

"I have no idea what he wants with her," she replied quickly.

I wasn't sure if I believed her in that statement. Something told me she had an idea but didn't want to tell me. There was so much she was keeping from me and I didn't understand why. "Can I talk to him about it?"

She frowned again.

"Else, I am not him. I will not join him or do whatever the royal family thinks I will. I know what kind of monster he is, but I just need to know why he wanted her here," I begged her.

She nodded as she stared at me. She knew that just as much as I did; we were completely different people, but she couldn't seem to convince that to the royal family. "I'll see what I can do, but the royal family, they want to..." her voice trailed off as if she said too much already.

I had just about enough of the royal family. They were not helping anything. "Damn the royal family. What good are they anyhow? I need answers and we both know my father is the only one that has them."

Else nodded with a heavy sigh, as if she knew I was right. "You know, you are treading on a fine line. A lot of that family doesn't even want you in this realm."

"I know." I got the feeling I wasn't welcome the first time I went to meet them. Only a few of them talked to me, others pretended I wasn't there, even though I was right in front of them. They didn't trust me, but what frustrated me the most was that they didn't even try to know me to see if I was worth being trusted. If they just talked to me, they would know that I was nothing like him, nor would I ever be like him.

"I'll talk to the royal family tomorrow morning and see if I could get you in to talk to him."

"Thanks."

"Of course. I will say this again, Grayson, I am on your side. I am always going to be on your side."

I nodded. I used to believe her statement whole heartedly but lately it had been hard to take her word because she didn't seem to do a lot for me.

"As for Stella, we will return her back to Jackson tomorrow even."

I nodded, believing her statement. Else may lie to save herself and others, but she had no reason to lie about this. She didn't want her here just as much as she didn't want me to fall in love with her. "Good." As long as she was back in Jackson, I was happy. In Jackson, she was safe, and that was where she would stay, no matter how excited I was to see her again.

"It's late, you should get back to your room. I'll come find you tomorrow."

Happy with her response, I nodded, then left to get back to my small dorm room.

<>

As I walked back to my dorm room, I couldn't help but think of my father telling me there were no good guys in the story. Else knew something about Stella being here, but she didn't tell me. She lied right to my face, but I didn't understand why she was trying to cover it up.

With a heavy sigh, I walked back into my small dorm room to see Stella already asleep, curled up in my small bed. She looked so calm and comfortable as she breathed in and out. I thought about how I found her in the woods; she was concerned but she wasn't terrified that she was alone or that she was in an unfamiliar place. She handled all of this so calmly, as if she wasn't afraid of the danger of me or this realm.

Shifting in her sleep, she turned to face me with a small smile. "Hey," she mumbled as she stretched, trying to wake herself up to talk.

I smiled at her, happy that I could talk to her for a moment. This moment we had together was all but fleeting, and in the back of my mind, I knew I had to treasure it. "Hey."

We were silent for a moment as we stared at each other.

"You're bed is uncomfortable," Stella stated finally.

I couldn't help but chuckle at her statement. It was honest, and it was the truth. My bed was uncomfortable, but it's not like I could get a new one, so I stayed with it and dealt. "I know. But at least I have one."

"What do you mean? You are from here. You study here, you deserve one. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise."

But it wasn't that easy. I didn't really deserve one when everyone wanted me gone. People always felt like outsiders, even if they were from there, if no one liked them. I had been here for weeks and I still had no friends. No one tried to talk to me, all wanted me out of their lives, back in Jackson away from everyone, away from their memories.

Once again, we let the silence consume us as I didn't know what to say to her.

"Did you do what you needed to do?"

I nodded as I sat down on the only chair in the room. It creaked under my weight, confirming that it was really as old as it looked. "Yeah, I did."

"That's good to hear. So what is the plan?"

"We have to get you back to Jackson tomorrow afternoon."

She frowned, as if that wasn't the answer she wanted. "And will you join me?"

I shook my head as I looked at the ground. I was from here and tried so hard to return to this place. With this realm on the brink of war, I should be here to defend my heritage, to prove that I wasn't anything like my father. "I have to stay here."

"Why?"

That simple question caused questions to flood my mind like a broken dam. I clearly wasn't wanted here, so why was I staying? My father wanted me, so I might as well remove myself from the problem. I could easily travel with her and go back to my old life. Her question was simple, but yet I didn't have a solid answer for it and that frustrated me. "I don't know."

She nodded and instead of prying for more; she pulled a blanket up around her chin, settling back into bed. "Sometimes the most logical things aren't what you want." And with that, she closed her eyes again, ending the conversation.

Her statement caused me to think about everything. And in the dark of night, I sat stewing over my thoughts. I wasn't sure she realized how much that simple statement caused me to think, but that was the only thing I could do. My life wasn't logical, but in the confusion I tried to make sense of it. Missing parts of truth caused confusion and missed intentions. I tried to make sense of my life with forced thoughts, but I never gave myself what I wanted. I always got the short end of the stick, convincing myself that was how it was. But maybe the logic was what I wanted, maybe that was what I had been missing all this time.

With a heavy sigh, I looked out the window and tried to convince myself that I was just over thinking everything.