Gray POV

Unsure where Stella was, I ran down the hall of the castle where my father last had her. Birch ran beside me as we quickly made our way to the bedroom, only to find the door ripped off its hinges.

My stomach dropped as I ran into the empty room. "Stella!" I called out, hoping to hear a response. My eyes scanned around the empty room before I called her name again.

She was here last time, so I thought she would be here again. Not seeing her here was enough to send me into a worried state. The fact that someone ripped the door off caused my panic to soar. I didn't want to believe I was too late, but my mind couldn't help but go there for a moment.

"She's not here Gray," Birch sighed.

"Where could she be?" I asked as I ran my hands through my hair. My breath became hitched as I thought about losing another person at the hands of my father.

"I don't know, but we will find her. We will not leave this castle without her, I promise."

But whether she was alive was going to be another story. We would find her. I promised myself that. I would not leave without Stella. But what feared me the most if we were already too late?

"He's going to pay for this," I seethed.

"I agree. But first let's find Stella. Then you can plot your attack on your father," she responded as she walked towards the window and looked out.

As she looked around, I gave one more sweep around the room, hoping to find any clues. I walked over to bed and sighed in frustration when nothing stood out. There was no sign of a fight besides the broken door. It made me wonder what happened.

"Gray, you should take a look at this," Birch said, snapping me out of my thoughts. She pointed out the window with a frown.

I followed her lead and looked out right beside her. In the yard in front of the castle were at least one hundred Darklings. They stood and roared, prepared to attack, but none of them moved forward towards the castle. It was as if they were waiting on some command.

"What do you think they are doing?" Birch asked.

"I have no idea."

"Do you think they are here for us?"

The thought caused a shiver to creep up my spine. It was one thing to fight off a few. But a hundred, there was no way we could do that. "Let's hope not."

Bitch nodded as the Darklings roared in unison, then charged for the castle. My breath caught in my throat as I remembered all the Darklings stormed the school.

For a second, it reminded me of the war there. All the death and destruction. I didn't think I would have to face something like that again.

"Let's get out of here," Birch said as she pulled on my sleeve.

I nodded as I allowed her to lead me out of the room.

We only had minutes before the Darklings scurried around the castle. I just hoped we could find Stella without running into any of them.

"You have been here before. Where do you think she will be?"

I frowned at the question. The castle was massive. There way no way to know for sure where she was. The best idea I had was to run through every room we could find until we found her.

As we ran down the hall a Darkling rounded the corner and locked eyes with us. It roared as it stopped, ready to attack.

I stared at it as I waited for its next move. I didn't think it would come as quick as it did. This was just a lone Darkling but where were all the other ones? Why was it not calling the rest?

"Do you have any of those special mushrooms with you?" I asked Birch as I pulled out my dagger.

"No. Sadly, I don't," she said as she readied herself.

The Darkling charged, but as it got close enough to strike, it jumped over us and continued to run down the hall.

With my mouth gaping open, I watched as it continued its path down the hall. I knew Darklings, but I had never seen one act like this.

"Where do you think it's going?" Birch whispered.

"I don't know. But I think we should follow it."

"Alright then. After you."

We ran to catch up with the Darkling. We followed closely behind, however it didn't seem to mind. It was on a different path of destruction and I just prayed it wasn't for Stella.

We took different halls until we ran into a throne room. There, Graywick stood over a dead Darkling. He wiped his bloodied hands on his pants, then met my eyes.

"You came a little sooner than I expected," he said to me. "And I see you brought backup." He gestured to Birch, who stood beside me.

Breaking us from the moment the Darkling we followed roared, then charged at my father.

I pulled out my dagger and waited for what would happen next. My father was a leader of the Darklings, but at this moment, it looked like their tie was ending.

All too quickly, my father struck it down and plunged his sword into its backside, preventing it from moving. Black blood oozed from its wound almost immediately.

Graywick placed his sword back into its kilt and looked at the beast as it tried to stand. It was suffering, but he did little to put it out of its misery.

I was never one to like Darkings, but the scene cause me sick. Why couldn't he just finish the job instead of have it suffer?

"I suppose you are here to get your girl back," he said as he strolled closer to me.

I nodded as a braced myself for whatever he had up his sleeve.

For a moment, my attention shifted towards the beast that tried to stand. It cried out, but my father paid no attention to it.

"Grayson, I am not trying to kill your girl. I just want the Umbra Mortine," my father said calmly.

"I don't believe you."

Graywick sighed. "You read about the Umbra Mortine, right? If you did, you know that they eventually kill the host. All I'm saying is I'm going to stop that from happening."

"And what are you going to do with the Umbra Mortine?"

"Do you think that matters? We are running out of time. We need to get to Stella. I think we have already waited around enough."

I eyed him as I refused to let my dagger drop.

"I will not kill her. You have my word."

Although his word meant little to me. But I knew he was right about having little time. He knew where Stella was and if that meant I had to agree with him for the time being, so be it. It just needed to get to her.

"Fine. Let's get to her," I sighed as I put my dagger away.

The Darkling gave another roar as it curled around on the ground, snapping my attention to it.

Graywick nodded as it walked up to the beast. He put his blackened hand on it as the beast gave a screech so loud it echoed the halls. My father lifted his hand as the beast caught on fire and instantly burst into ashes.

Graywick wiped his now glowing black hand on his pants, then walked closer to me. "Now I'm ready."

"What did you do?" I asked as I stared at the ash in front of us, then looked at Birch, making sure she say the same thing.

Her eyes were wide as she looked at me. We both didn't know what happened, but what we saw scared us. Darklings were powerful, but he killed it instantly.

"Just took the power for myself. I need it if I'm going to take on the Umbra Mortine," he said as he walked out of the room.

I shook my head as I tried to piece it together. Has he always done this to Darklings or had something shifted.

"They are expendable. Don't worry about it," Graywick said as he passed me to walk out of the hall.

But the thing was, he viewed everything as expendable. Even his alleys. My heart quickened as I followed him out of the room. I was expendable just as much as Stella was. We could all die today if we weren't quick enough to stop him.

Birch said nothing as she followed me. However, I knew what she was thinking. She thought this was crazy. At least, I surely did. How could I true my father? I couldn't, but I wasn't left with another choice. He knew where Stella was and for that; I needed to follow him.

We took halls until we stopped at a door that had a gold frame.

"This is it," he said to us as another darkling roared.

I didn't have time to open the door and see for myself if Stella was really on the other side. Instead, my head snapped towards the direction and saw at least five bounding our way.

Without saying anything, Graywick pulled out his sword and readied for their attack.

Birch and I backed up as the Darklings charged at my father. They passed us as they went straight to attack my father. They wanted him, not us.

We watched as the Darklings knocked him off his feet. We did not say anything, but we thought the same thing. Maybe we would have to stop him if we let the Darklings do it for us.

My father cried out in pain as it looked like the Darklings held the upper hand. Then suddenly, black smoke filled the surrounding space. A wave of blackness pushed the Darklings off of him.

Bloodied, father stood up from the ground as he held up his blackened hand. "That's enough," he sneered to them as more black smoke came from his fingertips.

The smoke circled around the Darklings, preventing them from coming any closer. With his sword held up high, he walked to the Darklings and struck them down, one by one. But this time, he did not let them suffer. He killed every one of them, wasting no time finishing them.

As he wiped the blood from his sword, he turned to us. There was a determination on his face that made me more scared to open the door. "Let's finish this. The Umbra Mortine has caused too much damage."

"Is it sending the Darklings to attack you?" I asked as my father wiped the blood from his mouth.

He nodded as he walked back up to the door, placing his black hand around the handle. "And enough is enough."