Look out for the <>!

Grayson POV

As the night set in, Stella's condition worsened while Else never returned. Minutes turned into hours and slowly I realized Else wouldn't return until she was sure Stella was dead. She wasn't interested in saving her, she was just saving her face. She didn't want to see me suffer, so she left me to suffer alone as I held Stella's icy hand.

loathing for the Royal family and their rules brewed like good wine beneath my skin. They were not going to find a cure for the human for many reasons. Maybe it was hard, maybe it was too much work, and she was just a human, so why even try? Stella wasn't like any of us, she wasn't supposed to be in this world. But what they didn't understand was that she was my world. Stella was there for me even when no one else was. She was my friend and I couldn't let her die.

A soft groan came from Stella's lips, turning my attention back to her. She lay in the bed sleeping soundly as she had done for the past hour. Her complexion was clammy and pale and through her soft groans, I knew that not even sleep helped her escape the pain she felt as the poison spread through her body.

I thought about what my father said to me. I battled over those ideas for hours already. If I let him out, I would be a traitor, they would have my head for this. But I didn't see another way around it. Our time on waiting was over. I knew what I had to do next. I needed to take matters into my own hands.

I stood up from my chair, only to be stopped by a hand that grabbed mine. My attention turned to Stella's now completely black hand as she looked at me with worry. The poison had spread all the way down her arm and was spreading up to around her ear. I could only imagine it was spreading to her other shoulder now as well. The poison spread faster on her than it did on other magical beings. I could only guess she had only a few hours left, which only meant I needed to get my father's cure quickly.

"Gray?" Her voice sounded weak and powerless, but her eyes still had fire burning in them. She hadn't given up and I'm not sure if she ever would, even down to her last breaths.

"Yes?" I asked softly.

"Where are you going?"

"I just need to get something to drink. Do you want me to bring you anything?"

She shook her head lightly as she closed her eyes once again. "Don't be gone long," she mumbled as sleep pulled her under again.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." And with that, I left her alone in the bedroom, hoping to come back as quickly as I could. I had thought long enough about a plan and I didn't want to waste any more time when I knew Else would not help.

With sure steps, I ran down the stairs to get to the basement. I checked the time on my watch to see that the guards would switch soon, allowing me to sneak in. I grabbed another apple from the kitchen to trip the protection spell but frowned when I saw a guard in front of the door still.

He looked at me and frowned, as if expecting me to show up. "You aren't supposed to be here," the guard said to me as I tossed an apple in the air and caught it.

I swore under my breath as I realized they were on to me. My mind went to the thought that Else knew my father was the cure, and she was keeping me from him. Fear and anger filled me as I stared back at him. I thought breaking in would be easy, but this was looking more impossible by the moment. There was no way I could overpower him. He was a trained guard, and I was not experienced enough to pass him and make my way to the basement.

"Else wants you back in her room."

And just like that, I realized they weren't on to me. Else just knew all this time the cure was my father. She wanted me to stay away from him and she wanted Stella to die. With that information, I wouldn't be able to get past him peacefully. Desperation crashed into me, knowing I had to make him move.

"Go on Gray, get out of here."

With a frown, I walked up to him and suddenly worried that my training wasn't enough to take a guard down. I was unskilled, but unlike him, I had a motive that was more important than anything else. "I don't think I will," I said as I punched him.

The force of my punch caused him to fall against the door. He quickly got back onto his feet and swept his leg under my feet, causing me to fall to the ground as he kicked my stomach.

"What are you doing?" he shouted as he kicked me again.

I coughed out blood as I got up from the ground.

"Gray, you are just as terrible as your father."

I shook my head, I was better than my father. I was doing this for the person I loved. My father loved nothing. With that love, I could not give up. But I couldn't take him down without help so I reached behind him and opened the basement door. Without thinking about it further, I pushed him down the stairs.

Instantly, he tripped the spell and caught on fire. Screams filled the basement as he tried to take out the flames. The scene caused panic to fill me, making me realize what I just did. Quickly I looked around the room to help, but nothing was there to put out the flames. As I looked back at the guard, I watched as his screams stopped and he clasped on the ground.

<>

Silently I stared at the body, hoping for signs of life, but the body remained still, unmoving. I killed him, but I didn't have time to dwell on the sight below me. Stella was the only thing that mattered, and I would do anything to save her. Quickly, I ran into the basement and locked the door behind me, hoping it would give me time.

My feet flew down the steps and into the room my father was in. He smiled at me as if he knew I would come. "I knew those screams were from you."

His smile caused a wave a nausea to hit me. It was as if he was proud of the fact I brought destruction, but I tried not to focus on that thought. "You brought her here. Why?" I said to my father as I stared at him.

He shrugged with a smile. "You love her, don't you?"

"Of course, I love her. That is why she can't be here."

"And because of that love, that is why she belongs here. The Royal Family has no responsibility forcing people out of their kingdom. Everyone should be welcome once again, like they used to be."

"If you wanted to show that, why did the Darklings attack her?"

"I didn't plan for that. Yes, I hoped for it, though. You see, the Royal Family made the Darklings long ago to kill off anything that didn't belong. That is why only magical being can be cured from their poison. However, their motive changed over time and the Royal Family lost control of most of them."

I shook my head, not wanting to believe his words. They sounded too insane to be real. "Then how can you heal her? Why are you so special?"

He smiled as if that was the exciting part of it all. "Because I'm not a pure blood."

I frowned at this information, convinced he was making it all up.

"I'm not lying about any of this Gray. Think, this was why Else didn't help you. She knows the girl doesn't belong and knows too much. It is better to kill her now."

Breaking us from this conversation was when I heard people shouting from above us. They knew I took the guard out. The basement door started to rattle, and I knew we only had a few minutes left. "You can save her, right?"

He nodded. "Just a few drops of my blood will do."

"I need it."

"So you agree to the deal?"

I nodded. I would agree to anything in order to keep her alive.

"Ok, unlock the bars and the spell," he said as he pointed to a switch that kept the spell operating. "That should turn everything off."

Without wasting a second, I flipped the switch as I saw the starrings fade and the cage open.

With a smile on my father's face, he walked out of the cage and snapped the handcuffs around his wrists. He pulled out of his pocket and vile of light gray looking blood and handed it to me. "You made the right choice."

I took it and stuffed it into my pocket silently as I listened to people ram against the basement door. They will learn soon enough what I did and there was no saving me from that fate. But there was still hope for Stella and I just had to get to her.

"Gray, get out of here. Save your girl," my father said as he pushed me out of the room.

I followed him out the secret exit that looked like a brick wall. Seconds later, we were out on the lawn of the school.

"I'll be in touch with you soon," he said and ran off without another word.

There was no time to think about what he meant by that or where he was going or what his next plans were. All I knew was that I had to get to Stella before they stopped me. I ran back into the castle, through halls, up staircases, until I ran into Else's small living space. I locked the door behind me, hoping it would give me more time, then ran into her bedroom to see half of Stella's face turning black from the poison.

I rushed to the side of her and shook her lightly, hoping I wasn't too late. "Stella?"

"Mmmm?" she mumbled, not even opening her eyes.

Relief flooded through me like a downpour. She was still alive; I wasn't too late. I reached for the closest cup by her bedside and dumped the vial of blood in it. Instantly it mixed with the remaining water in the cup, turning it a light gray-red color. "I got you something to drink."

She shook her head with a frown as she cracked her eyes open slightly. "I don't want anything."

Voices were becoming louder on the other side of the door, and knew we had little time. "Please drink it. It will make you feel better," I begged, saying anything to speed up the process.

"It will take away this pain?"

My heart broke to know that I was the one that made all of this happen. I was dangerous; I warned her, and now she saw how dangerous I was. "Yeah, it will take it all away."

She obediently took the cup and downed it. As she finished it, she gagged slightly. "That tasted horrible," she said as she sank into the bed once again, closing her eyes.

"But you'll feel better soon enough," I said as I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

She nodded, refusing to open her eyes.

Silently, I sat by her bed and watched as slowly; the blackness receded from the side of her face. Despite I would be killed for treason, the fact that I saved Stella was enough to ease my worry for only a second. It worked, father was telling the truth. She was alive and she would go back to Jackson, where she belonged, and she would never return to this place again. This was all for her.

"Gray, open the door," Else's voice rang out from the other side of her living space.

I frowned at the door, refusing to move. I just wanted to savor this moment a little longer before they took me away.

"Grayson," Else said again, sounding tired and irritated all at once.

With a heavy sigh, knowing there wasn't any escape for me, I stood from my seat and walked to the door. There was no point when they would eventually catch me. And with no where I belonged, I had no choice but to turn myself in. Silently, I opened the door to see Else with guards behind her.

"Grayson, what did you do?" Her voice was panicked and shrill, as if she was actually worried for my own sake.

"I did what I needed to do," I said as I looked back at Stella sleeping. She turned in her sleep, but already the charcoal black skin was gone from her face.

"You have no idea what you just did."

The thing was, I think I did have an idea. I did something that no one saw coming and everything was about to change, not just for me. "I think I know exactly what I did."