The fire caught on quicker than I had expected. It roared and crackled, consuming everything in it's path. I knew that I had to leave. I had to warn everyone. I pulled myself up the floor, pain engraved deep in my bones. I have to get out of here. I stumbled towards the door, trying to make it budge, but it wouldn't. It was locked from the outside.

'HELLO!' I shouted, banging on the wood 'HELP! IS ANYONE THERE?!' The fire had reached the curtains, the smoke was thick and clinging to my lungs. Soon I'll pass out from lack of oxygen, I need to get out. The door still wouldn't budge. I squinted my eyes, trying to see through watery eyes. After a little while of searching, I picked up the bloodied shard of glass that was in my leg. I bend down trying to use it to unlock the door.

Somehow, I managed to unlock the door. I pulled it open as a wave of smoke began to creep down the corridor. I shut the door behind me, trying to contain the fire as much as I humanly could. It wouldn't hold for long.

With a bloodied leg, smokey lungs and a body on the verge of collapse; I began to hobble down the corridor, screaming 'FIRE!'

I banged on any door that I came across, knowing I needed to find Jamie, Alexei and the others.

I turned the corner and ran straight into a somebody.

'Grace!' Thomas exclaimed in shock. His eyes widened as he looked at my appearance.

'We need to go' I grabbed his hand, trying to pull him away from the fire.

'Grace, what happened to you?'

'We don't have time. There's a fire. We need to wake everyone up. We need to stop him'

'Him? Him who?'

'Grace Olivia' I froze. Dominic seemed to have emerged from the smoke. He was not fazed by my appearance like Thomas. He was not concerned about my bloodied leg. He was calm.

'Thomas, you need to wake everyone up. No matter what happens, save Jamie and my friends' I said hastily in a quiet voice to Thomas

'Grace-'

'Tell them I love them' I added.

'Grace Olivia, where is he?' Dominic asked

'I don't know. He...he has the drawing, mom's drawing, he has it'

Dominic placed his hand on my shoulders. He's not the enemy now (at least I don't think so) but his old boss. The one who placed the kill order on my mom and me.

'What should we do?' I asked quietly, my voice frail and scared. Dominic looked behind him, the smoke was getting thicker, the fire getting bigger.

'Thomas, I need you to wake everyone up. Soon the whole city will see the smoke. I need you to save as many people as you can' Dominic stepped towards him 'And most importantly, no one can know that Grace is alive'

We both looked at Dominic. Dominic turned to me.

'You are the only one who can stop this, Grace' He said. I nodded.

'Tell my friends that I love them and I'm sorry' I said to Thomas.

'Grace-' Thomas began, he couldn't finish. There was crackling from behind as the fire began to engulf the woodwork.

'We need to move. Now' Dominic ordered. Thomas gave me a quick hug.

'Stay alive' He whispered

'You too'

...

I followed Dominic along corridors that I'd never seen, passageways that I wanted to know more about. At one point going down a small passageway, I had the sudden realisation that my leg did not hurt.

'It's the adrenaline' Dominic answered as if reading my thought. 'As long as you keep moving, and keep your heart rate up, you won't notice the pain'

I glanced down at my leg

'I've lost a lot of blood' I said to him. Dominic's step faltered ever so slightly. He turned around, grabbed my top, ripping the bottom. 'Hey!'

'This will slow it down' He wrapped the strand of cloth tightly above where the wound was. 'We need to keep moving'

'Where are we going?' I asked

'You shouldn't be wasting your energy on stupid questions' Dominic said 'You already know'

And he was right.

'That symbol on the drawing. I've seen it before. Where have I seen it before?'

'You know. You just need to remember'

'Dominic-' I was interrupted by a blast of cold air, knocking the breath out of my lungs.

'We don't have long' Dominic muttered. Dominic turned around, a steely look in his eyes 'Grace Olivia, whatever happens, I need you to take this, use it and run' Dominic handed me a little pistol.

'No, no' I shook my head. Grace, no!

'Take it, use it, then run' He repeated, curling my hands over the metal object. 'Take it, use it, then run'

'Did you love her?' I asked. If things were going to go wrong, I wanted answers. Dominic's hand let go of mine. Dominic turned away, walking towards the cold. I followed.

'Stay in the shadows' He told me. I nodded, something I'm actually good at.

...

We made it to the bottom of the stairs, we emerged into a dark, cold room. This was the royal family crypt. I looked around, but nothing seemed familiar, nothing at all.

'Well, well, well' A torch flickered on. I leapt into the shadows, the pistol pressed tightly to my chest. 'It's so good to see you again Dominic, I take it you've been well?'

'It's not here' Dominic said instead. The old prime minister's jaw clicked.

'Then where is it?'

'Not here. It was destroyed in the fire at the Blakely shop'

'Impossible! It would never leave Adria!'

'She kept it close and it's gone because of you' Dominic's voice boomed against the walls. That could have been his voice or the pounding of my heart.

'Where is Grace?' He asked

'Grace is dead' Dominic announced. His voice broke slightly. If I wasn't myself I would have believed he was telling the truth. The PM gave a haunting laugh.

'Grace isn't stupid enough to die in that room. I heard her crying out. Where is she?'

'You've done enough to her' Dominic snapped 'You've ruined her life! She cannot trust anyone around her. You made her scared of her own shadow!'

'She was weak. So was her mother'

Don't move Grace I said to myself.

'You're wrong. Both women were incredibly strong. And although Grace may not trust herself, she's smart. Incredibly smart.'

Don't move Grace

'She's weak' He repeated slowly 'Grace's mind was so weak that she believed anything that was placed in front of her if you repeated it long enough' He chuckled 'The bracelet you gave her was very useful to me, she felt as though she couldn't trust you, when really it was me controlling her, me telling her where to go, me making her doubt her friends, me that make her kill her mother!' He spat 'And now' He raised his gun 'I'm going to get rid of you'

I gripped the gun tighter in my hand. He was a smart man, he probably knew I was here. I was trying to get inside my head. He knew that I'd try and save Dominic, no one should suffer for what I've done. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, trying to block out his taunts and trying to focus on my breathing. Maybe it was the overpowering smell of the smoke, or maybe it was just my mind playing tricks on me, but I heard the poem once again.

Hush little princess, wait and see, I will burn down the society. Hush little princess, don't you cry, it'll be sorted when Gracie dies. Hush little princess, behind those walls, Adria will break and fall. Hush little princess, with a gun, fire and you are enemy one.

My eyes snapped open, my heart rate elevated. I knew what I had to do. The Society was destroyed. The world thinks I'm dead. Right now, the palace is breaking and crumbling. And I am the princess with a gun.

Take it, use it, and run. Those were Dominic's words. They were the words I had to follow. I took a deep breath.

'I love you' I whispered silently, an empty pray that would not be heard by those I love. I gritted my teeth, readying myself to step out of the shadows.

'It's not here' I said. Both men looked at me in surprise. 'It never was'

'Grace-' Dominic began

'Adria doesn't belong to one singular being, it belongs to and is shaped by its people'

'You really believe that Gracie?' The old prime minister hissed. He stepped forward, Dominic shifted slightly, blocking my way.

'You will never find it' I told him

'And what makes you so sure of that?' He raised his eyebrow, challenging me.

'Because I will never tell you, as long as I live' I sounded serious, or at least I hope I did. But once again, my own cockiness got in the way.

'Well, if you put it like that...' what happened next was extremely quick, one of those blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment. The gun fired, not the one in my hand, the gun that was pointed at me. I jumped back in shock, although I was in pain, it wasn't my body that fell to the ground with blood oozing out of my chest. It was…

'DOMINIC!' I screamed. His eyes were closed and he wasn't breathing. 'DOMINIC!' I cried out. My legs buckled underneath me. Tears stung my eyes.

'Give up, Grace' The old PM cackled 'It's over'

I gritted my teeth. This is not over. I grabbed my gun, held it steady between both my shaky hands and aimed it at the man who has haunted me for too long. His eyes widened, a smirk on his face.

'You wouldn't dare' He taunted. I cocked the gun, ready to fire.

'I've done this once before. I can easily do it again'

'You don't have th-' Before he finished his sentence, I fired the gun. Not just once, not twice, but three times directed at his chest. He still stood for a few seconds, he tilted his head, surprised that I actually did it. Then he fell to the ground.

Everything fell silent around me. A moment where absolutely nothing happened. Then I cried, and cried, and cried. Every emotion, every fear, every worry came flooding out all at once. This was over. The man who caused me to be scared of my own shadow was now dead. I had killed him. I killed my mom and now I've killed him.

'Dominic' I crawled forward towards his body. 'Dominic, we need to go' I shook his body vigorously 'Dominic' I pleaded. He can't die because of me, but he did. There was no pulse. I suddenly felt extremely numb.

I needed to get out of here.

Somehow I picked myself up off of the ground, I began to step over the bodies. I looked down at the old PM. His eyes were open, his face frozen with fear and suprise. I rummaged through his pockets till I found my mom's drawing. I clutched it to my chest before putting it in my pocket.

Dominic's dead. Dominic's dead. Dominic's dead. Dominic's dead.

I couldn't stop to let the tears fall, nor could I stop to let the cry of pain escape from my throat. I had to swallow it back and move on. Somehow I must move on.

...

With the castle burning around me. I needed to leave, get somewhere safe. A tunnel perhaps? Yes, I need to find a tunnel, then I could go anywhere. I was in a daze when I walked. My legs just guided me to where I had to go, my brain and eyes fuzzy I couldn't focus on where I was going or what I was doing.

'Grace!' Alexei's voice cut through my thoughts. I blinked rapidly. I had somehow made my way into the palace gardens, near the greenhouse.

'Grace!' Jamie's voice joined the conversation.

'Grace!' Noah and Thomas called.

'Grace!' Rosie, Meghan and Lila chorused.

I turned around slowly to see all my friends running towards me. As they got closer, they started to slow down. Jamie stretched his arms out blocking Alexei and the others from moving any closer.

'Grace…' Jamie talked slowly, calmly like he did when I was a child. 'Grace, what happened?'

'They're dead' I muttered.

'Who is dead, Grace?

'Dominic' I said. The girls gasped. Jamie shushed them. I started to shake. 'He tried to protect me. He tried to stop him'

'Him?' Alexei took a step forward, Jamie held him back.

'The old prime minister, the one-' I paused 'The one Ms Chancellor shot. The one who wanted mom dead. He was behind all of this'

'Where is he now, Grace?' Jamie asked, his tone remained soothing, calm.

'Dead' I shook. I paused for a moment, everything swirling around 'I shot him'

One of the girls let out a cry.

'Get them out of here' Alexei snapped at Noah. He nodded and took the girls away. Jamie's eyes never left mine. He didn't even flinch with what I just said. He muttered something under his breath, Alexei gave him a sidewards glance but didn't argue.

'Gracie' Jamie took a cautious step forward 'It's okay'

'I shot him, Jamie'

'It's okay' He repeated

'I fired three times'

'It's okay'

'I didn't even flinch'

'It's okay' Jamie was now very close to me. His eyes never left mine.

'I wasn't even scared' I whimpered.

'It's okay' Jamie was now standing right in front of me

'I'm a killer, Jamie. I killed him'

'It's okay, Grace' He slowly reached out and enveloped me in his arms. Once I was against his chest I started crying all over again, dampening his top. Meanwhile, he repeated it's okay, it's okay over and over again. At one point his hand trailed down my arm, encasing my hand.

'Let go, Gracie' He whispered. I released my hand and felt a weight disappear. Jamie then held me at arm's length, passing the gun to Alexei. The gun I forgot I was carrying.

'We need to get you out of here' Jamie turned back to me 'You need a hospital'

Without waiting for my response, Jamie picked me up, cradling me in his arms.

'Ms Chancellor has a helicopter landing just outside of town' Alexei said 'We don't have long'

'No!' I squirmed trying to get out of his grasp. 'No, no, no! We have to find it!'

'Find what Grace?' Alexei held my face, keeping me still

'The deed to the city, mom found the deed to the city and hid it! Whoever has it has control of the city!' I tried to make them believe me.

'She must have hit her head' Jamie said

'No! You have to believe me!' But they didn't give me the option to argue. They just continued to push on, out of the palace grounds, down through the winding streets of Adria past all the silent shops. The town people were slowly waking up to the commotion. People were emerging from their homes, gasping at the sight of the burning palace whilst in their dressing gowns. Everyone was more concerned with the fire that they did not notice all of us slipping down an alleyway, undoing a manhole cover and then slipping inside. I was passed from Jamie to Alexei. He didn't look at me the whole time. The blue light of the tunnel casting a shadow across his face.

'I'm telling the truth Alexei' I muttered. He glanced down at me quickly and then looked straight ahead.

'You've lost a lot of blood Gracie, you need to rest'

'I'm fine' I tried to protest.

'No you're not Grace' He looked down at me 'What were you thinking? Running off on your own? Trying to do this on your own?'

'I was sleepwalking! I woke up and...and my hand was on the door! This was all orchestrated. All planned'

'Why should I believe you?' Alexei said.

'Because I'm telling the truth and if I was lying, then I'd lose the people I care most about' I said. Alexei stopped for a moment and looked down at me. I reached up and stroked his jawline with my fingertips. 'I'm sorry' I whispered 'I'm sorry for everything'

Alexei sighed, he closed his eyes and tilted his head so my hand was cupping his face. We stayed like this for a moment, a brief single moment.

'Come on!' Jamie called from ahead 'We need to keep moving!'

Alexei opened his eyes gave me a weak smile and then pushed on ahead. We seemed to walk for ages, then there was another storm drain and we went up. This time we were on the other side of the city, the smoke from the fire seemed to be just on the horizon. From here it didn't look bad. From here it looked like a campfire. From here there was still hope.

...

'Where is she?' Lila asked

'She should be here any minute' Meghan said. Suddenly, out of the blue, a helicopter came towards us and landed a short distance away. Ms Chancellor emerged, she kept her head low, her bun somehow stayed perfectly in place, as she ran towards us. Alexei put me down on my feet, an arm around me to keep steady.

'We need to move now' She ordered. 'Grace, come on'

'What's going on?' I asked. No one else seemed to be moving. Everybody just watched, a sadness descending. I looked at everyone 'Someone tell me what the hell is going on?'

Alexei moved his arms off of me and stepped back. Jamie stepped closer.

'We need to make sure you're safe, Gracie. And the safest place is far, far away from here'

'Then what's going to happen to all of you?' I asked. No one looked at me.

'Thomas has to stay for obvious reasons. Rosie, Lila, Megan and Noah will be watched like hawks, as soon as their disappearance is announced, then it becomes an international manhunt. And I…' Jamie choked on his words, he never chokes. 'I'm staying here, Grace'

'No' The tears were coming.

'Grace…' He tried to reach for me but I slapped his hand away

'No! No! No! Mom left me, then dad, and grandpa, you're not allowed to leave me, Jamie. No!' I punched his chest. Jamie didn't fight back so I kept punching. Over a year ago he was lying on a table bleeding out, now he's standing and stronger and the protective big brother he always has been.

'And you?' I spun on Alexei 'Are you leaving me too?'

'That depends' Alexei said

'On what?'

'You' He took a step forward 'Do you want me to leave Gracie?'

'No' I whispered, shaking my head 'Please don't leave me. I...I love you, Alexei'

Alexei took a step forward, he grabbed my face roughly and kissed me passionately.

'I love you' I muttered over and over again between kisses.

Alexei pulled away, placing his arms around me. I turned back to look at Jamie.

'Take care of her' Jamie said to Alexei, tears in his eyes 'If I hear that you hurt her, I will hunt you down'

'I promise' Alexei said, his arms pulling me tighter.

'I'd hate to break up this moment, but we really must go' Ms Chancellor said. A new wave of tears hit me. I ran to the girls giving them each a hug.

'I've set up a secure email address for you. Don't forget to write' Megan whispered.

'Don't worry Grace, I'll look after your brother' Rosie said sweetly. I turned to Lila.

'Take care' She said 'And don't, you know, join another secret society' We shared a laugh before she pulled me into a hug. I then turned to Thomas.

'I wish it didn't have to end this way' He sighed

'You'll make a great king' I said

'Grace, you deserved more. A lot more'

'I'll be okay' I gave him a hug then turned to Noah. Noah was trying not to cry but his eyes were glazed and red.

'You were the first person I actually tolerated on Embassy Row' I began 'You could charm anyone and you took pity on me, believed me when no one else did. I can never repay your kindness. You are my best friend Noah and I'm going to miss you' We both flew into each other's arms at exactly the same time. Our bodies crashing together in a hug as the sobs started. We eventually had to be pulled apart. Saying goodbye just gets harder and harder with each person. I then eventually turned to my brother.

'You're so grown up Grace' Jamie was crying, he wasn't even trying to hide it 'One minute you're my little sister chasing after me and now…' Jamie took a deep breath. 'I failed to protect you. I'm so sorry Grace'

'You did everything you could' I said 'Some monsters are just too big'

He gave me a hug and kissed my forehead.

'I love you, Grace'

'I love you too'

It was time to go. Time to leave. Alexei held my hand as we moved away from our friends, away from the only people who would follow me over a cliff without a second thought.

'This is where we part' Ms Chancellor said when we got to the helicopter door. 'They'll take you to a safe location, get you checked up and sorted, then you'll be moved somewhere else. Somewhere only myself, Alexei and your brother know about' She handed me a folder 'This is your new identity, memorise everything then burn it'

'But…'

'Grace, it is not polite to interrupt' She snapped. I tried not to smile 'There are clothes, money and an SAT phone in the bag, use it only in emergencies' She looked at me in the eyes 'Goodbye Grace' She gave me a quick, motherly hug. I savoured her scent one last time. Alexei helped me into the seats and once the door was closed, we were up in the air.

Adria became a blur underneath us, the smoke dispersed in the air. I slumped back in my seat against Alexei's shoulder. Last time I was in a helicopter, Jamie was bleeding to death and I found out I was a descendant of the lost princess. There was no going back then, and there's no going back now.

Alexei was talking about something I wasn't paying attention. There was someone else on the helicopter who was examining me; flashlights in my eyes, poking & prodding my arms and legs.

'It's my birthday' I whispered.

'What?' Alexei turned to me

'It's my birthday' I looked at him 'I'm 18' I looked out of the window 'Happy birthday to me'

Author's note: DON'T HATE ME! I'm here! I haven't abandoned this story! There was just a lot to get through in this chapter. I'm so sorry for the delay! There will be one more chapter. Everything will be tied up in the next chapter and that is it. Game Over. Not sure when the next chapter will be uploaded. Possibly late April, beginning of May? See you all soon xxx

Smiles180: I can't believe I haven't uploaded since around Christmas. So sorry! Grace has finally dealt with some people from her past, but there's still the deed which is lost, but Grace is now with Alexei so she should be safe...right? One more chapter left. xxx

ALLY CARTER 4 EVER: Thank you! I really like Gralexei and their now together and should be safe. Find out what happens in the last chapter! xxx

GraceBlakely: Thank you so much! I don't have Wattpad, only FanFic. I might look into getting it! xxx

GallagherGirlsEmbassyRowFan: So sorry for having such a large gap between the chapters. I've been trying to get better, but there's been so much personal stuff going on that it's been hard. What did you think of this chapter? How will Grace deal with all of this? xxx

Lililithia: I'm so sorry for the delay! xxx

ERW1000456: Ah thank you so much! I'm glad that you are enjoying it. The first prime minister was always a shady figure to me; I always wanted to know if he stayed in a coma or not...and in my version, he didn't. Gralexei will be featured a lot in the next chapter! xxx

Guest: Here's the chapter! Sorry for the delay! Oops! xxx