Hey guys! I have returned! :) It was a long wait, I know. You all must've been miserable from the lack of my wonderous cliffhangers. ;) Enough teasing (that was a joke, guys, the cliffhanger thing. Laugh a little!). Thanks for all the reviews last chapter! I got way over three, and that's always my goal. Three, I'll be happy. Over three, I'll be super happy. :) So thanks! I don't have much else to say... Except this: I own nothing, but please enjoy this chapter! :)

Percy's POV

Bianca smirked. "Shadow powers, remember? I can tell they're looking everywhere for you. Now, lets go before they start thinking you've been kidnapped again."

I followed Bianca through the hallways. If it wasn't for her, I would've gotten lost twenty times over. I had no clue where I was or where I was going. Looking back, I could barely even remember how I had gotten to the garden balcony.

Every hallway we turned down had scorch marks along the walls. The carpets were all singed black. The few picture frames and Windows had soot along their frames.

I stopped in the middle of a hallway, struck by the appearance of a portrait. The bottom half was peeling from an intense heat, the top part blackened from smoky residue. I could barely even tell that it was a portrait of a woman.

I reached out a hand to touch the ruined painting. "D-did I really do th-this?"

I could sense Bianca standing next to me without turning my head to look at her. "It wasn't you," she answered softly. "It was that terrible heart that you've been cursed with. Not you."

We stared at the painting for another minute before Bianca gently tried to coax my away. "Come on Percy. We have a couple more hallways to get through."

Bianca started walking. I cast one more look at the painting. "The black heart might've started this, but I cooperated. This is my fault." I looked into what i thought were the woman's eyes. "I'm sorry," I whispered before I ducked my head and ran after Bianca. I couldn't afford to get lost.

I managed to not get lost in the last couple of hallways that we traveled through. Bianca had already thrown up her hood by the time we reached my hallway. It looked worse than all the other hallways, and that's saying something.

The carpet was burned to a crisp, crunching as my feet stepped down on it. The walls painted black (not by the Rolling Stones) with something uglier than paint. Even the ceiling was touched by the destruction, now a smoky gray color.

I didn't realize i had stopped walking until Bianca ushered me forwards, trying to drag me through the destroyed hall.

I didn't realize my eyes were tearing up until my hand instinctively shot up to wipe the tears away.

Bianca led to closer to a series of doors, all burned black. The numbers were barely visible. "Can you tell which one is yours?"

I didnt answer her; I kept walking by her halted figure.

"Raven? Raven!" I could hear Bianca hurrying after me, shouting out my code name. I didn't stop walking, knowing that if I stopped moving and fully contemplated what I did, I wouldn't be able to stop it from killing me.

My feet stopped moving a moment later. I lifted my head from the floor to face the door in front of me. This must be my door. Or else my feet wouldn't have taken me here. It was so hard to tell. They were all the same burned black.

Bianca jogged up beside me. "Raven? Raven, are you okay? You're acting strangely all of a sudden." She sent a searching gaze out to me, but I avoided her dark eyes.

"This is it," I told her simply, not moving a muscle other than the ones in my jaw. Bianca looked at me once more before knocking on the door.

Luke opened it. He saw Bisnca first, as she was the one that knocked. I was standing slightly behind her and to the left.

"Look, I'm sorry, but we haven't found him yet either. You can head back to whatever search party you're a part of. We–"

Luke caught sight of me standing slightly behind Bianca. "Percy?" He asked. Without waiting for an answer, he enveloped me in an awkward man hug. I stood there stiffly, trying not to crumble into a bunch of broken pieces.

Luke let me go a second later, the tips of his ears pink. "Come on in. Zoë is across the hall in her room, managing some of the search parties. I'll go get her."

"No, I'll do it," I interrupted him, putting a hand on Luke's chest to stop him.

He he looked at me strangely, as did Bianca. Not taking into account their opinions, I turned around to head across the hall.

Bianca grabbed my shoulder to stop me. She leaned closer to whisper in my was. "Is that such a good idea, Percy? Can you handle yourself? I don't want you to lose it again."

I brushed her off. "I'll be fine, Diamond. You and Luke can wait inside. I'll be back." Without waiting for a reply, I walked away across the hall.

As I knocked on Zoë's door, I heard my door click shut behind me. Luke and Bianca must've gone inside. Although I had no doubt that they'd find a way to watch me. Which was why I couldn't run, as much as I wanted to.

I waited a moment for Zoë to open the door. She didn't. I knocked again. Another moment passed. I knocked again. This continued until I gave up on the waiting and continuously kept knocking on her door. I didn't say anything, like "open the door". I just stood there silently knocking on the door.

After what felt like ages, the door swung open as my fist went to keep pounding it.