Page 170 of Blood of the Fairest

Silver and gold.

"You still don't know fuck?" he repeats like that's the stupidest sentence he's ever heard.

"I didn't—ugh, no time to explain," I blurt quickly before hiking up my silver-and-blood-red skirts to race away from him.

After Cinderella.

For someone wearing such an impressively lavish skirt, this girl is fast as fuck.

I only glimpse her one more time on my way through throngs of people who gasp as Isenmere's queen sprints past them.

By the time I make it out of the big double doors, through the huge entry occupied by only a smattering of people, and out the grand doors of the castle to a completely empty moonlit staircase, I'm cursing my non-runner-lungs.

I look around helplessly, hoping to see one of the carriages rolling away that I can flag down, but there's nothing. No one.

Cinderella is gone.

I have absolutely no idea how she left the castle, but I think she's probably with Usain Bolt right now, laughing at the rest of us chumps who are ruled by the laws of physics.

Swearing at my slippers for not being running shoes, I take a moment to catch my breath under the bright light of the full moon rising in the distance.

Then I sigh and walk back into the big entry. I get some perplexed stares from some festival attendees standing out here, plus some Aurefeldan guards who look like they're not sure what to do with me.

Before I reach the big doors again, I stop and debate.

The festival is stunning. The ballroom, ballgowns, suits, music, and the fact that Snow White is clearly having a great time all get a huge thumbs-up from me.

But if I go back into this shindig, I'll be surrounded by onlookers and gossips once more. There's also a chance Prince Konrad might track me down and tempt my bloodlust again.

That's the last thing I need, because with the adrenaline of the chase now gone, my thirst is starting to get particularly nasty.

Plus, Eris is still missing, which bothers me. I'm not dying to stand around in my outcast bubble without being able to talk to him.

I came here to find Cinderella, and she just left.

So…I guess I'll just try again.

After all, in the fairy tale, she shows up for all three nights of the festival. Now that I know what her dress looks like, I can try to find her earlier tomorrow night.

I'll just turn in early tonight, after I change and check on Wulf in the barracks.

Several minutes later, I've wandered back down the Isenmerian wing of the castle. I get to my room, unlock it with the key I was given by the maid, step inside⁠—

And immediately freeze.

Someone has been in my room. While it was locked.

I know, because I absolutely did not set up this table holding a flickering candelabra and two goblets in the middle of the room.

Cold sweat breaks out on my brow at the proof that my safe place has been tampered with. I take a step back, my skirt pressing into the wall as my breathing grows uneasy.

Yesterday, I asked the Aurefeldan maids to never enter this guest room while I was here. I even leaned into the evil queen shtick to ensure no one but me would be in this room, and they looked terrified enough to stay away out of fear for their lives.

Who would come in here and set this up?

While I'm silently panicking, something moves in my peripheral vision. I tense.

But it's just Eris, finally appearing in the full-length gold-framed mirror in the corner of the room. He looks strangely distracted as he frowns down at something in both hands.