Page 189 of Blood of the Fairest

Except I learned a long time ago that there are no coincidences.

Not with him.

I take a step back, then another. My entire body feels numb as I grip my fluttery wispfloss skirts, lifting them from the ground so I won't trip.

"I have to go."

"Is something wrong?" Konrad asks, alarmed. He takes a step toward me. "Ruby, what⁠—"

I'm already turning to bolt out of the masquerade for the second night in a row. The terror and dread have me so turned around that I burst out of another set of doors instead of the grand entrance before I take off down the gilded, sconce-lit halls.

I don't know where I'm running, but it doesn't matter.

From somewhere far behind me, I hear Konrad's shouts echoing after me. I hear Eris, too, in a reflection I dart past, but I am not stopping to talk. How can I talk when I can't even fucking breathe right now?

"Where are we going?"

I yelp and stumble slightly, but it's Fritz, catching up with me as he also runs.

"Go back!" I shout.

I ignore the gasps and questions of several Aurefeldan servants I pass before I throw open a set of doors leading outside. I tear down the steps under the blue moonlight, the Pied Piper still right behind me.

Looking around, I find that I'm on the other side of Aurefeld Castle, where a few masquerade-goers have come for fresh air in the beautiful gardens and gold-painted pavilions.

Everything in me is screaming at me to run and hide, just like ten years ago—so the second I spot the entrance of a giant, labyrinth-like hedge maze off of this pathway, I run for it. But I'm not the only one running through the dark, leafy maze.

"I said, go back," I snap at him, turning left.

"You told me to stick to your side," he calls, keeping up as I round another corner.

I reach an out-of-the-way section of the maze, where a large stone fountain bubbles happily with a golden statue of Gilda perched on top. I finally stop and try to catch my breath, my lungs burning almost as angrily as the thirst squeezing my gut.

Fritz stops, too. He's not as winded as I am, and he tips his head as he studies me.

His expression is tender, his touch noticeably cautious as he wipes away a tear I didn't realize was rolling down my cheek.

"Tears, pretty soul? What for?"

"I'm—"

I cut off and swear, realizing I haven't caught my breath yet because I'm hyperventilating. I wipe away another tear, but more hot moisture is rising into my eyes.

"Verena," Eris says, seeming to finally catch up in reflections. He's somewhere in the moonlit, rippling reflection of the nearby fountain. "What just happened?"

I can't tell him. He's going to think I'm insane or paranoid, just like those doctors did.

"Verena?" Fritz repeats, learning my real name. He gently tips my head back so I'll be forced to look at him. I can't decide which iris to focus on. "Breathe out as much as you can for me, yeah?"

I exhale, shuddering and wiping more tears.

"Lovely, now in."

For a moment, Fritz coaches me, trying to help me stop hyperventilating. His soft voice is lyrical and sweet, his smile unbelievably patient.

But then, the sound of a twig snapping makes me flinch. I don't dare move, but the Pied Piper's unique gaze moves to something—someone—standing right behind me.

The change in him is abrupt. Every bit of gentility saps from him, a harsh glare hardening his features. A sudden darkness transforms his voice so much, it makes my heart flip upside down.