Page 190 of Blood of the Fairest

"Piss off."

"Or what? Step back from the fool, sweetling."

Even though I've never heard the voice of the man speaking behind me, my nerves turn to ice.

It's him.

My stalker. The man I killed ten years ago.

This can't be happening. It's impossible. It's in your head.

When I don't move as he told me to, too frozen with fear, a sharp ringing sound fills the air—and with a flash of silver to my right, the Pied Piper's head rolls away from his body.

I cry out, shutting my eyes as the warm spray of his blood coats my right side. I hear the rest of him slump to the ground.

The scent is immediate—a dizzying mixture of sweet lavender and bitter rosemary. That dual scent tugs at my hellish thirst so viciously that a sob escapes me. I keep my eyes shut and force myself not to move, no matter how my stomach is trying to heave.

At the sound of my next sob, the man who is now standing just beside me leans to speak in my ear.

"Still so sensitive? God, I've missed that. Relax about the piper."

I can't, because that sweet piper is dead.

It's not the first time this monster has killed in front of me. I should have run faster. I should have jumped into the first carriage and told them to take me anywhere.

Eris swears from the nearby fountain. "Run, Verena! Wulf is on his way, so don't⁠—"

"Ugh, you." King Nemrick makes a sound of ultimate irritation. "Kill him, Druhn."

I don't dare open my eyes, but I recognize the voice of the same cloaked older man who was working with the bandits.

"But…my king, I would have to enter the Mirror Realm to⁠—"

"Enter it, then. I don't fucking care. Whatever it takes, just get rid of him once and for all."

There's a splash, and suddenly Eris's shouts go silent.

No.

"Eris?" I rasp, opening my eyes.

Thawing from the terror holding me hostage, I only take one step toward the fountain before a cold, blood-covered blade presses against the side of my neck. Nemrick keeps it held in place as he walks around me, until finally, I'm facing my stalker once more.

Shoulder-length light brown hair. Blue eyes. Noble features, a cleft in his chin, royal attire…

He has a different face and voice, but I know it's him.

He has the same mannerisms. The same tone of voice. The same habit of baring his teeth for a split second before he says anything.

And he has the same name he tattooed all over me, cooing about how pretty I cried.

"Didn't you get all the royal invitations I told my chamberlain to send you? This would have been a lot easier if you just came to Hamelnmark when I was asking nicely."

Nemrick peruses me while I try to breathe as little as possible, desperate not to think about the Pied Piper's blood all over me. I'm also trying not to panic about Druhn going into the mirror realm, but…

What if Druhn had weapons on him? What if he uses magic to kill my beautiful, lonely Adonis in that world beyond glass?

No. I can't let that happen. There has to be some way into that world to help him before it's too late and⁠—