Ethan nervously watched Mia and her friends having fun on the dance floor. He had preferred to avoid the activity, especially since, after the few drinks that everyone seemed eager to consume, the kind of waltz practiced by the slightly tipsy revelers bore no resemblance to the coordinated and graceful dance he had learned alongside his mother. Needless to say, he didn't share their inclination for alcohol, as he had a task that required his full attention. Fortunately for him, Mia had limited herself to two glasses of wine, and apart from her overflowing enthusiasm, she didn't seem affected by the small amount of alcohol she had consumed. He had let her be, hoping she would have some fun even if he couldn't relax himself.

"Hey, Ethan!" called a voice he didn't recognize.

He instinctively turned his head left and right, trying to identify the source of the sound. Nervousness was starting to eat away at him from the inside. He had been on high alert for two hours straight, and his senses were starting to fail him. After a few seconds of trying to spot even one of his acquaintances who might have wanted to talk to him that night, he sighed, exhausted.

Damn ball... Everyone knows it's the perfect opportunity to stir up trouble...

When his gaze settled where Mia and her friends had been just a few seconds ago, his heart skipped a beat. No sign of the young human anymore.

Calm down, she probably just moved somewhere else... he tried to convince himself, frantically turning his head to catch a glimpse.

Three seconds later, he decided to move and search the square and the hall, now transformed into a ballroom. His mind was trying to contain his stress, whispering soothing words to him, but his instinct kept telling him that something was wrong.

After circling the room once without spotting Mia or her friends, panic began to take hold of him. He repeated the same process a second time, fearing he might have missed her, pushing aside the students in his way without any concern for their annoyed glances. Some shot him blacker looks than coal, but that was the least of his worries at this moment.

Desperate, he stopped at the doors of the hall to regain his breath. His nerves were on the verge of giving in; his limbs trembled with apprehension.

Calm down, try to focus...

Ethan closed his eyes and took deep breaths as he let his mind and senses wander through and around the castle. He couldn't clearly distinguish any magical signature: Mia was devoted to being human, and the other inhabitants of the Arena had concealed or modified their own magic to play the game of the masquerade ball. Nevertheless, he hoped to spot a strange gathering near the castle or anything that would give him a lead to find Mia.

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"Damn it!" he shouted in frustration as his detection attempt didn't reveal anything new.

"Is something wrong?" inquired a female voice he immediately identified as Lily's.

Arry and her boyfriend followed, their brows furrowed. No sign of the human.

"Where's Mia?" he roared, almost desperate.

"She... she's not with you?" Arry asked, approaching, visibly concerned.

"No! I thought she was with you!" he accused, his frustration evident.

Andrei stepped forward, his face stern, placing himself in front of his girlfriend.

"You're the one supposed to be watching her, what the hell were you doing?" he said, his voice tight with irritation.

"Easy, Andrei," Lily ordered in a low voice, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Anyone could see that the vila was a bundle of raw nerves at that moment. A ticking time bomb ready to explode. Ethan was close to losing it, itching to hit the magician. His fist was so ready for this. His inner vila was eager to release his anger and stress on someone.

"She said she was going to the bathroom and that there was no need to accompany her," the fairy added calmly, not wishing to escalate the situation.

"She... fuck!"

Ethan wasted no time rushing to the ground floor bathrooms. He had a very, very bad feeling, and it was confirmed when he tried to enter the women's restroom. It was blocked from the inside, which never happened in the castle.

He didn't think; his instincts took over. With a shoulder thrust, the door gave way. The room was divided in two by a wall, with an arch in the middle. On one side, mirrors and sinks lined the wall, and on the other, there were lined-up stalls.

Ethan swallowed the rage threatening to escape his lips. The room was completely empty. A deep nasal inhalation informed him he wouldn't get anything with his sense of smell. Dozens of scents were mingling, rendering them unrecognizable. He had a keener nose than humans and magicians, but he wasn't a vampire, let alone a werewolf. He wasn't built for tracking prey. Burying his head in his palms, he struggled to think, but his brain was fogged by panic.

As his mind slowly sank into despair, a breeze caressed his face. He immediately lifted his head and approached the window near the stalls. It was open, and a faint smell of blood wafted from the ledge. Up close, he could clearly see a few drops of the red liquid staining the gray brick.

The vila rubbed his finger in the liquid and brought it to his nose, hoping to glean some useful information. His instinct told him it could only be Mia's, but he wanted to be sure before searching the castle's surroundings. If it was a false trail and she was still in danger inside the building... He might arrive much too late.

His sense of smell confirmed that it was indeed hers. His heart was pounding so fiercely against his ribcage he felt it might give out at any moment, but he didn't have a single second to spare.

The vila agilely climbed out of the window ledge onto the damp grass outside. The opening led to the back of the castle, not far from the centaur forest. Was she really crazy enough to seek refuge there?

Ethan sniffed the surroundings one last time to distinguish her scent and the direction she had taken. There were fewer interferences here; he hoped to at least catch a faint whiff of her scent.

Mia had definitely passed by, but, to his great dismay, confirming his theory, it wasn't the only fresh scent in the area. In a jumble of odors that seemed hard to untangle, he finally managed to pick out three others.