Chapter 28: Chapter TWENTY SIX

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 to want to take, the kind of waltz practiced by the foggy minds was nothing like the coordinated and graceful one he had learned from his mother. Suffice to say that he did not share their inclination to drink since he had a task requiring his total attention. Luckily for him too, the blonde had limited herself to two glasses of wine and, aside from her overflowing enthusiasm, she didn't seem to be affected by the small amount of alcohol she ingested. He had let her, wishing that she could have a minimum of fun since he couldn't relax.

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

He mechanically turned his head to the right and to the left to try to identify the source of the voice. Nervousness was starting to eat away at him from the inside. He had been constantly on his guard for two hours and his senses were beginning to fail him. After a few seconds of trying to spot even one of his acquaintances who might have wanted to speak to him that evening, he sighed, exhausted.

Damn ball... Everyone knows that this is the perfect opportunity to make a mess...

When his gaze fell to where Mia and her friends had been seconds before, his heart skipped a beat. No more sign of the young human.

Calm down, she just had to move somewhere else... he was trying to convince himself by frantically turning his head to see her.

Three seconds later, he decided to move and walk around the gardens and the hall transformed into a ballroom. His mind was trying to contain his stress, whispering soothing words to him, but his instincts were telling him relentlessly that something was wrong.

After going around the room for the first time without having spotted either Mia or her friends, panic began to overtake him. He repeated the same operation a second time, dreading having missed it, pushing bluntly the students who were in his way. Some gave him glares darker than coal, but that was the least of his worries right now.

Desperate, he stopped at the hall doors to calm his breathing. His nerves were close to giving out, his limbs shaking with apprehension.

Calm down, focus...

Ethan closed his eyes and took deep breaths as he let his mind and senses wander in and around the castle. He couldn't clearly make out any magical signature: Mia was devoted to it since she was human, and the other inhabitants of the Arena had concealed or even modified it to play the game of the masquerade ball. He could, however, hope to spot a strange crowd near the castle or anything that would give him a lead on how to find Mia.

"Fuck!" he yelled in rage when his detection attempt had taught him nothing new.

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

Arry and her boyfriend followed her, frowning. No sign of the blonde.

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

"She... she's not with you?" asked Arry who had stepped forward, concerned about the situation.

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"No! I thought she was with you!" he accused fiercely.

Andrei took a step forward, his face closed, placing himself protectively in front of his girlfriend.

"You're supposed to watch her, what the hell were you doing?"

"Take it easy, Andrei," Lily ordered in a low voice, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Anyone could see that the Vila was just a raw bundle of nerves right now. A time bomb ready to explode. Ethan was this close to sticking a punch in the magician's face. His fist itched horribly. His inner Vila was throbbing with impatience at the thought of venting his anger and stress on someone.

"She told us that she was going to the bathroom and that it was not worth going with her," added the fairy in a calm tone, not wishing to aggravate the situation.

"She... damn!"

Ethan wasted no time rushing to the downstairs bathroom. He had a very very bad feeling and it was confirmed when he tried to enter the room reserved for women. The door was blocked from the inside, something that never happened in the castle.

He didn't even think, his instincts taking over his brain. With a shoulder thump against the door, it gave way. The room was separated in two by a wall, half-opened by an arch in the middle. On one side, mirrors and sinks covered the wall, and on the other were rows of cabinets.

Ethan bit back the cry of rage that threatened to escape his lips. The room was completely deserted. A long nasal inspiration told him that he wouldn't get anywhere with his sense of smell. Dozens of smells intertwined, making them unrecognizable. He had a finer nose than humans and magicians, but he was no vampire, much less a werewolf. He wasn't made for stalking prey. Resting his head in his palms, he tried somehow to think, but his brain was clouded with panic.

As his mind slowly sank into despair, a breeze brushed his face. He immediately raised his head and approached the window near the toilets. It was open and a discreet smell of blood poured from the edge. Up close, he could make out a few droplets of the red liquid tinting the gray brick. The Vila rubbed his finger on the liquid and brought it to his nose, hoping to get some useful information out of it. His instinct told him that it could only be Mia's, but he preferred to be sure before looking for her around the castle. If it was a false lead and she was still in danger in the building... He might arrive much too late.

His sense of smell confirmed to him that it was indeed Mia's blood. His heart was pounding so fiercely against his ribcage that he felt like it was going to explode at any moment, but he didn't have a second to lose.

The Vila nimbly climbed over the window sill to find himself on the damp grass outside. The opening overlooked the back of the castle, not far from the centaur forest. Was she really crazy enough to seek refuge there?

Ethan sniffed around one last time to make out her scent and the direction she must have taken. Here, there was less interference, he hoped at least to catch a discreet whiff of her scent. Mia had been there, but, to his great misfortune and confirming his theory, it wasn't the only fresh smell around. In a tangle of scents that he found difficult to disentangle, he finally managed to distinguish three others.

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