My heart was still pounding madly as I moved toward the door, listening to the duke’s heavy footsteps fading as he stormed off down the hall.

Well, this was very, very bad. The infamous Duke Inferno knew who I was, which made my fatal end all but certain.

I only had a second of relief. I’d seen him reaching for the dagger—the bejeweled one he always carried with him, the blade that was soaked in the blood of his perceived enemies. But he hadn’t killed me, for whatever reason.

In the game, Felicity died on the chopping block, not by the duke’s dagger, but things already weren’t playing out exactly like they were supposed to. Still, I couldn’t take any chances. I needed to get out of here before my fate took a turn for the worse. I’d barely managed to escape the duke’s wrath one time. Risking it again seemed like a good way to send myself to an early grave.

But as much as I wanted to get the hell out of here—and quick—I knew it would be foolish to go out the door given that the duke had just left. Which meant there was only one way out now: the balcony.

The balcony, where Odessa was still hiding from her brother. With a sigh, I walked back toward it and drew the drapes aside before sticking my head out. Odessa was cowering in the corner, her eyes wide with fear. “Is he gone?” she whispered.

“Yes.” I held out my hand to help her back inside, surprised when she pulled me into a hug.

“Thank you!” she whispered. “Thank you so much for sparing me from my brother’s wicked ways.”

I halfheartedly hugged her back. This whole situation was so weird. In the game, Felicity always did what she was told and was never really acknowledged—at least, not until she was about to lose her head on the chopping block.

The grim thought had me pulling away from Odessa and stepping out onto the balcony. I peered down at the rose garden below. It was way too far to jump, but maybe I could climb down using the vines. Not like I have another choice here.

As I lifted one leg over the side, Odessa gasped. “What are you doing?”

I glanced back, one leg on the balcony and the other hanging over the edge of the rail. “I can’t stay here,” I explained. “The duke is going to kill me.”

To my surprise, she scoffed. “Why would he? I’m the one he abuses.”

There were a lot of things I could have said, but I didn’t have time to argue. Every second I stayed here talking to her was another that brought me closer to my death. “Never mind,” I told her. “Um…good luck.” As hollow as the words felt, they were all I had right now. Death was a guarantee if I stayed, and I wasn’t ready to die.

I climbed over the balcony and grabbed the vine, using it to climb down as far as I could before I braced myself and fell the last few feet to the garden below. I winced as the thin branch of a rosebush caught my cheek. But some scrapes and bruises were a much better alternative to death.

“Felicity!”

I looked up to find Odessa peering down from the balcony. “Where are you going?” she called. “Who is going to help me dress for the ball?”

As much as I wanted to tell her to dress herself, I wasn’t in the mood to waste more time or energy on what was ultimately a useless conversation. I knew I wouldn’t be able to make Odessa understand, so why bother trying when I could be getting away?

Back on my feet, I started running through the garden, trying to remember the layout of the estate from all the hours I’d spent playing the game.

I paused, turning in a circle. “Was it this way?” As I started down a different path, a thorn caught my arm, and I hissed out a breath. “Ouch, that hurt.”

“Who’s there?”

Damn. I’d forgotten there were almost always guards patrolling the gardens. I quickly ducked down and crawled out of the garden. The maze was just ahead, and I knew it well. I could hide in there until I figured out my next move.

Just a little more…

I yelped as someone abruptly grabbed me from behind and spun me around. I looked up to find an angry guard glaring down at me. “You aren’t allowed in the duke’s maze!”

“I’m Lady Odessa’s servant!” I burst out, trying and failing to fight against his hold. “She sent me here!”

He ignored all my protests and practically dragged me back through the garden and into the house until I was once again standing before Lady Odessa in her room.

“Felicity!” Odessa greeted me cheerfully. “Thank goodness you’re back! I didn’t know what I was to do without you.”

I could only scowl at her. I could feel my arm bleeding from the rosebush, and my whole body felt bruised from the guard’s rough handling.

Some luck I had.

Odessa was already back at the wardrobe fussing with the gowns, half of which were still lying on the floor. She seemed at a loss as to what to do with them. “I’ve no idea what to wear to the ball,” she said.

I ignored her and peered out into the hallway, finding the guard standing just outside. He glared at me, and I quickly retreated back into the room. Great. That meant there was no way to escape. But then I guess a character couldn’t just decide not to remain in the game. So did that mean I had to play it through? Only, how was I supposed to do that when Felicity’s fate was already cemented? If I’d been Odessa, I could have followed the usual trajectory of the game, but as a nonimportant side character, what could I possibly do?

I slumped on the bed, feeling completely defeated. How was I going to escape this fate if I couldn’t even leave?

Odessa turned and came toward me. “Oh, Felicity, you’re hurt.”

I glanced down at my arm, surprised to see the cut still bleeding.

Odessa disappeared into the bathroom and returned a few moments later with a cloth and bowl of water, which she set by the bed before beginning to administer to the wound.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked, amazed that she was going to such lengths for me.

“You helped me, so I am going to return the favor,” Odessa said.

Of course. Odessa was everything the duke wasn’t—kind, generous, sweet-natured, and perhaps a bit naïve.

“Thank you,” I said. “But I doubt there’s much you can do to spare me from the chopping block.” Odessa was all but powerless in the game. Part of the gameplay was just avoiding her brother and finding a suitor to take her away from this place. And the fact that she had come running to me to help her before said enough: I was on my own here.

Odessa, in the middle of wringing out the cloth, gave me a puzzled look. “I’ve no idea what you’re speaking of, Felicity.” Her gaze drifted back to the pile of gowns. “I really can’t decide which one to wear.”

In light of my imminent demise, choosing a dress for a ball seemed like the most trivial thing in the world. “Does it matter?”

Odessa’s stunned expression said it did. “Don’t you believe in true love?”

I scoffed. “I know in fairy tales true love is a thing. But in my world, true love is nothing more than fantasy. Life is too hard to bother with such things.” I studied her, thinking she looked more like a princess from one of those stories come to life. “That kind of love is only reserved for the likes of you.”

Odessa sighed. There was a dreamy look in her eyes as she rose and moved to the wardrobe. “You need to be open to love, Felicity. If you don’t open your heart, you might as well be dead.”

I groaned and put my head in my hands. “I’m as good as dead anyway,” I whispered.

Odessa, seeming not to hear, rummaged around in the wardrobe. “I want to wear the perfect gown so that I may meet my true love at the ball and ride off with him, far away from my cruel brother.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, a light went off in my head, and I sat up. Of course! Why hadn’t I thought of it before? To survive the game, all I needed to do was get Odessa and one of her three potential suitors to fall for each other at the ball, and then I would be able to go away with her and her true love before the duke could kill me!