How can I make her understand? Make her see that my heart, my life, revolves around her now?

Before I can answer that question, though, she sweeps by me, back into the ballroom.

“Wait!” I grab for her, but she slips away, running back through the door and into the crowd. I dart after her, but the room has already swallowed her up—I don’t even know which way she went through the dancers and revelers.

I stride through the crowd, looking for her among the swirling skirts and ornate masks. But I don’t see her anywhere. I consider calling out her name, but I know she won’t answer, even if she could hear me above the music and laughter.

The musicians are playing another waltz. Someone grabs my hand and tries to pull me into the throng of dancers, but I escape her grip and continue on through the ballroom. It’s too crowded in here. People press against me on all sides, their voices right in my ears, the scent of cologne and perfume drowning me from every direction. It makes me dizzy, the swirl of smells and colors and noise.

Where is she?

Maybe she’s already escaped outside. Maybe, this time, she’s actually heading to the train station, determined to leave Montovia forever. I can’t let that happen.

There’s a dais at the far end of the room, where we, the royal family, will lead the unmasking at the end of the night. I head there now—maybe from the raised platform I’ll be able to spot Victoria. I push through the crowd and climb the steps, looking out across the room.

There are too many people. I’ll never find her, even from here.

But I refuse to give up. Not until I’ve tried everything to get through to her.

There’s a microphone at one end of the dais. I walk over to it and switch it on. It crackles slightly, but the sound is mostly lost beneath the music and noise. I lean closer, and my eyes scan the room as my finger adjusts the microphone’s volume.

“My I have everyone’s attention for a moment?” I say. Even at an increased volume, my voice is still nearly inaudible. A handful of people nearby turn and look at me, obviously confused. A member of the Royal Guard starts toward me from his post at a nearby window—he clearly doesn’t recognize me.

I clear my throat and try again, louder this time.

“Good people of Montovia,” I boom into the microphone.

This time, more people quiet and turn to look at me. A couple of the musicians falter and fall silent, then nudge their companions. Slowly, in waves, people stop talking and dancing and turn to look at me.

My gaze is still searching for Victoria, but I don’t see her. Meanwhile, the guard has reached me, and to simplify things, I quickly pull off my mask, revealing my face.

A murmur moves through the crowd. Everyone knows I’m breaking tradition, but I don’t care. I give the guard a nod of reassurance, and after a moment’s hesitation, he gives a bow and then returns to his post at the window.

“Good people of Montovia,” I start again. “Forgive the interruption, but I have some important business to address.” My eyes are still scanning the room, still looking… There! Is that her near the south windows? I can’t tell from here.

“You’ve probably heard a number of rumors these past few days,” I continue. “Rumors about my father, about our royal visitors, and about me. I only wish to set things straight.”

The room had gone dead silent. Everyone is watching, waiting for me to go on. The woman-who-might-be-Victoria on the far side of the room is as silent and still as the rest.

“You may have heard a rumor that Victoria Simpson called off our engagement,” I say, never taking my eyes off the woman. “That rumor is true—but I want to make one thing clear. Victoria acted in what she believed to be the best interest of this country, because though she may not have been born here, her respect and love for Montovia and its people runs as deep as that of anyone here. And I love her all the more for it.”

The woman by the window doesn’t move. She, like everyone else in the room, seems transfixed by what I’m saying.

“I want to make one other thing clear,” I go on. “I still love her with all my heart. And I will continue to do so until the day I die. Never have I met anyone as selfless, as deserving, and so fit to be a future queen. And I will fight for her with every breath, for as long as it takes.” My eyes move from the woman to sweep across the rest of the room. “I won’t let King Maximilian or Prince Reginald bully us. I will fight for Montovia and for its people with all my heart and all of my strength, but I won’t sacrifice our honor and integrity to do so. At the end of the day, those things are what make us proud and great—and no matter what happens, those things will remain. If Prince Reginald and King Maximilian have a problem with that, they can take it up with me.”

My gaze finds Victoria again. “I love Victoria Simpson. And I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to marry her.”

I know this little speech might not make a lot of sense to those who don’t know the entire story and the extent of Reginald’s manipulation, but I don’t care. Victoria knows, and that’s all that matters.

But even as I release the microphone, the woman by the window is moving, sidling toward the door. I must stop her. Must speak to her.

I leap down off the dais, and people gasp and jump back, apparently startled by my wild actions. I can only imagine what the people in this room think of me right now.

But I’ll worry about that later, if at all. Right now, I need to get to Victoria.

I make it halfway across the giant ballroom before the microphone crackles again. At first I think it’s just someone turning it off, but then I hear a familiar voice come through. A voice that makes my blood run cold.

“Prince Andrew,” comes Reginald’s sneering tones through the loudspeaker system. “I believe you and I have some unfinished business to attend to.”