~ELENA~

I don't mean to run. I just need air, anything but the suffocating hush that follows Alessandro's heels as he leaves.

My feet carry me across the marble without thinking, past frozen faces and scattered masks, until the heavy doors of the ballroom slide open and the cool night air of the terrace wraps around me like a promise.

I hear footsteps behind me but I don't turn to know who that is. I don't even care about anyone or anything right now.

I press my palms to the cold stone balustrade and try to breathe. The city lights of Florence scatter beneath me, beautiful and indifferent.

For a...