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I widen my eyes. “So? You’re not thinking about fucking me.”

He gives a low chuckle. “Of course I am, Princess Taelyn. I am half Incubus, and I’ve been locked in a cagewith my wrists cuffed for ten years. I haven’t even been able to touch myself. Do you know how impossible it is to get yourself off when all you have is the hard floor of a cage to rub up against?”

My jaw drops, and my face burns like it’s on fire. I’ve never even heard someone speak in such a way, and certainly never with me as the point of reference. “Prince Ruarok, you won’t speak of me like that.”

“Apologies. The act of sex is in my nature. I’ve been away from people a long time, and I forgot my manners.”

I pick up my pace, leaving my stepbrother behind and catching up with Balthorne.

The streets are dirty, and my long cloak drags in the filth. Balthorne stoops to lift the hem from the ground, and I offer him a smile of thanks. I catch Ruarok glaring at us, and I glare right back.

The long, winding road leads down from the castle. I hadn’t wanted to take either horse or carriage, aware of how it would present me—a step above my subjects. I wanted them to understand that I’m willing to get to their level, to empathize with what they’re going through. I don’t want to be distanced from them.

We reach the outskirts of the city, and shouts of ‘it’s Princess Taelyn!’ and ‘the princess is coming’ fill the air. Within moments, people rush to greet us. Many drop to one knee and place their fingers at a steeple to their forehead in a sign of respect.

There are no full Fae in the city, or at least none that I’m aware of. Anyone of full Fae blood is at the castle, holding important roles within our court. These people are a mixture of all sorts—I see some who have the height and facial features of dwarfs. Others who have hoovesinstead of feet. There are even people sporting tusks and horns. Then there are others who appear to be almost fully human, at least to the naked eye.

The crowds get larger the farther we move through the city, heading to the quarter where the destruction from the rot is at its worst. I try not to think about the fallen tower, and the ultimate burial site of my mother and the king. As far as I can tell, no one has recognized Ruarok yet. What is his intention? Does he plan to get the people on his side? I can’t see how that is possible when everyone knows what he is, and how his father hated him enough to banish him all those years ago. The king was loved and respected, and that won’t be forgotten easily.

The destruction the rot has caused is breathtaking in the worst possible way. This quarter has been flattened. There is nothing but wood and rubble lying on the ground, bodies trapped beneath the chaos. In the center, a great hole continues to slowly expand, and the crash and rumble of the remains of those flattened homes sliding into the nothingness fill the air.

It truly is devastating to see.

Some survivors climb over the rubble, trying to find what remains of their possessions. Others call for those who are lost beneath the flattened homes. It breaks my heart.

Where will this stop? This might only be one small part of the city, but if it spreads, it could take the whole of Askos, just like it did Torremora. My mother and I had been lucky to escape, and we wouldn’t have if it weren’t for the late king. He’d offered my mother a hand in marriage, and us a home, all at the same time. I can’t even imagine what might have become of us if he hadn’t.

My heart grieves for them both.

Now I feel it is my duty to help others in the same way he helped us.

A mother with a babe in arms, their clothes filthy, sits huddled on the side of the street.

I press a coin into her hand. “Here, take this.”

She peers down at it. “Oh, bless you, Princess. Bless you for your kindness.”

I repeat the process with all those who are in need. It doesn’t feel like much, considering how much they—and we—have all lost, but it’s something. I hope they’ll at least be able to put food in their bellies and a roof over their heads.

18

RUAROK

I remain hiddenbeneath the cloak, tucked away in the dark folds. The material is rough and scratchy around my face, and it smells faintly of mothballs after going unworn for so long.

Is this my future now, to stay hidden away, the castle’s dirty little secret? That isn’t what I’ve survived the last ten years to do.

It isn’t going to be as easy as ridding myself of the princess, however. There’re the people to think about, too. They’ve had the last ten years to grow to love her—and how could they not? From the short time I’ve spent with her, it’s clear she’s royalty material. Everything about her screams she should be on the throne. It’s not only that she’s full-blooded Fae, unlike me; it’s the way she holds herself. She expects people to do as she says.

She commands respect, and people give her that respect because they love and admire her—not because they are fearful of what she might make them do.

I admire that about her, but I also know it’s something I’m going to have to break.

My reputation is the exact opposite of hers. While she’s seen as good and pure and honest, I’m tainted and evil—a trickster. The people of Askos believe me to have been banished, and I daren’t even think what kind of rumors will have trickled through the lands at the reason for my banishment.

The truth is bad enough.

In the ten years I’ve been gone, the city doesn’t appear to have changed—not including the massive fucking hole where part of the city used to stand.