TAELYN

Back in my chambers, I dress in a different long cloak, since Ruarok has taken my main one, and boots. Befitting the situation, I’m fully in black, the color a stark contrast to my almost-white hair and pale skin.

When the time arrives, I make my way to the castle entrance. Balthorne is putting together a group of guards to escort me into the city, and I expect to find him there.

Instead of Balthorne waiting for me, I discover Ruarok standing at the castle entrance.

“I heard of your plans, and I’m coming with you,” he says.

“Absolutely not. I don’t know how the people of Askos will react upon discovering you not only still alive, but actually being here, in the castle. Don’t you think they have enough to worry about?”

“Why would me being alive be something for them to worry about? Haven’t you even considered that they might find this happy news? Yes, their king is dead, but the prince still lives. ”

I shoulder him out of the way. “The princess lives, also, and I am the one they’ll be expecting to see.”

“At least let me come as one of your guardsmen, Princess,” he says. “I can wear a cloak to cover my head. No one needs to know who I am. Isn’t it better that you have more people at hand? More men to protect you?”

The truth is, I can’t force him to stay here. He’s a free man now, isn’t he? He can go wherever the hell he likes. Not that he seems to have any intention of leaving Highdrift. The place is his home, just as it is mine. I can hardly send him away either.

I have no idea how this is going to work in the long run.

The castle can’t be run by us both, can it?

Brother and sister? I search my mind to think of other kingdoms that are run by siblings.

Okay, maybe we’re not blood related, but technically, when my mother married his father, we became brother and sister.

There is one kingdom where a brother and sister have married and rule together, but the thought makes me cringe inside. Blood relatives marrying is never a good idea for the children. Ruarok and I are not blood relatives, however. There isn’t a single shared blood cell between us.

I shake the thought from my head. No, I do not want to marry Ruarok. The man is half Incubus. I imagine how unhappy that wedlock would be, with him fucking every castle staff member around. It’s always accepted that kings have their mistresses, but this would be on a whole other level.

My heart twists at the prospect. Ruarok having sex with everyone behind my back. Everyone would know about it, too. I’d be pitied and shamed, and that was the last thing I wanted .

“Fine,” I say. “Come, but wear a cloak and keep your face hidden. I can’t have this excursion turned into a parade on your behalf.”

“Thank you, Princess.”

Balthorne joins us. “The guards are ready, Princess.” He completely ignores Ruarok. “I have the pouch of coins also, as you requested.”

Ruarok arches an eyebrow. “Coins? For whom?”

“The people, of course,” I snap. “They’re in need of our help.”

“So you’re giving them the castle’s gold?”

Balthorne frowns in concern at our interaction, but he doesn’t interrupt. It’s not his place to offer his thoughts unless they’ve been requested. Ruarok might have been locked away for ten years, but he’s still the prince.

“They have far more need of it than we do. Do you begrudge them a few coins?”

Ruarok clears his throat. “That’s not the reason I’m concerned. People carrying large amounts of money on their person will only open them up to thievery.”

“What do you suggest? That we do nothing? They need to be able to pay for a new home, or at the very least, rent rooms so their families have a roof over their heads. Having people in the streets will only lead to chaos. People who are left to struggle aren’t good for the city as a whole.

They’ll have no choice but to steal, and that will lead to violence.

People who understand they will be looked after are peaceful people. ”

He ducks his head in a half-bow. “I understand, Princess.”

The truth is that money will only go so far.

Gold means nothing if there is no food left for people to buy.

But we haven’t reached that stage, not here, not yet.

Back in Torremora, the rot took the fields and countryside, so there was no grain to harvest. That was when things started getting really ugly.

I’ll find a way to stop it before we reach that point. I have no idea how, but there must be a way. If there isn’t, the future doesn’t bear thinking about.

We set off. I want the people to understand that I’ve been where they are, at least in part. I’ve gone through the rot destroying my home. I can empathize with how frightened they are.

I have two guards leading the way, Balthorne and Ruarok bracketing me, and several more guards bringing up the rear. They carry the banner of our kingdom, the dragonfly, with its wings so like our own, and it flutters in the breeze. There’s a chill in the air today.

As we head down the winding road that leads into the city, Ruarok falls into step beside me.

He lowers his voice and darts his gaze toward Balthorne. “Who is that man?”

“He’s head of my personal guard.”

“He wants to fuck you.”

“No, he doesn’t!” I’m offended by the suggestion. “I’ve known him for years. We are more like siblings.”

Ruarok snorts. “Even if he thinks of you like a sibling, that doesn’t mean he isn’t also thinking of fucking you. After all, my father married your mother, so doesn’t that also make us siblings?”

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 cage with 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 hooves instead 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.