A Throne of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales #2)(77)

I gave a thumbs-up and pretended not to feel my heart twisting. Pretended not to feel the hollow opening in my middle. This was the problem with all those stories about happily-ever-afters and dreamy men—reality seemed much bleaker when you realized you wouldn’t be playing a part in one of those stories. That they were called fantasies for a reason.

At least the orgasms were real for me, though. I’d take it.

“You good?” Nyfain asked, and I could feel the regret in the bond. The somberness of his tone.

“Perfectly. I just needed a little reality bitch slap, and now I am ready to go.”

He didn’t comment as we pushed past the tree line and into a village that blew my mind.





Seventeen





Suddenly the whole social class issue made a lot more sense. Large houses rose before us, two stories and surrounded by large plots of mostly cultivated land. Lovely flowers bloomed beside cobblestone streets and lamps with candles nestled inside hung from light fixtures. Clearly someone walked around at night, lighting those and replacing them. Who paid for it?

More roads intersected up ahead, a maze of a neighborhood.

Hadriel trotted up beside us, looking at Nyfain, clearly wondering how to proceed.

“I’ll need to see their town council and discuss my presence,” Nyfain said, his tone resolute.

I swung a foot over the stallion and jumped to the ground before he could grab me. I motioned for Dabnye to jump down after me. “By the sound of it, her mother doesn’t have too long. We’ll walk from here.”

Nyfain turned on his horse so he could look down at me. “You are accompanying me. There are certain protocols each village has devised since the curse…”

“No offense, your royal highness, but stick it up your hole. As we’ve just gone over, I’m not a noble for you to command. I’m just a common girl.” I shrugged and grabbed Dabnye, jerking her to the side. “Let’s get out of this neighborhood. It’s giving me hives.”

“Sir…” Hadriel looked between Nyfain and me.

“Go with her. Make sure she…” He rolled his shoulders. “On second thought, come with me. You can hold the horses. You couldn’t help her anyway.”

“There’s the spirit, sir. Insult my masculinity whilst forcing me to spend prolonged time in your presence, which will likely make me shit myself before the day is through. Fantastic. I will look forward to my eventual demoralization.”

“Less talking, Hadriel,” Nyfain growled. “It’s giving me a headache.”

“Yes, sir.” Hadriel showed me his teeth with wide eyes and a help me vibe.

I didn’t waste any time. I plucked Dabnye’s sleeve. “Let’s hurry. I’ll need to gather some supplies, but I want to see your mother first.”

We jogged around the outskirts of the nice neighborhood. Slowly the houses diminished in size. The yards didn’t look so nice. The shutters weren’t so picturesque. Across a dirt lane pocked with ruts and holes, the dwellings weren’t much more than shacks.

“Goddess help me, that was a steep decline,” I muttered, turning down a small lane that would barely fit a horse, let alone a wagon.

“You’re probably from somewhere fine. We don’t have much in this part of town.”

“Was this the most influential village in the kingdom before the curse?” A child stared out a window, her face dirty and hair disheveled. At least they were still producing kids.

“Second most, I think? I haven’t ever seen the others. I can’t imagine it being nicer than this. I mean…up near the village center.”

“You have a center, huh? My village is the poorest one, I think, and we just have a square. We don’t have much, but the poorest of us have more than this. This is…” I gritted my teeth as anger ate through me. It was unacceptable, that’s what it was. This village wasn’t a unit. They hadn’t come together to look after each other. They had cut the weakest members off and turned their backs on them, not even giving them medicine for the sick.

“Fuck this shit,” I said as she turned down a trodden collection of weeds and stepped over a hole in the porch of a ramshackle structure. It wasn’t much more than a lean-to. “Fuck all of this shit. We have some empty places in my village. You could go there.”

“We can’t visit other villages. The demons will kill us. Only the prince moves between villages, from what I’ve heard, and he does it within the shadows.”

“I doubt the demons will give two shits about you, to be honest. No offense.”

She looked at me like I’d grown a third eye, then glanced down at my clothes. “I’ve never heard such a fine lady…”

“With a mouth like mine?” I grinned and waved her away as I pushed open the wobbly door. “Don’t mind my clothing. The prince insisted that I dress up before visiting the villages. I was wearing his childhood clothing for a while. I was wearing plain men’s clothing before that, made by my mom or brother.”

“But you’re so pretty.”

“You can’t help the face you were born with. It doesn’t make me who I am. Now, show me your mother.”

She led me through the dimly lit interior and into the back bedroom—actually, the only bedroom. It held an empty cot and a sickbed. A woman lay in the bed, her arm thrown to the side and her breathing shallow. She didn’t open her eyes or show any sign that she knew someone had come into the house.