Page 112 of Barbi and the Villain

“I have not seen them together in weeks. In the beginning, they were doing all their chores together, but now they are on their own. I think something must have happened,” the girl whispers.

“That means you have a chance. And if you both win?—”

I stop listening as I slowly back away, more annoyed than anything. Of course Nykander would gain an army of admirers the moment people think he is available. And what do I get? Nothing!

Despite my big proclamations, I have not seen nor spoken with Jeya or any male since then—and not for lack of trying.

If I so much as try to talk to someone, they ignore me and pretend I am not there. With the women, it’s even worse. There’s no such thing as female solidarity—not even in Akkaya. They are all too enamored with Nykander, and that means I am the competition in their minds.

“Ugh!” I grit aloud as I kick a pebble on my way back to the cabin. “What the hell is so great about him anyway?”

Well, everything but his shining personality.

I continue to mutter obscenities under my breath and curse him for being a wretched man, when I suddenly stop.

A tremor goes down my back, accompanied by a sliver of awareness—almost as if I were being watched. I turn, but I don’t see anything.

I shake my head in annoyance.

It’s not the first time I’ve felt like this—as if I had eyes trained on my back. Yet who could it be other than some of those girls in the village who seemingly pity me and hate me at the same time? Although my foolishly romantic heart would wish it were Nykander, it better not be him!

I don’t want to see him, talk to him, or otherwise have anything to do with his nasty ass.

He can keep himself away from me until the end, thank you very much.

Since our row weeks ago, Nykander and I have not spoken.

Not even a hello. He has not been sleeping at the cabin either.

As a matter of fact, I have no idea where he is sleeping or what he has been up to.

I sometimes spot him in the village doing his chores, but the moment he notices me around, he drops everything to just stare at me—no doubt to reinforce how much he hates me. I wonder if that’s his way to shoo me away, and if it is, it works. I just have to notice those icy eyes of his trained on me and I turn my back and leave.

He has not fed from me since then either, and I do not know how that affects him.

I shake my head as my thoughts threaten to stray in that direction. I no longer care about him. He can be the most handsome man in the entire universe—which he, arguably, is—but that doesn’t excuse his abysmal behavior. I never believed someone would be so goddamn mean to my face. I am aware he was trying to drive home the point that he doesn’t want me—his body might, but his mind does not. That doesn’t mean he needed to be so crude about it.

Yet I have now finally gotten the hint. And in the last few weeks, I have come to terms with the fact that I may always have a weakness about it, but that may very well be because of our bond. Maybe it is not real, just as he implied. As long as we get the artifact from the High Priestess, we will break our bond and we will each go our separate ways. Although, to be honest, I do not know how I will go on with my life after experiencing Akkaya.

I release a deep sigh.

Opening the door to the cabin, I am greeted by PomPom and BonBon and their beaming expressions. My eyes make contact with their feeding bowls and I note the scraps of food there.

I haven’t fed them yet today. I just managed to smuggle some chicken. So that means he must have fed them.

Why is he so awful to me but so nice to my dogs?

“Here, babies,” I murmur, waving the pieces of chicken around. They follow me to their bowls and watch me as I divide the food equally. They sniff it for a couple of minutes before they relent and dive in.

I slowly step back, plopping down on the bed. The festival is tonight and while I have no reason to attend, I do not want to be rude to the villagers.

I open my small trunk and peruse my options. I don’t have many dresses. But I do have the pink one Nykander got for me.

The material is silky and luxurious. Considering I have been on laundry duty a few times now, I can attest that the villagers don’t have clothing this nice. I don’t know where he got it, but while I appreciated it before, now that feeling has been marred by his behavior toward me. What was his intention? To keep me in good spirits so I would go along with his plan?

Yet no matter how much I’d like to burn this dress for the mere fact that it’s from him, I can’t.

It’s too pretty. The prettiest thing I have here.

---