Ashes — Claire Kent

She needs to escape her stepmother, and the only prince available is him.

Ever since my father died and my sister left, I've been trapped in a life of drudgery with a stepfamily as wicked as the storybooks say. Life after the apocalypse offers few choices, and I only have three. I can stay and be miserable. I can die in the wilderness. Or I can marry him.

Mason is the closest thing this village has to a prince. He's odd and antisocial and doesn't say a lot, but he's got a good home and a dependable income. Plus, he treats me better than my stepfamily.

Neither one of us has any experience with relationships, but maybe we can muddle along together better than we have alone.

If happy endings in this world are impossible, then this marriage of convenience will have to do.