Page 125 of Split or Swallow

“You forget your place, snake.”

Caspen went immediately still.

It was a mirror of the conversation she had just witnessed between Caspen and Rowe, only this time, Leo was the one putting Caspen in his place. Tem was reminded suddenly that although Caspen was an important part of her life, he was meaningless to Leo. To the prince, Caspen was nothing more than a tool—a means to an end—a cog in a tradition that was hundreds of years old. Leo believed the same thing his father believed: the basilisks were beneath him.

How wrong he was.

“Enough,” snapped Tem.

They both looked at her, eyebrows raised.

“I’m not livestock,” she barreled on before either of them had a chance to interrupt. “You can’t just talk about me like I’m not here.”

It was deathly quiet. Tem could hear her pulse pounding in her skull. She turned to Leo.

“I’m your future wife. And I deserve to be treated as such.”

Leo’s eyebrows hiked up even further. Tem held his gaze. It seemed safer than looking at Caspen, who was palpably radiating anger. The prince seemed to be considering something—considering her. For all the times Leo had looked at her before, Tem wondered if this was the moment when he truly saw her as a person, not as a commodity. It was the bare minimum of what she deserved.

“You’re right,” Leo said finally.

Caspen said nothing.

This time, Tem let the silence sit. She wanted them to think about what she’d said—to truly comprehend her place in this process. It was unacceptable to her that they thought this was about them. Tem was the one with a choice to make. Tem was the one who held the power. If she chose to walk out of this room, neither the basilisk nor the prince could do anything to stop her. They both wanted her. They should start acting like it.

Leo reached for her hand.

A sudden wave of rage surged inside Tem’s mind. But it wasn’t hers; it was Caspen’s. For once, Tem didn’t let him in. She slammed the door shut between them, doing everything she could to keep him out. She took Leo’s hand, focusing on the way it felt: warm and strong, his long fingers intertwining with hers as he asked:

“What do you need from me, Tem?”

He said it quietly, as if they were the only two people in the room. Tem considered the question. There was only one thing she needed from Leo—the same thing she needed from herself.

“Patience.”

The corner of his mouth twitched.

“Not my specialty, I’m afraid.”

The rage was growing stronger. It took everything she had to suppress it. Just when resistance became impossible, Leo turned to Caspen.

“Leave us.”

Tem expected him to protest. Or perhaps explode. Instead he gave a curt nod, and a moment later, he was gone. As soon as the door snapped shut, Caspen’s rage retreated from her mind. Tem blinked, shaking her head to clear it. Leo was still holding her hand.

“Tem,” his grip tightened. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. But I should…check on him.”

Leo frowned. “Why?”

“Because…”

She could come up with nothing to say. There was no logical reason why she would need to check on her teacher, and they both knew it. But the fact remained that she had to see Caspen. So she said the only thing she could think of:

“I’ll be right back, Leo. I promise.”

Leo was still frowning. It was a long, weighted moment before he responded: