Page 130 of Split or Swallow

“If anything happens to me, Caspen will seek revenge.”

Rowe laughed darkly.

“Do not speak on things you do not understand. Revenge is already mine to seek.”

For a moment, the only sound was the crackling of the fire. Rowe glanced over his shoulder at the doorway, as if he’d heard something. Then a sly smile pulled at his lips as he said:

“But perhaps not tonight.”

When his gaze returned to her, he looked her up and down one last time.

“Until we meet again, Temperance.”

As if he were never there to begin with, Rowe disappeared.

Tem let out a long breath. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing straight up, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d just dodged certain death. All the tears that had refused to come earlier now threatened to engulf her. Rowe was dangerous. There was no doubt about it. And clearly he had a personal problem with Caspen—one he was willing to use Tem to exacerbate. Revenge is already mine to seek. What did that mean?

What had Caspen done?

Before she could dissect it further, she heard her name again:

“Tem?”

This time it was Caspen standing in the doorway. He crossed to her immediately, stopping just short of touching her. “What are you doing?”

“I had to talk to you.”

“You should not have come here alone.”

“I know.”

“It is dangerous for you. I cannot protect you if—” he cut off, his eyes traveling over her with sudden concern. His nostrils flared. “Rowe. I can smell him. Was he here?”

Tem shook her head. If one more thing went wrong tonight, she was going to scream.

“Caspen,” she said. “I don’t want to talk about Rowe.”

Caspen pursed his lips. It was obvious he wanted to say something else, but Tem was grateful when he refrained. The weight of the evening hung between them as they studied each other. Tem chose her question carefully:

“How do we move forward?”

Caspen sighed.

“That…depends.”

“On?”

“Tem,” he sighed again. “I do not wish to discuss this now.”

But Tem was fed up.

She was done letting Caspen decide what they could and could not discuss. He wouldn’t talk about the voice in the castle, he wouldn’t talk about the status of their relationship, he wouldn’t talk about anything of value. It was enough. She refused to live in a state of limbo any longer.

“How do we move forward?” she insisted, her voice sharp.

Caspen’s eyes narrowed. She had never used that tone with him before.

“I cannot predict the future, Tem,” he said, his voice equally sharp.