Page 181 of Split or Swallow

Tem remained silent, syncing her breathing to his.

“Both quivers have fought for power. At times, it has become violent.”

Caspen paused.

“My father…” he said slowly. “…values power above all else. He is willing to sacrifice anything for it.”

Tem thought about how Caspen’s father was the true Serpent King. She could only imagine what it took to gain and keep such a title.

“Are you?” she asked.

Caspen’s eyes flicked to hers. “Am I what?”

“Willing to sacrifice anything for power?”

Caspen pulled her closer, as if he were afraid she might slip away.

“Not anything.”

For some reason, Tem grew cold.

“Caspen,” she whispered. “Tell me what happened.”

“It is not complicated,” he said quietly. “My father wanted the throne. Anoth⁠er basilisk was in the way. My father asked me to crest them, and I did so.”

“Who?”

His lips drew into a tight line.

“Rowe’s father.”

Tem remembered the conversation in the ballroom with perfect clarity:

Say one more word and you will join your father.

She recalled the way Rowe had looked at Caspen with complete hatred—the way he had called him a traitor. Caspen had killed his own kind. He had crested another basilisk, and made enemies in the process. Tem couldn’t understand why a father would ask such a thing of his son.

“Why did you do it?”

Caspen sighed.

“There is no limit to what I would do for those I love.”

Tem couldn’t help but notice the parallels of their situations. When faced with an impossible choice, Caspen had chosen the harder path—the path with consequences. Now, when faced with the prospect of the ritual, Tem felt a similar pull. She pressed her lips gently to his.

There was no limit to what she would do for those she loved either.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

Morning arrived before Tem was ready.

Caspen accompanied her to the head of the trail, as always. He kissed her goodbye, as always. Only this time it felt different. This time she knew what it would take to be a part of his world, and the knowledge sat in her core like a stone. When Caspen pressed his lips to hers, it felt like an apology.

Tem walked home alone.

Her mother was weeding the garden, and Tem joined her wordlessly. She pulled weed after weed, pouring all her bottled-up energy into the task at hand.

Inevitably, her thoughts turned to the ritual.