Page 186 of Split or Swallow

Again, silence. Their connection was still open, but Caspen wasn’t speaking. Tem waited him out, resisting the urge to break the standoff. She would not allow him to avoid this conversation; she would not give in.

Finally, Caspen responded:

Then you may find that your choice is made for you.

Now Tem bristled.

And who will make my choice? You?

I will never control you, Tem.

For the first time, Tem wondered if that were true.

Do you really want war, Caspen?

It does not matter what I want. War has already begun.

Not a yes or a no. Another half-truth. Another lie.

Tem thought of the tension between the quivers—of the way Caspen’s father had come to power. The villagers may be angry now, but the basilisks had been angry for centuries. Peace teetered on a knife’s edge.

Suddenly, a knock came at the door. She set down the towel and opened it.

There stood Leo.

Tem immediately cut off her connection with Caspen. Whatever came next, she was certain he didn’t need to hear it.

“Leo,” she breathed, deeply aware of her mother watching them. “What are you doing here?”

“I had to see you.”

He was still wearing the crown.

“Well that’s…”

Unexpected, is what it was. But there was no point in saying that. Instead, she said:

“Why?”

Leo leaned slightly closer, and Tem’s heart broke into a gallop as she saw a small cut on his cheek. A single drop of blood seeped onto his skin.

“I wanted to make sure you were safe. The crowd…”

Leo didn’t finish his sentence. He didn’t have to. The crowd’s behavior went beyond mere rowdiness—it bordered on rebellion. Tem understood why he would⁠n’t want to voice such a thought, especially in front of her. She was touched by his presence: it showed he cared.

“I’m fine,” she said. “I was more worried about you.”

Something close to joy flitted across Leo’s face. Then he shrugged.

“My father put me in a carriage. I had it come here.”

There was a pause, and she realized how close they were standing. It was entirely improper; her mother was right there. Yet Leo’s eyes travelled over her body, and she wondered if he was thinking about the last time he’d been here. Tem remembered the way they’d touched each other on her bed—how his cock had been hard against her palm.

“Tem,” he said quietly, and she snapped back to the present. “The ball is soon.”

“I know.”

He shifted closer.