Page 319 of Split or Swallow

She grit her teeth. He wasn’t going to like what came next.

“He already knows.”

Caspen went completely still. His eyes searched hers, and there was nothing but betrayal in them. Tem knew she’d violated his trust—knew she’d chosen to tell Leo she was a Hybreed without consulting him first. But it was her secret to share. Caspen didn’t have to like it.

“You told him? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?”

“He deserves to know.”

“What else did you tell him? Does he know about the crest?”

Tem hesitated. Leo didn’t know about the crest—about how there was a plan for Maximus and the rest of the royals.

“No,” she said, keeping her voice steady. “And he doesn’t need to know.”

“And why should he not know? It concerns his family, does it not?”

“His family will be spared,” Tem insisted.

“Not all of them. Only himself and his sister. You made that very clear.”

His voice was dangerously quiet. A flicker of doubt passed through Tem. Leo hated Maximus. He’d said so himself. But did he hate him enough to condemn him to the crest?

“Shall I tell him?” Caspen taunted, his eyes flashing like flint in the darkness. “Or would you like to do the honor of informing him of what will happen to his father?”

The doubt intensified. The last thing Tem wanted was for Caspen to tell Leo about the crest. If he reacted badly—if for some reason his hatred for Maximus did⁠n’t run as deeply as she thought—things between them could fall apart.

“You can’t do that,” Tem said.

“And why not?” Caspen asked.

Tem didn’t like his tone. He was threatening her.

“Because it could ruin everything, and you know it.”

“Everything? Or your relationship with him?”

“Nothing could ruin my relationship with him.”

Caspen’s eyes widened, then narrowed. Tem knew he understood what she was saying: that her connection with Leo had been solidified through sex. That it was permanent.

“I did not realize,” he whispered, his voice deadly, “that you could be so easily seduced.”

Rowe’s words came back to her suddenly:

The plaything has fallen in love with her playmate.

It was a foreign thing to see Caspen so jealous—to see him petty. But it was coming through now, and it was cruel. Tem wondered if it was an effect of the crest—if his usual stoicism was weakening along with the rest of him. He had always been steady. But no longer.

“I have to marry him, Caspen. That’s always been the plan.”

Little did Caspen know that his own life depended on that plan.

He scoffed. Tem continued:

“Leo is on our side. I promise you.”

Caspen arched his head to the ceiling, the cords of his neck standing out beneath his skin.