Page 340 of Split or Swallow

The crowd was filing into their seats.

Leo led Tem to the end of the aisle, where her mother was already waiting for her in a dress made of silk.

“You look beautiful,” Tem told her.

“As do you, my dear.”

Leo extended his hand. Tem’s mother took it.

“It is a pleasure to meet you,” he said graciously. “You raised an exceptional daughter.”

Tem’s mother blushed. It was her first time experiencing Leo’s uncanny ability to say exactly the right thing, and it was something Tem was sure nobody had ever told her before. The words were even sweeter given the fact that her mother had raised her alone.

“Thank you,” her mother said, her eyes wide. “You are too kind.”

Leo smiled.

“Kindness is not my specialty, I’m afraid. But I intend to practice it every day with Tem.”

He released her mother’s hand, leaning down to give Tem one more kiss.

“See you up there,” he whispered against her lips.

Tem didn’t reply. She watched him walk down the aisle, his blonde hair gleaming in the early moonlight. Her mother touched her arm.

“I can understand why you love them both.”

For the first time that evening, Tem smiled. Then her mother said:

“Are you ready, my dear?”

Tem took a deep breath.

The time had come to do what she was always meant to do—to become who she was always meant to become.

“Yes.”

The crowd turned to look at them as the harpist began to play. Nerves threatened to overtake her as her mother’s arm linked in hers and they walked down the aisle together. Tem searched desperately for something to focus on, and her eyes found Leo. He was standing in the center of the stage, his hands clasped behind his back, watching her.

Tears gleamed in his eyes.

His sincerity touched her. There were far worse things, Tem realized, than to be loved by two people. She had no desire to live an ordinary life—a life devoid of passion and challenge and truth. She had always been destined for more. Her path may not have been a conventional one, but it was hers, and she wouldn’t trade it for anyone else’s.

Tem parted ways with her mother at the base of the stage, taking the steps up onto the platform alone. When Leo extended his hand, Tem took it, standing so they were facing each other. Maximus stood between them, and although she could feel him glaring at her, Tem ignored him. Instead, she looked out over the audience.

There was Gabriel, with the caterers. He winked at her when their eyes met. There was Vera, seated next to the other girls who had been eliminated. Her arms were crossed, her nose scrunched in displeasure. The basilisks stood at the edge of the clearing. There were fourteen total: one for each girl who had participated in the competition, and then Bastian. Rowe and Caspen stood beside each other, their shoulders six pointed inches apart.

Tem touched the golden claw around her neck. The moment she did so, Caspen’s gaze flicked to hers. She saw an eternity in those eyes.

“Honored guests,” Maximus said, drawing her attention back to the stage. “We are gathered here today to witness a union.”

Leo’s fingers wove into hers.

“My son has chosen his bride from a selection of the finest women this kingdom has to offer,” he turned to Leo. “I pray you may find happiness in one anoth⁠er, and it is my honor to wed you here today.”

His speech was as bare as could be. There was no emotion behind it—no love. Maximus spoke as if he were reciting a list of ingredients.

He turned to Tem.