Page 1 of Between Two Kings

Chapter One

Tem had never been fucked against a tree before.

They were alone in the forest, but it didn’t matter—Tem would’ve let Caspen fuck her with a crowd present. His hands gripped her hips, her legs wrapped around his torso. The stars above them, the grass below them—it was all the same. Basilisk and human, predator and prey. The soft lines of Tem’s body blended with Caspen’s until they were one being rather than two. She was immeasurably full: of desire, of want, of cock. They were almost there, climbing the perennial slope of pleasure she’d come to know so well. Caspen’s mind intertwined with hers. Smoke rose from his shoulders.

Let me see it, Tem.

She wanted him to see it.

Show me.

She would show him.

Caspen’s entire body was pressed against hers, the great expanse of his chest anchoring her to the tree. There was no escape, and Tem didn’t want to anyway. Her orgasm slammed into her so sharply that her vision went black. By the time it returned, Caspen had finished too.

They lay on the forest floor afterward, panting, their bodies soaked with sweat. Despite the frigid night air, Tem felt as if she were burning up inside.

“What’s happening to me?” She gasped when they finally drew apart.

“You are adjusting.” Caspen was equally out of breath. Tem had never seen him so winded.

“But why now? It was never like this before.”

“Now that you have transitioned, your basilisk side has awoken.”

“Awoken?”

He shrugged, and a drop of sweat rolled down his shoulder. “I do not know another word to describe it.”

After a moment of thought, Tem found the word actually worked quite well. But she found herself wondering if she would ever feel fully adjusted. It had been a week since they’d gotten married, and she felt no closer to mastering her basilisk side than she’d been when she first transitioned at the lake. Instead she felt completely out of control, her body an open flame.

“If that’s the case, why can’t I transition the way you can?” Tem asked as they walked back to the caves. They’d been hunting in the forest for hours, and she hadn’t been able to turn at all; she’d only managed to transition once since her first time, and even then, she’d only been able to do so with Caspen’s guidance in her mind. He’d practically pulled her into her true form, his assistance barely enough. Transitioning felt just out of reach.

“You are new to this, Tem. It will take time.”

“But I’ve done it before. And you do it so easily.”

“I have been doing it for a very, very long time. You will get there.”

“I hate being weak.”

“Weak is the last thing you are.”

Tem tried to believe him. But it was difficult when there was evidence indicating otherwise. She was a Hybreed. She was supposed to be a powerful creature, and instead she could barely transition. The flow she’d found just a week ago was now nowhere to be found, and she was beginning to think that the first few times were flukes. Now she was relegated to the sidelines, like a child who had played too hard and needed to rest. It was pathetic.

“I should be getting better, not worse.”

“You will get better, Tem. You will master it. You need only learn how.”

By the time they returned to their chambers, Tem was almost convinced. But any thought of transitioning disappeared the moment she saw the letter on their bed. Caspen read it first, his expression indecipherable as he handed it to Tem. Her throat went dry at the three neat lines of script:

Temperance Verus,

The king requests your presence at the castle this evening.

A carriage will be sent for you. Come alone.

Tem turned the paper over, half expecting to see an additional note. There was none.