Page 102 of Between Two Kings

“Surely there are other ways to pay for it.” Tem shrugged.

“None as lucrative as the bloodletting.”

A silence fell, the only sound was the scrape of knife against plate. Tem wasn’t sure who should speak next, but she decided it wouldn’t be her. Beside her, Caspen’s hand was still clasped in hers. Only now, he was no longer in a good mood. Now he held her as if her hand were an anchor—a desperate measure to control himself. Tem dearly hoped it was working.

In the silence, Tem considered the implications of what Evelyn was saying.

This was an unanticipated problem. Tem hadn’t thought this far ahead—she’d thought that if they could abolish the bloodletting, everything would be solved. It was Leo’s job to decide how to run his kingdom in the aftermath, and it was Tem’s job to protect her people.

Evelyn broke the silence: “Surely, there is a compromise.”

Tem’s eyes immediately narrowed. She opened her mouth to speak, but Caspen beat her to it.

“What do you suggest?” The words were icy. Restrained.

Everyone at the table looked at him, but he looked only at Evelyn. He was holding Tem’s hand so tightly it was beginning to go numb.

Evelyn shifted, clearly uncomfortable. Then she turned up her nose. “The basilisks could…provide us with a supply.”

Tem’s mouth fell open. “Of blood?”

“It would be on a voluntary basis.”

Tem snorted. The basilisks had barely begun to heal from the decades of torture. There wasn’t a basilisk alive who would choose to bleed again. And Tem couldn’t blame them.

“No one is going to volunteer to bleed for you.”

“It’s not just for us,” Leo said quietly, his first words in minutes. “It’s for the villagers.”

Tem glared at him. “That’s not true, and you know it.”

Silence.

She needed him to say it—needed to admit that he was doing this for the one person Tem had sacrificed her happiness to give him. To Evelyn, the solution to their problem was simple: bring back the bloodletting. If it had worked for many years before this, why stop now? But it was unthinkable to Tem. Leo had agreed to abolish it. She would not let him go back on it without a fight.

“We have to bleed for that gold, Leo. You want us to bleed for your wedding?”

Evelyn rolled her shoulders but didn’t speak. Her face was a mask of fury.

Leo shook his head. “I don’t want that.”

“Then why are you asking it of us?”

Leo opened his mouth and then closed it. His knuckles were white around his whiskey glass. Tem stared at him. Then she looked at Caspen. He’d been quiet throughout most this exchange. Tem knew he was controlling his temper, expending every ounce of his energy into staying calm. She also knew it was only a matter of time before his energy ran out.

She turned back to Leo. “Why are you doing this, Leo?” she whispered. “This isn’t you.”

He didn’t reply.

Tem thought about how Evelyn always pursed her lips during dinner whenever the topic of the bloodletting came up. At first, Tem thought it made her uncomfortable to talk about such unpleasant matters. But now she saw the truth: of course she wanted the steady supply of gold to continue. No doubt it was what she’d expected when she first returned to Leo. The royals were known for their wealth, after all. Leo’s recent financial change would have been a surprise to Evelyn, and not a pleasant one.

Leo looked at her finally, his jaw tight. “I just want peace.”

Tem let out a dull laugh. “Peace is not gained through bloodshed.”

Tem couldn’t believe this was happening. If she could put a face to the victims—if she could put her face to this horrible act—perhaps then finally Leo would understand what this would cost him. There would not be some anonymous basilisk in the dungeon, bleeding for the sake of the royals. It would be someone he cared about. It would be her.

“If you’re looking for volunteers,” she said through gritted teeth, “you have one. Me.”