Page 195 of Between Two Kings

Tem smacked his shoulder. “Stop that.”

Both brothers laughed. Thankfully, at that moment, Adelaide appeared.

“Temperance,” she said. “There is someone here for you.”

Tem was already sitting next to the only two people who were here for her.

“Who?”

In reply, Adelaide simply pointed.

“Gabriel?”

Chapter Thirty-Three

He was running toward her, his curls bouncing.

“My dearest Tem.” He threw his arms around her, lifting her from the bench and spinning her in the air. “You didn’t think I’d miss a sex tournament, did you?”

Tem rolled her eyes against his chest. It felt so good to be held.

When they pulled apart, he kissed her on the cheek, and Tem couldn’t stop smiling. Gabriel was here. She had a friend. She was not alone.

Tem looked at Caspen. “Can he be here?”

“He can.”

“Will he be safe?”

“Yes.”

“How do you know?”

Caspen smiled. “There will be no fighting tonight, Tem. The tournament is a chance for the quivers to get along. It is a sign of good faith—to show their support for the process.”

Tem shook her head. Of all the things she’d learned about basilisk culture, this had to be one of the strangest. She couldn’t imagine how the tournament could possibly bring people together when it was so clearly designed to divide.

At the look on her face, Caspen smiled. “You still have much to learn.”

It was all he said, and it was very much true.

“Speaking of learning,” Gabriel crooned, turning to Apollo. “Who’s this?”

Before Tem could answer, Apollo extended his hand to Gabriel, who shook it with enthusiasm.

“I am Apollo,” he said. “Caspenon’s brother.”

“Brother? I must say I’m rather fond of the brothers in this family.” He glanced over his shoulder, where Damon was watching them with a smile on his face. “Good genetics.”

He winked at Apollo, who let out a bewildered laugh. Tem couldn’t help but laugh too. Basilisks, with all their life experience, were somehow never prepared for Gabriel.

Suddenly, a scuffle broke out at one of the tables. A group of basilisks were arguing over what looked like a large stone basin, which was filled with scraps of paper. Tem turned immediately to Caspen.

“You said he would be safe tonight.”

“He is, Tem. They are not fighting, I promise you. They are only taking bets.”

“Taking bets on what?”