Page 273 of Between Two Kings

Apollo’s voice grounded her. She ran through the passageway, following the screams to the courtyard. The sight before her immediately brought her back to the weasel attack. Bodies were strewn in piles, blood seeped over the floor. The room was littered with severed limbs; the Senecas were tearing the Drakons apart. Tem didn’t linger. She didn’t wait to see if she recognized anyone. Instead, she kept running, heading for the lake, not stopping no matter how deafening the noise became.

The caverns were utter chaos.

Tem saw the Senecas’ strategy immediately; they had corralled the remaining Drakons here, pushing their backs against the water so there was nowhere to run. Here, at the edge of Kora’s bathing place, battle raged. Some basilisks had transitioned, whereas others were still human. They collided in horrible tangles of scales and hands and teeth, ripping each other apart. Blood soaked the shores; Tem’s footsteps sank deep into the wet, glistening sand. It was impossible to move quickly but she attempted to anyway, keeping to the edge of the cavern and searching for Rowe. It did not take long to find him. She felt him before she saw him, his presence so powerful, it seemed to warp the air. He was still in his human form. Blood covered his bare chest, accumulating between his legs and dripping from his golden cock in a cruel imitation of cum. Chaos reigned around him, but he wasn’t fighting anyone. He was standing on the shore, waiting.

Waiting for her.

Tem pushed her way through the crowd, heading straight for him. The moment Rowe saw her, a knowing smile split his lips.

Temperance. How nice of you to join me.

Chapter Forty-Five

Tem pushed anyone in her way aside. When she reached Rowe, she stopped. He watched her hungrily, his eyes roaming over her body. She thought of the tournament, of the way he’d felt inside her. She was drawn to his cock even now. It was a thing of terrible power, and Tem stared at it as he stepped closer.

“I am surprised at you, Temperance.”

So they were doing small talk. Great.

“Why?”

“You are without your husband.”

It reminded her of what Apollo had once said: You are without your chaperone. Tem no longer needed a chaperone. Tem only needed herself.

“He’s on his way.”

“Is he? And what condition will he be in when he arrives?”

Tem pictured the wound on Caspen’s neck, how it reopened when Rowe siphoned from him. “You tell me.”

Rowe laughed. “There is much to take from him, Temperance. I have barely begun.”

Tem knew he wasn’t just referring to Caspen’s power. He wanted to take Tem too. “You’ll never have me,” she said.

“And why is that?”

“Because you do not deserve me.”

Rowe laughed again. “We do not live in a world where we get what we deserve. When you want something, you must take it.”

“And what do you want?”

They circled each other as if they were two children in a schoolyard about to fight. And were they not? Tem had a score to settle. And the time to do it was now.

“I want what is best for my people.”

Tem cast her gaze around the cavern, where basilisks were brawling and bleeding. “Is this what’s best for your people?”

“This is necessary.”

Tem shook her head. “No. It’s not.”

“This is war, Temperance. It will be worth it in the end.”

“Even if it means hurting your own kind?”

“It is not the first time I have hurt my own kind.”