Page 4 of Between Two Kings

“Are you?”

Leo’s gaze was unwavering. The intense eye contact was beginning to test her. She wanted to cross to him, to cup his chin in her hand, and pull his face to hers. She balled her hands into fists, resisting the urge.

“Happiness is an indulgence,” he whispered.

Tem had no idea what to make of that answer. Was he saying that he wasn’t happy? Or that he was, but it had cost him something to become so? She didn’t know, and she couldn’t fathom asking. Instead, she asked the thing she’d come here to find out: “Did you find her?”

Tem expected an immediate response, but none came. It was a simple question. She already knew the answer. Still, she needed to know for sure—needed to hear him say it.

“Yes.” His voice was tight when he said it.

Tem nodded. She could think of nothing else to do. On the one hand, she was glad Leo had found Evelyn. That’s what she’d ordered him to do, after all. On the other hand, she felt a wave of jealousy so severe, it nearly ripped her breath from her chest. A thousand terrible images flashed through her mind: Leo touching Evelyn, kissing her, saying her name instead of Tem’s. It was revolting.

There was only one more thing she wanted to say to Leo—one thing that weighed heavily on her heart. Tem knew she shouldn’t say it—had no right to say it. But she needed him to know it anyway. “I miss you.”

Leo’s eyes narrowed. There was no mistaking the desire in them—pure, animalistic craving that matched the craving in her. But pain flashed across his face, and Tem immediately regretted her words. She hadn’t wanted to hurt him.

Leo opened his mouth, then closed it. Not for the first time, Tem wished she could read his mind the way she read Caspen’s. Instead she could do nothing but wait—and pray. She was helpless, as she always was with Leo.

It seemed like an hour went by before he said, “That will pass.”

Something inside Tem wilted. This was a version of Leo that she wasn’t used to—a version that was distant and cold. She understood it. But she hated it.

Leo crossed his arms, cutting himself off from her. “So, shall we get on with it?”

“Get on with…?”

“The annulment.”

So that was why she was here. Tem should have expected this, should have known that after Leo found Evelyn, the next logical step would be to marry her. But she couldn’t bring herself to speak. So she simply nodded.

Leo cleared his throat and gestured at the door. “After you.”

Every step toward him felt like it was taken underwater. Tem moved as if in slow motion, sensing every rise and fall of his chest—every twitch of his pulse. She could hear his heart rate speed up as she got closer, her basilisk side wide-awake and wanting. The moment she smelled his cologne, her nostrils flared, and she stopped. He smelled like summer—like a warm breeze over an open field. But there was another scent mixed with his. Sickly sweet, like vanilla. The whiskey turned in her stomach. It was her. Tem was sure of it.

She was still frozen in place.

Leo stared at her, his posture stiff and guarded. “Tem…?”

At the sound of her name, she looked up into his slate-gray eyes. He was so close. They were breathing the same air, their faces inches apart. Was she imagining it? Was he leaning in?

“Your Majesty? Are you ready?” Lord Chamberlain stood in the doorway.

Leo snapped immediately out of it, shaking his head as he turned toward his uncle. “Yes. We’re ready.”

Tem resented his use of the word we.

“The annulment must be administered by the former king, as he was the one who married you.” Lord Chamberlain gestured with his hand. “If you will both follow me.”

Tem’s steps synched with Leo’s as they descended the stairs to the dungeon.

She stared straight ahead, her eyes locked on the back of Lord Chamberlain’s head, acutely aware of Leo beside her. His hand was almost brushing hers. Should she touch him? Better not. If she touched him, she wouldn’t be able to stop.

By the time they reached the door to the dungeon, Tem was stiff with cold. It was freezing down here—far colder than she remembered. Everything in her wanted to shift closer to Leo, to drape herself against him and feel his warmth. It was a carnal need, one that took all her strength to resist. Lord Chamberlain was fiddling with the door; it appeared to be stuck. Tem tried desperately to concentrate on anything other than the heat emanating from Leo’s body, but it was impossible. Her basilisk side clawed for dominance, forcing her to listen to her instincts. It was no use. She had to touch him.

Against all logic and will, Tem extended her hand toward Leo’s. Her mind screamed at her to stop. But her body moved of its own accord, brushing just the tip of her pinkie finger against Leo’s. The moment their skin touched, Leo froze. Electricity exploded across her skin. A barrage of memories flooded her mind so forcefully that she bit her lip to keep from crying out.

They were in his bed, naked, the night before their wedding.