Page 94 of Between Two Kings

Tem reached for him, brushing a lock from his forehead. “I can’t lose you, Gabriel.”

He placed his hand over hers, holding her palm to his face. “You’ll never lose me, dearest. But you can’t stay.”

Tem opened her mouth to argue again, but at that exact moment, a cry came from the square. Gabriel’s head snapped up.

“No,” Tem said, twisting her hands in his jacket. “Gabriel, whatever you do, don’t—”

But he was already running. Tem ran after him but it was no use; he was far faster than her, and he always had been.

By the time she reached the square, the church was already burning.

Guards sprinted from the steps, dispersing into the crowd as the flames grew. Batons swung. Fists flew. Tem was rooted in place, unable to move, staring in disbelief as pandemonium ensued. She’d already lost track of Gabriel. Was he near the church, feeding the fire? Was he in the crowd, in danger of getting trampled?

The villagers were screaming. Smoke billowed in the air, thick and acrid. It choked her throat and seared her lungs, forcing tears to her eyes. She had to find Gabriel.

Tem pushed into the crowd, dodging flailing limbs.

Cries of grief filled the air—whether over the church or the injured, Tem didn’t know. Ash fell on the town square, dusting everything in a layer of gray, including the tiny paper moons. The guards were beating people she’d known her entire life—innocent people—until they bled. Tem was finding it difficult to breathe. This was wrong. So wrong.

She groped for Caspen with her mind, but their connection was closed. Panic rose in her chest. Without thinking, she searched for someone else.

He answered immediately: Temperance? What is the matter?

I need Caspen. Where is he?

Apollo’s presence loomed larger. He is hunting. Are you hurt?

No. Not…really.

Where are you?

The village. But I—

Then she saw it: Golden-brown hair. Gabriel.

Tem slammed her connection with Apollo shut, running forward with her hands outstretched. He was bleeding.

“You’re hurt,” she cried, reaching for him.

Gabriel scooped her into his arms, pulling her away from the crowd. The church was ablaze behind them, the flames swallowing everything in its path.

“I’m fine,” he panted, still hauling her along. “But we have to get out of here.”

“Gabriel, what did you—”

Her words were cut off by the loudest sound Tem had ever heard. Gabriel pulled her immediately to the ground, throwing his body over hers as the cobblestones rattled and rubble rained down over them. Tem knew without looking that the church would be gone, that the damage from the explosion would be devastating—that things would never be the same.

As quickly as Gabriel had pulled her down, he yanked her back up, sprinting down alleyways with intuitive direction, only stopping once they reached the edge of the village. The screams were muted from here. But Tem could still see the blaze, a huge column of black smoke disappearing into the night sky.

“How could you do this?” she cried. “The church?”

Gabriel was out of breath, his curls stuck to his forehead with sweat. “It’s just a building, Tem.”

“But it’s…it’s…it’s Kora’s home—”

“We don’t need a church to pay our respects to Kora. What we needed was to send a message.”

Tem was speechless. They’d sent a message, all right. That they were willing to fight. “People got hurt, Gabriel. The crowd—”