Filed To Story: Spit or Swallow: Kiss Of The Basilisk
“It is our job to prepare you for that honor.” His eyes flicked over them, and Tem flinched when they landed on her. “Proceed to your caves.”
Nobody moved.
How were they supposed to know which cave was theirs? They awaited further instruction, but the basilisk didn’t speak again. To Tem’s satisfaction, even Vera looked nervous.
Suddenly, the girl in front of her gave a short, garbled scream before turning and running back toward the wall. She disappeared through the door a moment later.
One down, thirteen to go.
Somehow, the deserter gave Tem strength. She was no coward; she would not run. She had come here to make her mother proud and, more importantly, to make herself proud. She may not care about the prince, but she did care about a life beyond the chicken coop. She owed it to herself to find it.
Before she could talk herself out of it, Tem stepped forward.
Everyone looked at her, but she ignored them. Instead she concentrated on the caves, staring at each of them in turn. Fourteen caves. Fourteen basilisks. It was no use. She closed her eyes. The second she did so, something came to her, unbidden. The sensation was like a light in the darkness, calling to her. She moved to follow it, walking toward the farthest cave, feeling a shadow of what she had felt in the dream-a soothing warmth that drew her in. She knew, somehow, that she was heading in the right direction.
She didn’t see whether the other girls followed her lead. Instead she clambered over the rocks to reach the entrance of the cave before slipping into the pitch-black. It was warm. Almost uncomfortably so. It took her eyes a moment to adjust, but once they did, she saw there was a dim light in the distance. She walked toward it, eventually finding herself in a room lit by firelight.
In front of her stood her basilisk.
He wasn’t at all what she had pictured.
Somehow, in her imagination, he never had a face. Tem’s version of the basilisk was always mysterious-a featureless creature with nothing distinguishable about it, a blank canvas that couldn’t be identified as anything remotely close to human. But the real thing was completely different. The real thing looked like the most searingly attractive man Tem had ever seen. He was an amalgamation of every feature she’d ever found beautiful-so much so that Tem wondered briefly whether it was on purpose. Basilisks were known for their powers of seduction after all. Had he tailored himself to look like this knowing it would appeal to her?
He was tall-so much taller than her-with broad, proud shoulders and rigid posture. The firelight flickering over his face accentuated his features, which were a mesmerizing sculpture of sharp, unforgiving angles that made him seem like he was carved from stone. His dark hair was longer than the current style, but somehow it suited him. He was wearing a light linen shirt and trousers, both of which did absolutely nothing to hide the hard outline of his body. Warmth. It was all she felt.
When the basilisk stepped forward, Tem’s mind went completely blank.
“What is your name?” he asked, his voice a deep, glowing murmur.
Tem’s voice seemed to have stopped working. “Temperance,” she managed to whisper. “But I go by Tem.”
There was a fireplace set into the stone wall, its flames reflecting in his golden eyes. Eyes that, if he were wearing his true form, she knew would kill her. The basilisk tilted his head, appraising her. His gaze made her feel so exposed.
“My name is Caspenon. But I go by Caspen.”
“Caspen,” she repeated, his name a rock in her throat.
There was a long silence, and in it, he studied her. Tem had a sudden fear that he would reject her right then. Was it possible to be expelled from the training before it even began? She had never heard of that happening, but she wouldn’t be surprised if it happened to her. Before she could truly panic, he spoke again.
“You are afraid,” he said.
Tem nodded, because of course it was the truth. He stepped closer, and her throat closed completely.
“There is no need to be afraid of me.”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
His head tilted the other direction. “Then what are you afraid of?”
Tem didn’t know how to put it into words. So she simply said, “Failing.”
The basilisk frowned. “At what?”
“At…” she started but didn’t know how to finish.
“Sex,” he finished for her.
Tem wasn’t used to that word-her mother certainly never said it out loud, and Vera always called it making love, which was objectively atrocious. Tem herself had never heard it from a man’s mouth. Whenever she had been taught about the training in school, the lessons were taught by women. But those lessons were years ago now, and Tem rather wished she’d paid more attention during them.
“I suppose,” she whispered.
“Do you consider me an incapable teacher?” the basilisk asked.
“I don’t know the first thing about you.”
Caspen smiled a little at that. Something inside her untangled.
“The princes have chosen my students for generations. Rest assured, I will not allow you to fail.”
Tem’s mouth dropped open at the revelation. If what he said was true, it meant that Caspen was the Serpent King: the legendary basilisk whose power was far superior to all the others. His reputation was exemplary in the village; people talked about him like he was a god. Tem had the most coveted teacher.
Rather than easing her mind, this information did the exact opposite. Now she felt even more pressure than before. If she failed to win the prince despite being trained by the Serpent King, it would be beyond humiliating. Her mother would never forgive her.
Caspen was still considering her. “You do not seem desperate to be here,” he said presently. His wording was odd. Desperate?
Tem frowned. “Should I be?”
Caspen shrugged. “Most girls are. It is an honor to be chosen by the prince. An even higher honor to eventually be crowned queen. Do you not desire those things?”
Tem thought about the question. Her mother certainly desired those things. It was the pinnacle of societal achievement and the ultimate way to transcend their simple life on the farm. She knew how badly her mother wanted her to succeed-needed her to succeed. But the truth was that it wasn’t Tem’s desire. She stood no chance with the prince. Schoolyard bullies had drilled that into her every single day since she was old enough to comprehend her place in the village hierarchy. So was she desperate to be here?
Tem found that she was.
Perhaps she wasn’t desperate in the way the other girls were-perhaps she didn’t crave the crown as Vera did-but she was desperate to be here in her own way. She wanted nothing more than to know what all the fuss was about-to touch a man and to have him touch her, to desire and be desired. The basilisk’s voice cut through her thoughts.
“You are free to leave at any time.”
Tem snorted and immediately regretted it.
Caspen seemed amused by her reaction. “Do you not believe me?”
“I’m not exactly in a position to leave.”
He cocked his head. “It is not possible to effectively teach an unwilling student.”
Tem supposed that was true.
“Has anyone ever left the training?” she asked.
“Once,” Caspen said. For some reason, it looked like it pained him to say it. A second later, the discomfort vanished. “But she was not my student.”
Tem considered that. If it was true, it was unheard of. The training was portrayed as an honor for any girl born in the same year as the prince. Tem wondered why this particular information had been left out of the school curriculum. She thought of the girl who had sprinted back behind the wall and wondered if she would one day regret it.
“Well,” Tem said, jutting her lip. “I’m not leaving.”
Caspen’s mouth twitched once more in amusement. He stepped closer, and every single cell inside Tem lit on fire.
“Tell me, Tem. Have you ever been kissed?”
Tem blushed. She’d never even come close to being kissed. She realized suddenly that she might have asked Gabriel to kiss her. He was her best friend-surely he would’ve kissed her, especially if he knew it would have settled her nerves. But it was far too late for that now. Now she was standing in front of Caspen, the Serpent King, and he expected her to be so much more than she was.