Filed To Story: Between Two Kings: A Split or Swallow Book PDF Free
Enough, Tem. Caspen’s voice was tight. His anger matched hers.
I hate her.
She is not important enough to hate. Now that is enough.
Tem slumped in her seat. She felt suddenly exhausted, as if she’d just run a mile at full speed. Across from her, Leo seemed paler than usual. He really wasn’t looking well, she realized. The more she and Evelyn argued, the more it hurt Leo. Caspen was right. It was enough.
Thankfully, at that moment, the butler appeared with dessert. The final course was consumed in silence, all four of them staring down at their plates as they ate. Caspen barely touched his. Tem couldn’t blame him. This dinner had been, all things considered, an utter disaster. All she wanted was to leave the castle as quickly as possible.
But just as they were rising from their seats, Evelyn said, “Tem? Can we talk alone?”
Tem glanced immediately at Caspen, who stared blankly back at her.
“Uh. Why?”
Evelyn gave her that sugary sweet smile again. “I thought it would be nice to get to know each other.”
“Why?” Tem said again. After the dinner they’d just had, she knew plenty about Evelyn already. And none of it was remotely good.
Evelyn’s smile widened. There was no joy in it. “Because you and Leo were…close.”
Tem knew she’d purposefully chosen not to say the word “married.” Always diminishing. Always deflecting. “I see,” said Tem, even though she didn’t. She couldn’t think of a single rational reason why she and Evelyn should get to know each other. She’d rather hoped they would never have to speak again after tonight.
Tem looked at Leo, who was watching the two of them with his brow furrowed. Had he suggested this? Surely not. He couldn’t possibly want his former wife and his future wife to get to know each other. It defied logic.
“Perfect. Then it’s settled,” Evelyn said. “We’ll have some girl talk. Boys, will you excuse us?”
She didn’t wait for an answer. Tem didn’t have time to wonder what the men were supposed to do while left alone in the dining room before Evelyn turned on her heel and walked into the library. With one last desperate glance at Caspen, Tem followed, feeling as if she were walking toward her grave. The moment she entered the library, memories crashed over her like a wave. Leo sprawled in the leather armchair with lipstick on his neck, his hair mussed. The taste of whiskey when he’d kissed her. The hourglass was still sitting on the desk, the delicate flakes of gold piled in a mountain at the bottom. Did Evelyn have any idea what had happened in this room? So many lines had been crossed here-so many things had been said. This was where Tem had allowed herself to kiss Leo without thought of the consequences, where she’d indulged in him for the first time on her own terms. How things had changed.
“So,” said Evelyn as she sat in one of the leather chairs. “How are you feeling, Tem?”
Tem remained standing. And silent.
“Please.” Evelyn gestured. “Sit.”
It was the last thing Tem wanted to do. But she also didn’t want to prolong the evening, and she had a feeling Evelyn wouldn’t let her out of this room until she’d gotten what she wanted out of this conversation.
So Tem sat.
Evelyn leaned in. “I imagine you’re feeling quite overwhelmed.”
That was certainly one way to put it.
“I know
I’m feeling overwhelmed. There’s just so much happening with the wedding.”
The stupid wedding again. Tem resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She was beginning to get whiplash from the way Evelyn changed her personality. One moment she was cold and dismissive, the next she was fostering a false sense of intimacy with her “girl talk.” Tem hated it.
“Besides,” Evelyn continued. “I’m dying to know more about you. Leo’s so secretive. I thought I’d go right to the source.”
Now Tem was beyond confused. Leo, secretive? He was anything but. He wore his emotions on his sleeve, to the point of inconvenience. There was nobody in the world who was easier to read than Leo.
“Well…what do you want to know?” Tem asked. She had no idea where this conversation was going and was starting to wish she’d never allowed herself to be dragged in here. She could have resisted-she could have screamed. How could Caspen let this happen? Or worse, Leo? They were both at fault. She would reprimand them later.
Evelyn leaned forward. “Did you love him?”
Kora. That was certainly getting straight to the point.
Tem noticed how Evelyn used the past tense-how she didn’t ask do you love him? It was an interesting distinction, and one that framed Tem’s relationship as something of the past no matter which way Tem answered. She decided to simply respond with the truth: “Yes.”
Evelyn’s eyes narrowed. “How long?”
“Excuse me?”
“How long did you love him for?”
That was a trickier question to answer. It implied there was an end to her love. But the truth was that Tem still loved Leo. She always would. “Why do you want to know that?”
Evelyn shrugged in an attempt at nonchalance, but the gesture came off stilted. “I’m just interested in your history.”
“Our history shouldn’t matter to you.”
Tem’s tone was a little harsher than she intended. But it was true-
Evelyn’s history with Leo was far more impactful than Tem’s. Of the two of them, Evelyn was the one who had deeper roots with the current king. Tem should be curious about her, not the other way around. And yet Tem found that she didn’t want to know anything about their history. She’d much rather pretend they didn’t have one. That, at least, was easier than picturing the two of them together.
“Of course it matters,” Evelyn said. “You were important to him.”
Again, past tense. Tem couldn’t know for sure, but she would bet everything she owned that she was still important to Leo. He was still important to her.
But enough was enough. Tem didn’t owe Evelyn any details about her feelings for Leo, past or present. Evelyn was not in charge of this conversation just because they were in her home. Tem decided to take matters into her own hands.
“Where did you go?”
Evelyn crossed her arms defensively. “When?”
“When you decided to leave Leo.”
Tem could play with language too. She was purposefully framing Evelyn’s actions as her own choice, not one that was influenced by some letter.
“I went to a neighboring village.”
Tem frowned. The closest village was less than a day’s journey away. She couldn’t believe Evelyn had been so near yet hadn’t been tempted to return.
“And yet you never came back? Not even once, just to see him?”
Evelyn’s eyes narrowed. “I thought Leo wanted me to stay away.”
This again. But Tem was done believing it. “But surely you would’ve tried to return at least once, just for a chance to change his mind, to ask him if he was really sure?”
Evelyn shrugged. “I didn’t want to risk it.”
“No? I would’ve.”
A testy silence fell. Then Evelyn said, “The letter was quite convincing.”
“And yet you destroyed it.”
“It was a painful memory for me.”