Filed To Story: Between Two Kings: A Split or Swallow Book PDF Free
It was a tempting offer. An extremely tempting offer. “I want Caspen to teach me.”
“I know you want that. But he will not.”
She shook her head. “He will.”
“No, he will not.”
When Tem didn’t reply, Apollo leaned in. Her breath caught in her throat.
“If you think he will change his mind, you are wrong,” he murmured. “My brother never changes his mind.”
Tem shrugged. “I’ll convince him.”
No part of her believed it. But she said it anyway.
Apollo scoffed quietly. “If you say so.”
A pause. Tem was still staring pointedly at his chest. Apollo raised a single finger, placing it underneath her chin and tilting her face up to his.
“If you cannot convince him, you know where to find me.”
Tem just shook her head. Apollo held her gaze for a long moment before dropping his hand. They walked back to the caves in silence, parting in the passageway without so much as a word. Tem fell asleep alone. When she woke, Caspen’s arms were around her.
“Caspen,” she said immediately, shaking him awake.
“Tem,” he murmured into her hair. “It is early.”
“I don’t care. We need to talk.”
At her tone, Caspen propped himself up on his elbow to look at her with a concerned frown. “What is it, my love?”
“Where were you last night?”
“I was hunting.”
Of course he was. “You’re always hunting.”
“Because I need to eat.”
“I want to go with you.”
“There is no point.”
Tem froze. His words felt like a slap. She slumped back on the bed. “I see,” she whispered.
Caspen pursed his lips. “Tem,” he said quietly. “I should not have said that.”
“But it’s true.”
He didn’t reply. Of course it was true. Caspen needed to transition in order to hunt, and Tem had hardly been able to transition at all, even with his help. She was becoming a burden to him. He was right; there was no point in her coming.
“It is only true if you let it be.”
“What are you saying?”
“I am saying that you are distracted. And you are not applying yourself.”
Resentment tore into her like a thorn. Caspen was no longer her teacher; he had no right to speak to her like that. Against her will, Tem felt the delicate thread that drew her to Caspen tremble. He had been gone a lot lately. He knew it, and she knew it too. Tem tried not to mind, but she did. And his absence had only left her more willing to look for comfort elsewhere. It was killing her, being alone with nothing but her thoughts.
“I needed you last night,” she whispered.
Caspen frowned. “I thought you went to the village for the full moon.”
“I did, but then something happened.”
His grip tightened. “What happened?”
For some reason, Tem hesitated. She couldn’t seem to talk about the church. If she said it out loud, somehow that made it real.
“Gabriel got hurt,” she said instead.
Caspen said nothing. He didn’t care if humans got hurt-he’d made that clear. But he’d also promised to protect Gabriel, and he was breaking that promise right now.
“I told you the villagers were angry,” she insisted.
“What do you wish for me to say, Tem? There is nothing to be done.”
“There’s always something to be done.”
Caspen just shook his head. What would it take to convince him that this was his problem too? What line had to be crossed in order for him to care? Would it take his own people getting hurt? That line was too far for Tem. She needed him to understand this now.
“I told you it would get worse.”
“The villagers are none of my concern.”
“They are my concern,” Tem nearly shouted.
Caspen sat up. Tem did too.
His dark eyes were on hers, deep and knowing. He touched his fingertips to her hip, brushing them up her waist, over her breast, and along the column of her neck. They rested beneath her chin, tilting her head up to his.
“You are my only concern, Tem.”
Tem wished she believed him. But Caspen didn’t seem very concerned with her at all. He’d gone hunting without her last night, and now he was dismissing her. Even Apollo had been more attentive than this.
“If I am your concern, then you should listen to what I’m telling you.”
Caspen sighed. His fingers traced her lips. His eyes were black; she knew he wanted her. But she would not be distracted by seduction.
“We need to do something about it,” she said. “And soon.”
“What would you have me do, Tem?”
For some reason, Tem thought of her conversation at the Horseman, how Gabriel had delighted at the idea of sex parties. An wild idea occurred to her, and spoke it aloud before she had a chance to overthink it: “What if Gabriel came here?”
Caspen blinked. “Why would he want to come here?”
“So he could…I don’t know…see how we live.”
Tem was grasping at straws. She was desperate. But how else could she humanize the basilisks in Gabriel’s eyes? He’d expressed interest in coming here in the past. What if he actually did it-what if he saw that the snakes he hated so much acted just like him? If Gabriel came here and integrated with the basilisks for a night, he might understand that their lives were just as worthy as his. Gabriel held significant sway with the villagers. If Tem was able to evoke some empathy in him, perhaps she could put a stop to this. The stakes were too high not to try.