Filed To Story: Between Two Kings: A Split or Swallow Book PDF Free
“He’s the head of the rebellion, Caspen,” she said quietly. “If we can get him on our side, it would help. It could change everything.”
Caspen turned to the fire. Tem brushed her fingers along his shoulders gently, savoring the hard muscle beneath his skin. Even now, when they were talking about something serious, she wanted him. She would always want him.
“It is a risk, Tem. One I am surprised you are willing to take.”
To be honest, Tem was surprised too. But something in her gut told her that it would be fine-that
Gabriel would be fine. He was open-minded. He did not harbor deep resentment against the basilisks the way Jeremy, Jonathan’s brother, did. The basilisks had not wronged him directly, and yet he led the charge against them. That meant there was still a chance to sway him. It meant there was hope.
“He’s my friend,” Tem said quietly. “I know he’ll see the best in us.”
Caspen sighed. “It is dangerous for humans to come here, Tem. Someone may crest him.”
“Can’t I give him my venom?”
“You can,” Caspen said slowly. “But anyone could still petrify him.”
“Isn’t there some way to protect him from that?”
There was always a loophole, always a way to bend the rules. But Caspen shook his head. Tem knew she was requesting too much of him-searching for exceptions and miracles.
“No. It is permanent.”
“I don’t mean a way to reverse it. Isn’t there some way to prevent it in the first place?”
“Not that I know of. It is our most ancient weapon. We are not immune to it ourselves.”
Tem thought about how the villagers had won the war with mirrored shields. If basilisks themselves could be petrified by their own gaze, there was no hope of protecting Gabriel.
“He wouldn’t be coming here as an enemy, Caspen. It would be a way for him to experience what I’ve experienced, a way for him to see the good.”
“Are you willing to put his life in danger for that?”
Tem paused before answering quietly, “His life isn’t the only one in danger.”
There was no other way to say it, no other way to convince him that this was about so much more than just Gabriel seeing how the basilisks lived. The burning church flashed through her mind. This was only the beginning. Tem was sure of it.
She thought of the last thing she’d said to Gabriel, in the cold and windy alley:
When will it be enough?
When they give back what they took from us.
But what had been taken? Did Gabriel mean the food the villagers had lost since the bloodletting stopped? Or did he mean something deeper-the lives of Jonathan and Christopher, something that couldn’t be given back? Either way, they had to try.
“I don’t know what else to do,” Tem whispered.
Caspen took a deep breath, turning to look at her. “If your friend gets hurt, you will never forgive me.”
Tem frowned. Is that what this was about? Was Caspen worried about the effect this could have on their relationship if things went badly? It was a worry Tem did not share. She knew Caspen would never let any harm befall Gabriel. Even if he didn’t agree with him coming here, he had agreed to protect the people she cared about.
“What if this is our only hope?”
Caspen shook his head. “This is hardly hope. It is delusion.”
His words stung. But Tem understood them. “Caspen,” she murmured. “It will only get worse-all of it. If we don’t try to make peace with the villagers, there could be another war.”
He snorted. “We are far from another war, Tem.”
A few months ago, she might have believed him. But the desecration of the church was an act so extreme, she didn’t know what the villagers might do next. “I’m being serious,” Tem insisted. “If he came here, he would love it. I know he would.”
“I cannot guarantee his safety, Tem.”
“But can’t you…I don’t know…call a council meeting or something? They could guarantee his safety, couldn’t they?”
For some reason, Caspen went very still. He looked at her for a long time, so long she became nervous beneath his gaze.
“What is it?” she insisted.
“There is no need for a council meeting,” he said quietly.
“Why not?”
His next words were steady and low, as if they required great control to say them. “Because you are a Hybreed. If you wish to bring your friend here, you do not require their permission. You do not require anyone’s.”
Tem stared at him in shock. The fact that she could bypass the council was news to her. It was also…terrifying. If Tem could bypass the council, could she bypass Caspen? If so, this entire conversation was a formality. Tem’s choice, not Caspen’s, would be final.
Caspen continued quietly, “It is your decision, Tem. I will not stop you. But if it goes badly, you must live with the consequences.”
Things were already going badly. There were already consequences.
The snakes are next.
Tem had no idea what the villagers would do next, but she knew it would be terrible. And whether it was against the royals or against the basilisks, she had to try to stop it.
Tem spent the rest of the day deep in thought. To bring Gabriel here would be to take a wild chance-one that could end in death and disaster. But the situation with the villagers was deteriorating quickly. She could think of nothing else to do-no other solution to an impossible problem. Without some other way for the royals to make money, the villages would not be fed and the riots would only get worse. And if they got worse, it was only a matter of time before they became deadly. Bringing Gabriel here might not even be enough to stop the tidal wave that was building. But it was worth a try for a world in which the humans and the basilisks lived in peace.
There was so much that the humans could learn from the basilisks, and vice versa. Surely if the two sides could coexist within Tem-ceding and wielding power in tandem-they could coexist in real life.
Too soon, it was Sunday.
A carriage arrived to take them to the castle, as always. Caspen’s hand was on her knee the entire time. He’d been holding her close the past few days: hunting less, listening more. Tem wondered why. Was it because he sensed the distance between them and wished to prevent it? Or was it because of what he’d told her-that she was powerful-and he wanted to keep that power close? Either way, Tem liked it. She felt more connected to him than she had in days.
They entered the castle hand in hand. But for the first time, no one was there to greet them. No butler, no Leo, no Evelyn. Tem didn’t know what to make of it.
“Where is everyone?” she whispered.
Caspen shrugged. “Perhaps they are running late.”
“To their own dinner? In their own home?”
In response, Caspen pulled her against him. His mind beckoned to hers.
And how shall we fill the time? His fingers were already on trailing down her waist.
Tem swatted him away. “Are you serious? Someone might see us.”
“Let them watch.”
“Caspen,” she gasped as he wrapped one hand around her thigh, pulling her legs apart and coaxing his knee between them. His other hand dipped into the slit of her dress. “We should go somewhere-the parlor-“