Filed To Story: Between Two Kings: A Split or Swallow Book PDF Free
Apollo was inside her mind, and she could feel his reaction. Unlike the amusement or even cruelty she expected, he felt only gentle sympathy and great understanding.
Do you wish for me to help you?
I don’t need your help.
You cannot access your power. I can access it for you, if you wish. Do I have your permission to do so? He was asking to do the same thing Caspen had done many times over.
Fine. Do it.
With pleasure.
Tem gasped as Apollo’s presence sharpened, his grip on her-both mental and physical-tightening mercilessly. A great pulling sensation began to form in her chest. It was a familiar feeling; she’d felt it before with Caspen. But this time, Tem was resisting. She couldn’t help it. She didn’t want Apollo to see her like this, struggling and incapable, like a child in need of assistance.
His voice bloomed in her mind: Relax.
I’m trying.
Not very hard, apparently.
You said you would help me.
I cannot help you unless you relax.
His reprimand was so familiar, she flashed immediately back to her training with
Caspen. The brothers had the same way of speaking-calmly, with little inflection, as if what was happening was of no concern to them. Tem had always been the opposite: impatient, restless, fallible. There never seemed to be enough time to do what she wanted to do, to learn what she wanted to learn.
Let me help you, Temperance.
It was the last thing she wanted to do. But Tem was at Apollo’s mercy. She couldn’t achieve this alone. Finally, Tem relaxed. She gave herself over to him, allowing Apollo to do what only Caspen had done, letting him all the way into her mind so he could join it with his. An unmistakable yank tore into the center of her chest, as if Apollo were taking something solid from her. It was not unlike how she’d felt just minutes ago when he’d taught her how to warm herself. But instead of directing her blood, he was directing her power, and finally, she transitioned.
Tem sighed with relief as her basilisk side emerged, clawing its way to the surface until it engulfed first her mind, then her body. Everything was lighter. Everything was better. She hadn’t transitioned in so long-it was nothing short of bliss to wear her true form once more.
Open your eyes.
Tem did so.
Seeing through a snake’s eyes was a singular experience. Certain things stood out: the jerky movements of the chickens, the weak pulse beating at the man’s neck. Other things fell to the wayside, like color. Everything was in shades of bluish green; the sun looked as if it were rising underwater. Tem turned her head to look at Apollo. It was the first time she’d seen him in his true form, and he was infuriatingly beautiful. His scales were darker than Caspen’s, laced with veins of deep blue that reflected the deepening dawn. Apollo looked at her too, and she found herself hoping he liked what he saw. Faint amusement passed from his mind to hers, and she knew that he did.
Then Apollo said,
Are you ready?
Yes.
Together, they moved past the wall.
Their transition had been silent, and the man still hadn’t looked up. Apollo released a vibration as they approached, a predator’s call. The man would sense it, just as any human could sense when someone was standing behind them. Sure enough, as soon as they were close, he turned. The man’s eyes widened. They were clouded with white-he was nearly blind-yet the fear in them was unmistakable. Beside her, Tem could feel something happening. Apollo was gathering energy, crystallizing his strength into a single beam of light.
Focus on his heart.
Tem did as he said, focused on the man’s heart, which was hammering. She felt as if she were in a trance. There was so much happening, yet also nothing at all. The man wasn’t running-he was simply standing there, frozen, an open and willing target. They had all the time in the world to do this, yet time no longer functioned as it should.
What now?
Now we take.
He didn’t specify what they were taking. He didn’t have to.
Apollo’s body rippled, then went taut. Tem mimicked the motion, bracing herself for an exertion of force. Instead, his mind cradled hers.
Take, Apollo said again.
Tem felt for the man’s heart, concentrating on its erratic beat, her eyes boring into his. The predator in her recognized that she had won-that her prey was cornered and the man had already surrendered. It was time, at last, to take.
Good, Temperance. Keep going.
Tem kept going, pulling the man’s life force toward her, watching it seep out of him like water from a sponge. Petrification was not immediate, as Tem thought it might be. Instead, rigidity crept slowly over the farmer, hardening first his gnarled fingertips before moving to his wrists and disappearing into the sleeves of his jacket. He didn’t seem to be in pain, and Tem remembered how Apollo didn’t know whether it hurt them. She dearly hoped it didn’t.
Blood calcified. Skin became stone.
The last thing to turn were his eyes. She watched as his white, milky pupils turned gray. The moment it was done, a great surge of power slammed into her. It was too much for one person to take; she was crushed beneath its weight.
Apollo’s voice came to her:
Control it, Temperance.
But Tem could barely stay upright. She was not used to being in her true form; she had no control as a serpent. Her skin crawled with a thousand spiders, her entire spine twisted and jerked. Apollo was beside her instantly, pulling her back over the wall. The moment Tem fully returned to her human form, she cried out. Her face was flushed, her nipples peaked. Tem knew without touching herself that she was wet between her legs. The sensation was debilitating-pulsing currents of electricity shot through her center, turning her on to the point of pain.
“Why-” she stammered, trying to catch her breath. “Why do I feel so-?”
“Aroused?” Apollo was also returning to his human form. He was breathing just as hard as she was, a light sheen of sweat glistening over his chest.
“Yes,” Tem gasped. She was so aroused. Desire tore at her like a feral beast, clenching deep into her core. Stars danced in her vision. Apollo’s proximity wasn’t helping; she could hear every drop of blood rushing to his cock, hardening it. Tem’s lungs contracted rapidly, her breath coming in desperate gasps. “Apollo, what’s happening to me?”
His hands were on her waist, holding her upright. “You are feeling the effects of petrification. It requires an extraordinary amount of power to take a life. Power is an aphrodisiac to basilisks.”
“But why?”
“How should I know? It is simply the way we are built.”
We. Tem was one of them-now more than ever.
And as one of them, she was deeply affected by what had just happened. Her entire body felt warm and pliable, as if she’d just stretched it vigorously. She desperately wanted to have sex.
Needed to have sex. She was so turned on, she was having trouble thinking straight, and in the suffocating blur of desire, she placed her palm flat on Apollo’s chest. At the contact, his eyebrows shot straight up. For a split second, neither of them moved. Then he placed his hand over hers, holding them together.
Is there something on your mind, Temperance?
Tem glared up at him. He knew perfectly well what was on her mind. He was inside her mind, for Kora’s sake.
Would you prefer I was inside your cunt?
Tem blushed.
She shouldn’t prefer that. Yet she didn’t try to pull away-didn’t make a single effort to release herself from his grasp. Instead, she studied the way the rising sunlight hit the slope of Apollo’s shoulders, bathing him in a warm orange glow. He was looking at her calmly, his cock completely hard, pressing against her thighs.
“Shall we?” he asked.
“Shall we what?”