Filed To Story: Between Two Kings: A Split or Swallow Book PDF Free
“Stop me from doing what? From creating a better world-one where power is taken instead of given? A world with one quiver, the superior quiver?”
Tem shook her head. Mass death was not the solution. Wiping out one quiver was not going to solve any problems, only delay them. Tem couldn’t predict the future, could not know what the world would be like tomorrow morning. But it would be a world without Rowe.
Without further ado, she lunged.
By the time she reached him, Tem had transitioned. It came easily to her now; there was no more barrier, no obstruction. Now it was as simple as taking a breath of air. Rowe transitioned too, gold spreading from his cock to sheath the rest of his body in gleaming metal scales. Tem barely managed to dodge his gaping mouth as he surged at her with terrifying swiftness. She had very little experience in her true form, and Rowe had had centuries. But Tem was also a Hybreed. And she was not so easily deterred.
Tem lunged at him again, this time from the side. She threw her mouth open, scraping her fangs along his golden scales. Immediately, her skull rattled. The metal was hard and fortified with magic. She could not penetrate it.
Now, now, Temperance. You did not think it would be so easy, did you?
Tem ignored him.
You cannot hurt me, foolish girl. I am beyond pain.
Rowe was right. Nothing could hurt him. Power emanated off him in waves, destroying everything in his path. Whenever another basilisk happened to come into his orbit, he tore their head from their shoulders so quickly Tem almost didn’t notice until they fell, headless, to the ground. He was possessed with deadly power-he was an anomaly. Tem threw herself against him with renewed vigor, doing everything she could to catch him off guard. But Tem was not used to this form-she was not used to being this size or this shape.
And then he had her.
Rowe pulled her down onto the sand, wrapping his body around hers, crushing her with his horrible weight. Too late, Tem realized she was trapped. Rowe’s head was an inch from hers, his fangs fully bared. Saliva dripped from his open mouth as he berated her with his mind.
How dare you challenge me? I will kill you. And then I will kill Caspenon. And then I will kill everyone you have ever loved, including your little prince.
He’s a king.
Rowe laughed, deep and careless.
He is nothing, and so are you.
His grip tightened. Tem strained against it, doing everything in her power to escape the crushing weight of his heavy gold body. Suddenly, another voice entered her mind:
I am near you, Tem. You must get away.
Caspen, I can’t. She was trapped beneath Rowe, their bodies writhing in the sand.
Run, Tem. NOW.
I can’t!
You must. I cannot resist for long.
You said there was another way.
I said you must run.
I CAN’T.
But she had to. If she didn’t move-if she did not manage to kill Rowe-there would be two powerful basilisks that wanted her dead.
Apollo, she cried, where are you?
I am with Caspenon. But I cannot hold him much longer, Temperance.
He sounded out of breath, as if he were under great physical strain. Tem could only imagine what it must be like to try to subdue a basilisk like Caspen, how difficult it would be to fight against the curse that fueled him.
Rowe’s grip was tightening. She knew he was siphoning from Caspen, becoming ever stronger. But no matter how much he siphoned, Caspen still had an extraordinary well of power within him: not just his own but his father’s.
Temperance. We are almost there. We are-
One minute Tem was on the ground, pinned beneath Rowe, and the next she was free. Tem recognized Caspen’s obsidian-black scales as he threw Rowe off her, hurling his enormous body against the wall of the cavern. Tem half expected Caspen to go after Rowe and finish him. Instead, he turned to Tem. Before he could advance, Apollo appeared between them. Tem lurched backward as brother fought brother, each of them barely gaining ground before losing it again. Tem looked wildly around for Rowe, who was already coming back for her.
You cannot avoid me, Temperance. No matter how many bodyguards you have.
Tem didn’t bother informing him that Caspen was hardly her bodyguard right now.
It is only a matter of time before you give in. Just give in, Temperance.
Tem would not give in. Tem would fight.
Despite her body screaming in protest, she lunged at him again, and a moment later, they were fighting once more. Every time Tem managed to evade Rowe, Caspen was upon her a moment later. There was no reprieve from the attacks, no moment to rest. Whenever Caspen got too close, Apollo came between them. He threw himself at his brother again and again, taking blow after blow. Eventually, it was killing all four of them. Such violence was unsustainable; someone had to end this.
They were not the only ones suffering. Tem saw glimpses of the battle around them. There was Cypress, fighting two basilisks at once. There was Adelaide, trapped in a headlock. At the sight of her, Tem remembered something she had said long ago:
If the legends are true, it means you can channel Kora.
It had seemed impossible at the time. Laughable, even. But all the other legends were true, were they not? Perhaps this one was too. The next time she had an opening, Tem hurled herself in the direction of the lake. She dove into the water, knowing the other three would soon follow.
Temperance? What are you-?
Tem shut Apollo out, closing her eyes, feeling nothing but the water around her-the water Kora herself had bathed in. She drew comfort from its weight, allowing it to pull her under. There was something here that called to Tem, a vibration that knew her name. Complete clarity overcame her. The others were coming; they were nearly upon her. But time did not exist for Tem. She went deeper, allowing the water to swallow her whole. When she touched the bottom, she finally saw it: a figure in the murky dark.
A woman who looked like her mother was walking toward her.
It wasn’t until the woman reached her that Tem realized she herself was human once more. Some part of her knew it was a vision-that her basilisk form was intact at the bottom of the lake. So it did not scare her when the woman reached for her hands, holding them in hers. She turned them so her palms faced up. Twelve freckles. Twelve lovers. Twelve choices she could have made. There was only one choice now, and Tem had already decided to make it. Apollo had taught her how, and Tem had been a willing student. She closed her eyes, preparing herself for the task-preparing herself to take. Tem took and took until she was filled to the brim with power, so much that she thought she might explode. When she opened her eyes, the woman before her was gone, and Tem knew it was time to return.
She swam-faster and faster-toward the light. As the surface of the lake approached, so did Rowe. He was powerful-so powerful. But no longer more powerful than Tem. She waited until they had reached the shore before whirling on him like lightning. Tem opened her mouth, bared her fangs, and bit. Unlike last time, when she had been unable to penetrate his scales, this time, her teeth sank deep into his flesh. Rowe let out an agonized roar that shook the entire cavern, forcing waves against the sand. Behind them, Apollo and Caspen emerged from the water. Tem ignored them, focusing only on her prey. When Rowe had bitten Caspen, he’d shown restraint-taking power gradually-subjecting Caspen to a slow descent into decay.
Tem showed no such restraint.
The moment she bit him, she began to siphon, holding his neck between her teeth as she did so. Tem could feel his power joining hers, and with it, the power he’d taken from Caspen. Somehow, she could tell the difference between the two: Rowe’s power was hostile, borderline destructive; Caspen’s was refined, seeping into her like honey, rounding out the rough edges created by Rowe’s. Between them, there was balance-equilibrium. Rowe’s mind was not quiet during this process. He thrashed in her grip, screaming obscenities, screaming for mercy. But Tem owed nobody her mercy. She wanted nothing but to watch him die. When he was nearly empty, Tem yanked him into the air with brutal finality. Rowe’s neck snapped. His life force flickered. Then it went out.
Behind Tem, the brothers were still fighting. Apollo held Caspen down as he thrashed on the sand, attempting to get to her. Through the hum of her newfound power, Tem realized they were having a heated conversation:
Do not make me do this, Caspenon.
You already agreed.
You ask too much.
It was you who told me to know when to step aside.
I did not mean-
You gave me your word.
I cannot do this, Caspenon.
KEEP YOUR WORD, BROTHER.
Caspen was straining against Apollo’s grip, their great bodies tangled in a violent knot. Caspen’s eyes met Tem’s. If she were a human, she would have been dead. Instead she held his gaze, seeing just how difficult it was to resist her.