Filed To Story: Between Two Kings: A Split or Swallow Book PDF Free
Eventually, it hurt more to stay than to go.
“Is there anyone you wish to speak to before you leave?” Adelaide asked her on the night she told her she wanted to leave.
“Yes,” Tem said before she could stop herself. “Apollo.”
Adelaide nodded.
“And Damon.”
“Of course. Anyone else?”
Tem shook her head. She had met plenty of basilisks during her time under the mountain. But Caspen’s brothers were the only ones she cared to say goodbye to.
“But how exactly do I…” Tem wasn’t sure what to call it. “…leave? I mean, what happens now?”
“We will release you from your royal duties. Technically you are already incapable of performing them, since you are no longer part basilisk, but we still need to formally dismiss you.”
“Oh.” Tem nodded. “Right.”
She was about to be dismissed. It sounded so sudden.
“We must do it properly, Temperance,” Adelaide said. “It is not meant as an insult. We are rather fond of our traditions, as you know.”
Tem nodded again. She knew that basilisks loved their rituals and their ceremonies and their special ways of doing things. She’d never stood in the way of their traditions, and she certainly wasn’t about to start now.
Adelaide accompanied her to the courtyard, where the Drakon brothers were standing next to the fountain. Damon embraced her when she reached them. Apollo couldn’t seem to move.
Adelaide turned to Apollo. “You have first rights. Do you wish to exercise them?”
His eyes slid to Tem’s. They looked so much like his brother’s: endless golden pools. “No,” he said. “I do not.”
Adelaide placed her hand on his shoulder. “You must say it properly to make it official,” she prompted softly. “Do you waive your first rights to Temperance Verus?”
Apollo turned to Tem. His eyes gazed into Tem’s before traveling slowly down her body, lingering on the scar between her breasts. Adelaide had offered to heal it, but Tem would rather keep the reminder of Caspen.
Apollo spoke clearly, enunciating each word. “I waive my first rights to Temperance Verus.”
Tem looked up at him-at his sculpted jaw, so dearly similar to Caspen’s, at the eyes that observed her with absolute certainty.
Know when to step aside.
The Drakon brothers had that in common. Both knew when to admit defeat. It was an admirable quality and not one most people shared. Stepping aside meant ceding your power-it meant admitting that you were not the right choice. Some might consider it defeat. But when done of your own free will, stepping aside was victory in itself.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Apollo nodded. “Of course.”
This would have been the perfect retribution for Apollo-the natural conclusion to his long history with Caspen. To take Tem as his own was the logical step for anyone in his position. A part of her couldn’t believe he wasn’t going to do so. He had left her alone in the days following Caspen’s death, almost as if he couldn’t bear to look at her. Tem couldn’t quite bear to look at him either. But eventually, they had found each other again. She didn’t blame him for what happened; Caspen’s choice was his own. Apollo had been the one to pull her out of the darkness, to remind her that she had a full life ahead of her. One that was finite. There was value in mortality-a beauty to the fact that Tem was no longer limitless.
There was nothing she could say to properly express how she felt for Apollo. So she said it in the only language the basilisks understood. Tem stepped forward, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him. Apollo bent down to meet her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her against his chest. They kissed slowly, and Tem breathed him in, remembering just how much he smelled like Caspen. She savored every second, knowing she would never kiss a Drakon brother again.
When they pulled apart, Adelaide turned to Damon. “You have second rights.”
Damon didn’t hesitate for even a moment. “I waive my second rights to Temperance Verus.”
Tem had always known Damon wouldn’t stand in her way. His love was blossoming for Gabriel, and they were both going to the sea. It saddened Tem to know she wouldn’t see her best friend every day, but if anyone could handle basilisk society, it was Gabriel. Tem touched Damon’s mind with hers, sending him a memory of the first night Gabriel came under the mountain. She showed him how their limbs intertwined, how their hands cradled each other’s faces. She showed him how it felt to watch Gabriel be with someone who adored him from the moment he met him and how stunningly beautiful they looked together. She left him with one last directive, one she knew he would obey:
Keep him safe.
Damon bowed his head.
I will.
An astonishing lightness passed through Tem. Her last worry was resolved. There was nothing left to do.
“Very well,” Adelaide said. She turned to Tem. “You are free to go, Temperance.”
Adelaide walked her to the cave before embracing her.
Goodbye, Temperance.
Somehow Tem knew it was the last time she would touch her mind, and the thought made her want to cry. It was a sad thing to leave Adelaide. Their friendship had been an unexpected thing-something that had grown into a bond she truly treasured. Eventually, her presence faded, and Tem stood alone in the cave for the last time.
She looked at the mat in front of the fireplace. So many befores and afters had occurred on that mat. Before she’d been kissed and after, before she’d shared herself with a man, and after, before Caspen and after.
She remembered how she’d felt when she first entered this cave. Nervous. But also ready. Tem had been aching to experience all there was to be experienced, and Caspen had been the one to show her the way. He’d shown her so much. Not just sex-that was merely the beginning. He’d shown her what it meant to stand in her power, to demand more from herself and others, to live a full and joyful life. He’d shown her how to harness her power-how to transition, how to crest. He’d shown her everything.
How long have you loved me?
Far longer than you have loved me.
Her mother had once told her that true love meant sacrificing your happiness for theirs. Caspen had taken it one step further; he’d performed the ultimate sacrifice-the final gesture. He’d done the one thing he could never take back. Tem wondered if she was worthy of such a gesture. Perhaps there was no way to be truly worthy of this.
Tem remembered the first night of the training-how she’d been young, inexperienced, a virgin. She remembered what she’d asked her mother while she spread ylang-ylang and sandalwood oils on her thighs:
What will it be like?
It will be…transformative. You will take the first step to becoming a woman.
I thought I was one already.
Not nearly, my dear. You have barely begun to live. You cannot possibly fathom the journey you are about to embark on.
Tem could not possibly have fathomed the journey she was about to embark on. She could hardly fathom it now that it was over. It was true that back then, she had barely begun to live. Yet somehow, that also felt true now. Somehow, standing here in the cave, Tem felt as if things were just beginning for her. She had an entire life to live with Leo. It would not be nearly the length of the life she would have had as a Hybreed with Caspen. But it would be a good life. It would mean something. Life was something to be cherished. It was better, Tem figured, to do your best with the little time you were given, rather than to do nothing at all with eternity. She would endeavor to live a life she would be proud of-that Caspen would be proud of.
At last, Tem left the mountain.
The night sky was clear above her, the Alpha Serpentis shining brighter than normal. Tem stared up at it, allowing her tears to fall. She walked slowly down the path, one step at a time. Past the makeshift grave where she’d buried the weasel. Past the wall. Past her childhood cottage. She walked all the way to the castle, as slow as she liked, letting herself experience every second of the journey. The village was beautiful at night. All the windows were lit, and Tem could picture how it would look in the coming months when snow arrived.
By the time she reached the castle, it was well into the night. She didn’t bother knocking on the door. This was her home now, and she would come and go as she pleased. Instead, she entered the foyer, which was notably empty. Every gold picture frame was gone. The sparkling grout had been scraped from between the tiles. She climbed the stairs to Leo’s bedroom, knowing he would probably be asleep. When she reached it, she found that she was right. Leo was in bed, his white-blond hair splayed on his pillow. He looked so peaceful like this. Angelic.
Tem sat next to him.
He woke immediately. “Tem,” he breathed.
“Hi,” she said quietly.
He touched the very end of her curls, pulling them gently before letting them go. “Can I get you anything?” he whispered. “Are you hungry?”
Tem shook her head. She took off her clothes slowly, letting them fall to the floor. Leo lifted the blanket, and she crawled in beside him. He brushed his fingers gently over the scar on her chest. Then he kissed her.