Filed To Story: Spit or Swallow: Kiss Of The Basilisk
Caspen wasn’t killing Bastian quickly-that would have been a mercy, and he owed nobody his mercy. His father would be alive when he cannibalized him. Tem understood that it was Bastian’s punishment. It was only fair. It was exactly what Caspen had just watched him do to Tem.
Tem couldn’t save Bastian. She didn’t want to anyway. But she wanted dearly to save Caspen from himself. It was a terrible thing to kill your own father. More terrible still to do it in such a violent way. But there was nothing she could do. Her head was clouded with smoke; the entire right side of her body had gone numb. More of her was covered in blood than not, and she knew it was all hers.
Finally, Tem blacked out.
When she came to, she didn’t know how much time had passed. But Caspen was beside her in his human form once more.
Tem.
She could smell his rage.
Tem knew she would never get that image of Caspen out of her mind-bent over Bastian, eating chunks of flesh from his chest. She would see it in her nightmares.
Tem?
Caspen placed a tentative hand on her cheek.
He was soaked in blood and venom, bits of Bastian’s organs sliding slowly down his torso in wet, gelatinous streaks. The smell was overpowering. She was going to pass out again.
“I-” Tem started.
But a searing pain cut off her words. Everything hit her all at once, the mangled remnants of her body screaming in sudden unison. She reached for her power, but it was barely there.
Caspen. I can’t heal myself.
Caspen’s hands were on her, trying to pull her upright.
Try harder, Tem.
Tem couldn’t reply. The pain in her body was worsening. She was in agony as a crushing wave of sensation overtook her.
Fight it, Tem. You must fight it.
Tem tried. She harnessed her power, throwing up a shield against the pain. But her body was broken; both parts of her were weakened. No one could withstand what she had just gone through.
I’m not healing, Caspen.
She was using every drop of her power to stay conscious. She had nothing left over to fix the wound in her shoulder. Blood was pouring down her body, dripping onto the stage. Caspen immediately placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to heal her himself. But she had crossed the threshold-she could feel it in her gut. No matter what Caspen did, she only bled more.
Hold on, Tem. Just a little longer.
Tem couldn’t hold on any longer. Her injury was draining her, slowly but surely. Her shoulder was bleeding out, streams of her blood merging with Bastian’s. There was some poetic irony there, but Tem was too tired to find it.
I can’t fight it, Caspen. It’s too much.
You need power.
Any ideas?
A long pause. And then: Crest Leo.
Tem shook her head. She didn’t even have the energy to answer.
Yes, Tem. You must.
But Tem couldn’t. She wouldn’t. She’d just narrowly avoided performing the crest on the royals. She had no desire to force another human being to bond with her, to wield her power in such a brutal and unforgiving way.
I don’t want to.
She’d claimed Leo to ensure that nobody would ever crest him. If she did it herself, it would defeat the purpose. Caspen was still talking.
Your human side is dying. You need to crest someone in order to heal it.
And that someone has to be Leo?
He would do anything for you. You know this.
It’s not right.
He will feel only pleasure, Tem.
He’ll be bound to me, Caspen.
He loves you. The two of you are bound together already.
Tem knew the words pained him. But she couldn’t care about Caspen’s feelings right now. She couldn’t crest Leo. Not when he’d specifically told her how he craved agency, how the thing he wanted most was to be able to make his own choices, how he wanted to become the swan. There could be nothing crueler than taking that away from him.
Caspen was already turning away.
I will bring him to you.
He was gone before she could protest. Tem shut everything else out-the sounds of pain and death and anguish-focusing only on keeping herself whole. Every moment that passed, she became a fraction weaker. She knew Bastian had bitten her to punish her-one last way to keep her beneath him. Tem stared at his mangled, chewed-up body, barely recognizable under wet clots of organs and blood. A death worthy of a king, she supposed: vicious and brutal. Epic.
An eternity later, Caspen reappeared with both Leo and Lilly in tow. Tem looked up at Leo. His hand was scraped and bleeding. Lilly had a scratch on her face that was gently seeping blood. Her normally bright eyes were red with tears.
“Leo,” Tem whispered. “You were supposed to leave.”
“Tem.” He knelt beside her. “I had to find Lilly first.” His face tightened with concern when he saw the blood surrounding her. He glanced up at Caspen. “What happened to her?”
“My father bit her.”
Leo removed his jacket, pressing it to her shoulder. He seemed short of breath, like he was on the verge of a panic attack. “Is she going to die?” he rasped.
“Not if you help her.”
“Caspen,” Tem said. “No.”
Leo looked desperately between them. “How can I help her?” he asked.
“You must let her-“
“Caspen,” Tem cried. “I already told you no.”
It took so much effort to speak. Her lights were dimming, her blood flowing slower. She could no longer balance; she tilted backward, and Leo caught her.
“Tem.” Leo’s eyes were a wild mess. “What can I do? Just tell me.” When Tem didn’t answer, he turned to Caspen. “Can’t she draw power from me?”
Caspen nodded. “Yes. But she refuses to do so.”
Leo turned back to Tem. “Do it, Tem. I give you permission.”