Filed To Story: Spit or Swallow: Kiss Of The Basilisk
“How will I know what to do?” she asked.
“Your instincts will tell you.”
Tem sat up, touching the necklace. She remembered how the wires were fused to her father’s hands, how the gold had seeped out of them.
Without another word, she concentrated. Caspen was right; her instincts took over, and she knew what to do. It didn’t hurt. Rather, Tem felt a slight tingle just below her freckles, right at the base of her fingers. It was the easiest thing in the world to bleed for Caspen as he’d bled for her-to give him a physical token of her love. The claw formed in her palm, its golden curve resting on her freckles.
Caspen watched her in awe. Tem could appreciate how significant this was for him. He hadn’t even done this with Adelaide. This was an act reserved only for Tem.
A single word flashed through her mind as she lifted the chain and placed it around Caspen’s neck:
Mine.
It was the ultimate truth; nothing could be more certain. She was his, and he was hers, and they would be bound together forever. Caspen smiled up at her, his fingers wrapping around her waist as he pulled her on top of him once more.
Mine.
Epilogue
Leo
It wasn’t how Leo thought his wedding would go.
He hadn’t thought that the happiest day of his life would end in bloodshed-in death. The image of Caspen holding his butchered father above his head would stay with him for a long time. Perhaps forever.
Leo had always known about the brutality of basilisks. He’d grown up hearing tales of violence and evil-animated retellings of the terrible battle that resulted in the truce. The stories were nothing compared to witnessing it firsthand. Leo had never seen such uncivilized, gruesome behavior. It was fucking appalling. He couldn’t understand how his father had let this happen.
Or perhaps he could.
His father was a coward. That much was apparent. Leo stifled a wave of rage as he remembered the way his father had leaped from the stage to save his own skin. Disgusting. It had been an hour since the wedding, and he was still nowhere to be found. Leo, on the other hand, had immediately begun helping the injured guests until Lilly had forced him upstairs to his bedroom.
“The future king needs to rest,” she’d said when he’d protested. What she’d meant was that he needed to stay alive. There were still basilisks roaming the maze, as evidenced by the sporadic screams peppering the autumn air.
The fireplace was lit, yet Leo was cold. The armchair next to him was empty, and he couldn’t stop staring at it.
Tem should be here.
Leo barely grasped any part of the conversation that had occurred between her and Caspen right before the ceremony. The two of them were bound together somehow, although the details were unclear. They were engaged apparently as well. Leo tried not to let that bother him, but it was impossible. Perhaps basilisks did things differently; perhaps engagements did not mean the same thing to snakes as they did to humans. But it didn’t matter ultimately what it meant. It was Leo who’d had the privilege of marrying Tem tonight.
She’d looked gloriously beautiful. There was no one more dazzling than her-of that Leo had no doubt. Tem had always been stunning to him. But seeing her in a wedding dress-the one she wore to marry him-had been a wonder beyond his wildest dreams. She’d never quite felt like his. But for a moment, on that stage, she did.
And then it had all gone completely wrong.
Leo still didn’t understand the crest. It was a way to transfer power; that was all he knew. Tem had told him it wouldn’t hurt, and it hadn’t. But it had felt…intense. Paralyzing even. The actual memory of it was fuzzy, as if he were viewing it through a fogged window. But he remembered how he’d felt after Tem drew power from him-how the only thing that mattered was her. That had always been the case. But there was something different about their connection now, something-for lack of a better word-magical.
The final moments of their wedding wouldn’t stop playing over in his mind no matter how hard he tried to stop them. There were fleeting sensations: Tem’s hands in his, the suffocating smell of smoke, the cries of innocent people. He’d almost been out of the clearing when Caspen had grabbed his shoulder.
“Tem needs you.”
It was all he said, and it was all Leo needed.
So much blood. Most of it Tem’s.
Nothing rattled Leo. Nothing made him fear for his life because he’d never cared all that much about living. But the sight of Tem broken and bleeding on the stage-her body crumpled in a motionless heap-made him want to die. He’d pictured, for a single moment, what life would be like without her. It was a terrible vision. Colorless and dull. Tem made everything better. He hadn’t noticed the taste of whiskey until he’d drank it with her. He hadn’t cared about the plight of the basilisks until he’d learned she was one. Tem had taught him how to live. And then she had left him.
I want you to find Evelyn. I want you to choose your future.
He would do anything for Tem. That had always been true, of course, but somehow it seemed even more so now. Even when leaving her felt completely wrong, he’d done it. Even if finding Evelyn meant losing Tem, he would do it.
But he wouldn’t lose her. He couldn’t. He’d never been happier than when his father had pronounced them married. But were they to remain married? Their marriage would have to be annulled. Leo couldn’t be with Evelyn if he was still married to Tem.
Tell me this isn’t the last time I’ll see you.
This isn’t the last time.
Leo would have to be dead in order for it to be the last time. He couldn’t let their story end like that-in blood and chaos at their own wedding. Such an ending was unacceptable to him. Still, there were other problems to contend with.
Leo ran his tongue over his golden teeth. The metal felt cold in his mouth, as if it were no longer a part of him. The bloodletting could not continue. But Leo had no idea how to stop it. If it was true that the basilisks were the source of his family’s wealth, without them, his family could suffer. The kingdom could suffer. He needed to find some other way to make money, and quickly. His father had always chastised him for acting like a child, yet the time for youth was over. There were real issues to deal with now-ones that could have devastating consequences. The thought of a future where the basilisks and the humans could coexist was a strange one to Leo. It would take time for the villagers to accept it, if they ever truly did. There would be difficulty-perhaps strife-moving forward. What came next would not be easy.
Leo sighed, swirling his whiskey.
He could still feel where Tem had healed the wound on his palm-how warmth had flowed from her body to his, mending the shredded skin. When he flexed his fingers, a shadow of the spark remained. Leo balled his hand into a fist.
He missed that warmth. He missed her.
Something had shifted between them after Tem crested him. The moment he’d kissed her, he’d felt…different. Broken somehow, yet also whole. As if a piece of his soul had walked out of his chest and into hers. But that was impossible. Leo had never troubled himself with magic. His father had raised him firmly in reality. There was no room for miracles in their world. No room for love either.
A gentle knock tore him from his thoughts.
“Your Highness?”
Leo recognized Lord Chamberlain’s voice and briefly considered ignoring it. Then he remembered he was the king now. If there was an issue, it was his responsibility to solve it.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and his uncle entered.
“Your father has been found.”
“Where?”
“In the maze.”
“Is he injured?”
“No.”
The news should have cheered him. It did nothing of the sort.
“Do you wish to speak with him? He awaits you in the parlor.”
Leo sighed. He had no desire to speak with his father. But he was the only one who knew where Evelyn was, and Tem had told him to find her.
“Shall I bring him to you?” his uncle asked when the silence lingered.
“No,” said Leo. “Take him to the dungeon.”
Lord Chamberlain frowned. “Are you sure, Your Highness?”
“Of course I’m sure. He belongs there.”
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.