Filed To Story: Between Two Kings: A Split or Swallow Book PDF Free
The dread intensified.
“If the blood bond is broken, a curse is put into effect.”
“What curse?”
“Whoever was betrayed must kill the betrayer. My father did not want to kill my mother. But he had to. The blood bond forced him to.”
Tem was in awe. It was a horrible thing to hear. She couldn’t imagine what that must have done to Caspen’s family. She felt a sudden surge of sympathy for Bastian but quickly suppressed it. She would not pity such a man.
“Couldn’t your father resist?”
Caspen shook his head. “It is impossible to resist such magic. Blood bonds are sanctioned by Kora-just like the ritual, or any of our other traditions. He was bound by a magic greater than himself.”
“But if your mother knew what would happen, why would she sleep with the other man she loved?”
To her surprise, Caspen smiled. “Would you be able to resist sleeping with me?”
Tem would not. But Caspen was not the one she had to resist sleeping with.
What he had just told her was horrific. She couldn’t imagine a worse scenario than his father killing his mother. And to witness it himself was unthinkable.
“Why didn’t your mother just keep it a secret?”
“She tried. But the curse was triggered the moment she slept with her lover. The curse told my father.”
Tightness. It was all Tem felt. Encroaching on her chest, squeezing her lungs.
“We cannot lie,” Caspen whispered. “There are no secrets between basilisks.”
“But doesn’t it… bother you?”
Caspen sighed deeply. “Of course it bothers me, Tem. It is a horrible stain on my family. But in basilisk society, my mother is the one who was in the wrong. My father was merely enacting justice.”
“But that’s…”
There were no words for it, really. It was awful. And terrifying. And a little too close to Tem’s situation for her liking.
“Aren’t you…worried about…me?”
Caspen looked down at her. “And why would I worry about you?”
Tem rolled her shoulders uncomfortably. “Because of…everything that happened…with…”
For some reason, she couldn’t bear to say Leo’s name.
Caspen let out a dismissive laugh. “No. I am not worried.”
It was then that she remembered Caspen’s attitude toward Leo-how he never called him by his name, only referring to him as “the human prince”-how he didn’t consider
Leo to be his equal. Tem and Caspen had a blood bond, a connection Leo couldn’t hope to replicate. Caspen probably thought that was proof enough of her loyalty. It was a viewpoint that was understandable, given the basilisk mindset. But it was wrong.
“But why not?” Tem asked before she could help herself.
“Because you sent him away.”
That was true. But it didn’t mean she’d fallen out of love with him.
“You accepted the blood bond,” Caspen continued. “That means you chose me.”
That phrase again.
You chose me.
“But,” Tem said carefully, “I love you both.”
It was the same thing she’d said in the cave the night they’d agreed to share her. But now Tem wondered whether either of them had really agreed at all. What would that arrangement have even looked like? She couldn’t have been queen of both kingdoms. It was a problem without a solution-one that she had solved in the only way she knew how-by sending Leo off to find Evelyn.
Caspen’s eyes narrowed. The room seemed to grow colder as he said, “You love me.”
Tem could barely hold his gaze. It felt like he was giving her an order. It was true that she loved him. But she loved Leo too, no matter how unfathomable that was to Caspen. There was nothing else to say, so Tem didn’t say anything. But in the late hours of the night, she lay awake.
What would happen if Tem slept with Leo? Would Caspen kill her? Would his family praise him for doing so? She touched the golden chain around her neck. It had always felt like a gift, something that bound her to Caspen. But now it felt like an anchor-a shackle with no key. Tem couldn’t believe the cruelty of the curse. It seemed to go against everything basilisk culture had taught her: that everything was shared.
Everything except for hearts. Caspen’s mother hadn’t been able to resist hers.
Could Tem?
The letter came the next morning.
Caspen read it first, his brow furrowed, before handing it to Tem.
Temperance Verus,
Your presence is requested at the castle for dinner tonight. A carriage will be sent for you.
Bring your husband.
She glanced up at Caspen, who looked indifferent. But her heart was racing.
The letter was only addressed to Tem. And her “husband”? It was an awfully formal way of addressing Caspen. Neither Leo nor Caspen seemed to be able to address the other directly, either by name or by title. But no amount of avoidance would change their circumstances. And if everything went accordingly tonight, this would be the first of many more Sunday-night dinners.
“Will you go?” Tem asked.
Caspen was watching her, his expression carefully controlled. “Why should I?”
“Because it’s a chance at peace.”
Caspen snorted. Of course he didn’t agree. But it was true whether he liked it or not. Cooperation and compromise were the only way forward.
“And what will happen if I do not attend?”
Tem really wasn’t sure how to answer that. If Caspen refused to come to these dinners, Tem would be forced to attend them alone. She couldn’t think of anything worse. “Please, Caspen,” she whispered. “I can’t do this alone.”
He stared at her for a long moment. “I will go,” he said quietly. “For you.” Then he pulled the letter from her grasp and tossed it into the fire, just as he’d done for the annulment summons. His warm hand covered hers. “Come,” he said. “We have duties to attend to.”
His wording was not an accident. Tem knew he was placing emphasis on the fact that her place was here-that her duties were to the basilisks, not the villagers; that the we in question was her and Caspen, not her and Leo. Tem didn’t need the reminder. She knew what she had chosen; she knew what her life entailed now. But that didn’t make it easier to live it.
Tem laced her fingers through Caspen’s, allowing him to lead her through the passageway and toward the courtyard. They passed many basilisks along the way, all of them parting to make way for the couple. If Caspen was powerful before, he was nearly a god now. Basilisks bowed to him as they passed, bending for him in a silent, worshipful wave. Tem saw firsthand how they respected his status and how they respected hers in turn. A week ago, it would have been disconcerting to have so many eyes on her. Now Tem savored it. It was an honor to be with someone like Caspen, to be chosen by the Serpent King.
They spent the day overseeing the setup of the courtyard in preparation for the second event of mating season. It was not unlike curating a wedding, choosing decorations and sampling food. Always, Caspen deferred to Tem, although whether it was because he didn’t have an opinion or because he valued hers more, she had no idea. Either way, whenever someone asked them their preference, Caspen would wait until Tem answered first before saying, “As she wishes.”