Filed To Story: Between Two Kings: A Split or Swallow Book PDF Free
Evelyn leaned closer. “He might have been yours once, but he began as mine and he is mine again now.”
Fury built in Tem like a storm.
“You think you know Leo, but I know him better,” Evelyn continued. “And I always will.”
“If you hurt him, I will-“
“What will you do, Tem?
You are the one who hurt him. You left.”
“You left too.”
“I came back.”
Tem had nothing to say to that, no way to counter her argument. It didn’t matter, ultimately, whether Evelyn only came back because Tem had stepped aside. She was right-she had come back.
Tem stood abruptly. “This conversation is over. And I won’t be meeting with you in such a way again. Good night.”
With that, Tem swept from the room.
Caspen was waiting for her in the foyer. It was odd to see him there, surrounded by the gilded castle walls, his ethereal beauty outshining even the gold in the tiles.
He looked up as she approached, his eyes dark with worry. “Tem. How was it?”
“Horrible,” she answered honestly.
A pause. “Do you wish to discuss it?”
Tem shook her head. It was all she could manage. So much had happened tonight that it was impossible to distinguish which event was most worth discussing.
Caspen’s hand found her waist. “Shall we go home?”
Home. Under the mountain.
“I can’t.”
Caspen frowned. “Is something wrong?”
Tem just shook her head again. “I’ll meet you back at the caves.”
Still, Caspen hesitated. His fingers tightened around her waist. “I know this was difficult for you tonight,” he said quietly. “But you can always speak to me about it.”
When she didn’t answer, his voice dropped even lower:
“About…him.”
Tem felt the sudden urge to cry. She didn’t want to speak to Caspen about Leo. It was the last thing she should be talking to her husband about.
“I know it is hard for you, Tem. You are not used to…sharing.”
It was true. Basilisk culture had prepared Caspen for the situation with him and Leo. But Tem was not prepared. Tem was being torn in two. Her deception had begun already, when she’d shielded her mind from Caspen during sex. Something told her that was only the beginning.
“Please, Caspen,” she whispered. “Just let me go.”
Without another word, he did.
They took separate carriages away from the castle.
Tem watched as Caspen’s carriage wound into the darkness, toward the mountain. Their connection was closed; Tem had thrown up a barrier as soon as they’d parted. At first she thought of heading to her parents’ cottage. But at the last moment, she asked the footman to take her into the village.
The Horseman was crowded. Gabriel was in their favorite booth, as he always was. Except this time when he looked up to see her, his smile was just a moment delayed. “Tem,” he said. “What are you doing here?”
It wasn’t his usual greeting. Usually he called her “dearest” and kissed her on the cheek.
“I needed a drink,” she said. “What are you doing here?”
Tem expected him to make a joke about needing a drink too. Or perhaps needing some action. Instead his eyes shifted to the bar, where a group of men were gathered. Tem had seen them before; they were regulars. Vera’s father was among them, along with Jonathan’s older brother, Jeremy.
“Gabriel?” she prompted. “What’s going on?”
He pursed his lips. Tem knew he was remembering their promise-how they’d sworn to be honest with each other. “There’s meant to be a protest tonight,” Gabriel said finally.
A protest-the very thing Leo had mentioned at dinner. Tem hadn’t wanted to believe him. She stared at the villagers gathered around the bar. These were men she’d known since childhood. They were peaceful people. Tem couldn’t imagine them protesting.
“About what?” she asked, although she felt like she already knew.
He shrugged. “Money. Food. Everyone’s starving. There’s nothing to go around. Even your old farm is running out of eggs. Trust me, I checked.”
“You…checked?”
If Gabriel had checked her farm for eggs, that meant he was suffering too, that her best friend in the entire world had been affected by her decisions-that she’d inadvertently hurt yet another person whom she loved.
“I’m fine, Tem. I work in the castle, remember? No food shortages there.” But something about the way he said it sounded bitter.
“What do you mean?”
Gabriel shrugged, avoiding her eyes. “Our soon-to-be queen eats well.”
It was all he said. But Tem knew exactly what he meant. The royals were not suffering; they never would. The consequences of Tem’s actions would land squarely on the villagers-the people who deserved it the least. Evelyn would not feel the pain of constriction; her stomach would not tighten with hunger. Tem thought of the dinner she’d had just an hour ago-roasted chicken, golden potatoes, luscious greens. Gabriel was right. The new queen ate well.
“What can be done?” she whispered.
Gabriel shrugged again before taking a tight sip of beer. He didn’t answer, and he didn’t have to. Tem’s eyes slid once more to the men gathering at the bar. Protesting was the only way to retaliate, the only way for the villagers to make sure their voices were heard. But it created a precarious situation for Leo. Protests, no matter how peacefully they began, were just one slip away from violence.
“Gabriel,” she said. “This is dangerous. Whoever got you into this doesn’t have your best interests at heart.”
His eyes narrowed. “I got me into this, Tem. It’s my choice to be here.”
“I know, but-“
“I got everyone else into it too.”
A moment passed as Tem understood what he was saying. “You organized this?”
“People are angry, Tem. I’m one of them.”
Tears pricked her eyes. Things were going so very wrong. Everything was supposed to be fixed now that the bloodletting was over; that was supposed to make everything better. But it had only made everything worse.
“I work in the castle, Tem,” Gabriel said. “I see it firsthand.”