Filed To Story: Between Two Kings: A Split or Swallow Book PDF Free
Tem had nothing to say to that. They sat in silence for a while, watching the activity around them.
Eventually, Adelaide said, “I must admit I am envious of you.”
Tem stared at her. “Why?”
“I have dreamed of slapping Apollo many times. As have others, I am sure. I am pleased someone finally did it.”
That information surprised Tem. Then again, perhaps it didn’t. Apollo did plenty of things she considered insufferable. He deserved to be slapped for them. “Did he ever…try to…?”
Adelaide gave her a significant look. “Sleep with me?”
Tem nodded. That was pretty much exactly it.
“Yes,” Adelaide said. “He did.”
“Oh.”
Another question occurred to her, and she asked it before she lost her nerve: “And did you…?”
“Sleep with him? Yes. I did.”
“Oh.”
Tem didn’t know where to look. She settled on staring at her hands, which were clasped on her lap.
Adelaide leaned in. “Caspenon would have you think he was the only one upset by our match, but I was not thrilled either.”
“He never mentioned how you felt.” As soon as the words came out, Tem realized how they sounded. “Sorry-” she stammered. “I just meant that-“
“I am not offended, Temperance.” Adelaide’s tone was kind. “I know what you meant. And I am not surprised he did not mention it. I doubt he wanted to mention me at all.”
Given the way Tem had reacted to their engagement, she could hardly blame him. It seemed silly now, to have been so jealous of their union. Perhaps her basilisk side understood it on some level-perhaps she was adjusting to their customs.
“I slept with Apollo to be vindictive. But also because I wanted to. And if you were to do the same, no one would blame you.”
That wasn’t true-Tem would blame herself.
Adelaide seemed to know what she was thinking. “It is different for basilisks, Temperance. To be with both brothers…it is expected. Apollo has first rights to you. That is no small thing. He will expect to exercise them. Caspenon may expect it eventually too.”
Tem continued to look at her feet. The thought of sleeping with Apollo was tantalizing; the fact that she was expected to do so was baffling. It was difficult for her human side to comprehend such a thing. She had been raised to view marriages as strictly monogamous. Sleeping with your husband’s brother was considered cheating, point-blank, period.
“They are quite similar,” Adelaide said presently.
“Who?”
“Apollo and Caspenon.”
Tem scoffed. They were nothing alike. “How so?”
Adelaide paused, gathering her thoughts. “Caspenon is passionate,” she said slowly. “He feels things deeply. Apollo is the same way.”
Tem snorted. Apollo didn’t feel anything deeply. He was as shallow as a puddle.
“You may not believe it,” Adelaide said. “But it is true. Apollo is merely better at concealing it.”
Tem couldn’t wrap her mind around such a concept. All she could see was the differences between them: the way Caspen protected her, the way Apollo chided her. One brother cared; the other did not.
“Caspen is better than Apollo,” Tem said firmly.
Adelaide tilted her elegant head thoughtfully. “In what way?”
“He wants what’s best for me.”
“And you think Apollo does not?”
Tem looked up at her. “I know he doesn’t. He’s constantly trying to corrupt me.”
Adelaide let out a laugh. “You give him too much credit, Temperance. You are not easily corrupted.”
It felt like a compliment, so Tem took it as one. “I can’t let him win,” she admitted.
“Then you need only deprive him.” Adelaide smiled conspiratorially. “He wishes to sleep with you. That much is obvious. If you withhold yourself from him, he will never stop pursuing you.”
Tem considered this. Did she want him to pursue her? Leo wasn’t pursuing her, and Caspen already had her. Why shouldn’t she indulge in the very thing that basilisks were known for indulging in? It would be a lie to say that she didn’t like it when Apollo flirted with her. It turned her on her axis, as if she were a planet and he were a new gravitational pull. Perhaps that was exactly what she needed: lightness, levity, flirtation. Caspen would be proud that she was assimilating so well into basilisk culture. He might even encourage it. He had encouraged it.
“And you are wrong,” Adelaide continued.
“About what?”
“About Apollo’s intentions. He does want what is best for you. We all do.”
With that, Adelaide stood and walked away.
Tem started after her in bewilderment. It was an uncharacteristically straightforward thing for a basilisk to say.
We all do. But who, exactly, was “we”? Caspen and Apollo? Or had Adelaide meant it in a broader sense, implying that all basilisks wanted what was best for her? It had never seemed that way to Tem. It had always felt as if basilisks wanted something from her.
And what, exactly, was best for her anyway?
Tem knew it was Caspen. But sometimes, in the depths of night, she wondered if that were really true. Before she could ponder further, he appeared.
“Tem,” Caspen said, extending his hand. “You must stand. It is about to begin.”
Tem didn’t bother asking what “it” was. Instead, she allowed Caspen to guide her to the steps at the edge of the courtyard. From this vantage point, she could see basilisks gathering around the fountain. They conversed intently with one other before dispersing into a circle.
“What are they doing?”
“They are forming an ouroboros,” Caspen explained. “A sacred shape to us. It is infinite and represents renewal.”
“But what’s the point?”
“By participating in the ouroboros, we honor the cycle of our people. Mating season will result in many unions and will likely produce the next generation of children.”
The circle was growing-morphing into a large loop that surrounded the fountain.
“What do you mean by…participating?”
Caspen touched her waist.
“The ouroboros is a symbol of unity. It is meant to connect us. Members from each quiver will join the circle in opposing positions.”