Filed To Story: Between Two Kings: A Split or Swallow Book PDF Free
“Gabriel,” she insisted. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“Tem,” Gabriel sighed, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. “You should go.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re-” He cut himself off.
Tem found she knew what he was going to say. “I’m what, Gabriel?” she whispered.
For a moment, they simply stared at each other, two best friends who no longer lived their lives the way they used to. “You’re one of them.”
Tem went cold.
One of them
: the enemy. And he was right. There were two enemies here-the basilisks and the royals-and Tem was associated with both. She thought about her conversation with Leo, how he’d asked her if she knew who was behind the protests. She could understand how that would put Gabriel in a difficult position, how being seen with her would cast doubt on his allegiance. But she couldn’t imagine not being close to Gabriel. He was her only friend-her last true sanctuary. Even when things were going horribly with Caspen or when she was arguing with Leo, he was there. He’d always been there.
“I’m with you,” she whispered. “I always will be.”
He just shook his head. “I’m trying to protect you, Tem.”
“And I’m trying to do the same. But you have to tell me what’s going on.”
“I can’t. Not while you’re sleeping with a snake.”
Tem hated the way he said it-like it was an insult. But of course Gabriel said it like that. He didn’t know the basilisks like she did. He only knew their cruelty, their cunning. He had no idea that they were not so different from humans-that they were exactly like humans.
“Gabriel,” she whispered. “When did you stop trusting me?”
He sighed. Everything she’d told him at the Horseman ran through her mind: how she was a Hybreed, how she was powerful, how basilisks lived and existed under the mountain. Was that information safe with him? Was she safe with him?
“Tem,” he said quietly. “I’m trying to protect you.”
The same thing he said before. It hurt even worse the second time.
The wind rustled his golden-blond hair.
Tem reached for him, brushing a lock from his forehead. “I can’t lose you, Gabriel.”
He placed his hand over hers, holding her palm to his face. “You’ll never lose me, dearest. But you can’t stay.”
Tem opened her mouth to argue again, but at that exact moment, a cry came from the square. Gabriel’s head snapped up.
“No,” Tem said, twisting her hands in his jacket. “Gabriel, whatever you do, don’t
-“
But he was already running. Tem ran after him but it was no use; he was far faster than her, and he always had been.
By the time she reached the square, the church was already burning.
Guards sprinted from the steps, dispersing into the crowd as the flames grew. Batons swung. Fists flew. Tem was rooted in place, unable to move, staring in disbelief as pandemonium ensued. She’d already lost track of Gabriel. Was he near the church, feeding the fire? Was he in the crowd, in danger of getting trampled?
The villagers were screaming. Smoke billowed in the air, thick and acrid. It choked her throat and seared her lungs, forcing tears to her eyes. She had to find Gabriel.
Tem pushed into the crowd, dodging flailing limbs.
Cries of grief filled the air-whether over the church or the injured, Tem didn’t know. Ash fell on the town square, dusting everything in a layer of gray, including the tiny paper moons. The guards were beating people she’d known her entire life-innocent people-until they bled. Tem was finding it difficult to breathe. This was wrong.
So wrong.
She groped for Caspen with her mind, but their connection was closed. Panic rose in her chest. Without thinking, she searched for someone else.
He answered immediately:
Temperance? What is the matter?
I need Caspen. Where is he?
Apollo’s presence loomed larger.
He is hunting. Are you hurt?
No. Not…really.
Where are you?
The village. But I-
Then she saw it: Golden-brown hair. Gabriel.
Tem slammed her connection with Apollo shut, running forward with her hands outstretched. He was bleeding.
“You’re hurt,” she cried, reaching for him.
Gabriel scooped her into his arms, pulling her away from the crowd. The church was ablaze behind them, the flames swallowing everything in its path.
“I’m fine,” he panted, still hauling her along. “But we have to get out of here.”
“Gabriel, what did you-“
Her words were cut off by the loudest sound Tem had ever heard. Gabriel pulled her immediately to the ground, throwing his body over hers as the cobblestones rattled and rubble rained down over them. Tem knew without looking that the church would be gone, that the damage from the explosion would be devastating-that things would never be the same.
As quickly as Gabriel had pulled her down, he yanked her back up, sprinting down alleyways with intuitive direction, only stopping once they reached the edge of the village. The screams were muted from here. But Tem could still see the blaze, a huge column of black smoke disappearing into the night sky.
“How could you do this?” she cried. “The church?”
Gabriel was out of breath, his curls stuck to his forehead with sweat. “It’s just a building, Tem.”
“But it’s…it’s…it’s Kora’s home-“
“We don’t need a church to pay our respects to Kora. What we needed was to send a message.”
Tem was speechless. They’d sent a message, all right. That they were willing to fight. “People got hurt, Gabriel. The crowd-“
“People are already getting hurt, Tem. We’re starving. What do you expect us to do?”
Tem shook her head, staring up at him, trying to understand. “This isn’t working, Gabriel. You aren’t hurting anyone but yourselves. Do you think the royals care that the church burned down? This will only affect the villagers.”
“They’ll care soon enough.”