Page 148 of Split or Swallow

All the mead in the world couldn’t prepare Tem for the sight of Leo. He was flanked by his father and the Lord Chamberlain, his long legs closing the distance to the stage. Lilly followed close behind, and Tem wondered what she thought of all this. It must be strange to watch her brother go through a public courtship process. Then again, nothing the royals did was particularly normal.

“He looks sad,” Gabriel whispered, pulling Tem from her thoughts.

Tem studied Leo’s face. His mouth was a tight line, his eyes on the ground as he walked. A wave of tenderness flowed suddenly through her. The last thing she wanted was to see Leo sad. To think he might be sad because of her was unbearable.

Gabriel nudged her.

“Guess you’ll just have to cheer him up.”

To Tem’s surprise, she found that she wanted to. Before she could reply, Leo clapped his hands, and the crowd fell silent.

“Would the seven beautiful ladies I’ve had the pleasure of courting please do me the honor of joining me onstage?”

Tem watched as Vera nearly sprinted through the crowd. With a heavy eye roll, she handed Gabriel her mead and followed suit, falling into line behind the other girls. When they reached the stage, Lilly extended her hand to each girl, helping them up the steps. When her hand touched Tem’s, she winked.

Tem didn’t have a chance to wink back.

Leo’s eyes were already on her as she ascended the steps, and Tem couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking. Was he angry? Or simply sad, as Gabriel had said?

The crowd was getting loud again—it seemed they couldn’t stay calm for more than a few minutes at a time. Unlimited mead tended to have that effect. Their cheers only grew as the girls lined up in a row and Leo extended his hand to Vera, who was first in line. She took it eagerly, following him to the front of the stage. The crowd roared as they faced each other. Realization dawned.

Leo was going to use each kiss to decide who to eliminate.

It was even worse than the podiums. Was Tem about to be eliminated in front of the entire village? She couldn’t imagine anything more embarrassing. Perhaps she should have expected this. The royals were heartless, after all.

A sharp knife of jealousy twisted Tem’s stomach as Leo placed his hands on Vera’s waist. She remembered the prince’s words from last night, whispered through a haze of hurt:

Am I to share you?

She was not the only one being shared. Leo had his own advantage in their silent battle of wills: he was not fully in her grasp, and she was an idiot to think he ever had been. Tem didn’t care that they were in public—she wanted nothing more than to run forward and rip Leo’s hands off of Vera. Instead she watched as he leaned in and kissed her straight on the lips.

The cheer of the crowd was deafening.

It was no surprise: Vera was the village favorite. Adored by every man, envied by every woman. Tem could never hope to compete with such undeniable allure. The kiss was short—but passionate—and when they finally broke apart, the cheer lasted for so long that Leo had to hold up his hands in protest, waving the crowd down to a reasonable level before reaching for the next in line. Leo kissed girl after girl. The crowd roared on.

The knife twisted deeper with every kiss.

By the time Leo got to the second to last girl, he didn’t even bother looking at her. Instead his eyes bore straight into Tem’s as he leaned in. She held his gaze as they kissed, determined not to look away—determined not to let him faze her. It didn’t matter that everyone was watching. It didn’t matter that the crowd was cheering for the girl who was currently in Leo’s arms. Tem didn’t like watching him kiss anyone else. And she certainly didn’t like the way he was flaunting it in front of her. It was especially unfair given the lengths she’d taken to keep her connection with Caspen a secret. Tem had never used that to make Leo jealous. Maybe she should have.

By the time Leo was headed her way, Tem was angry.

Only one thing would make her feel better—one thing would make Leo remember who they were to each other. Tem was glad Caspen was no longer in her mind. He didn’t need to see the way she grabbed Leo’s shoulders and yanked him closer—he didn’t need to hear the moan that escaped her throat as she pressed her lips hungrily to his. Immediately, she could feel his cock growing hard. Tem want⁠ed to touch it.

Instead she kissed Leo with everything she had, allowing herself to give in to temptation, allowing herself to feel something for the human prince. After all, was⁠n’t that what Leo wanted? For Tem to want him? Maybe she didn’t want him in the same way she wanted Caspen—maybe her connection with Leo wasn’t ethereal and otherworldly and magical the way it was with the basilisk. But it was real. It always had been. There was no denying that Tem was drawn to Leo just as he was drawn to her—that they needed each other in a way that couldn’t be defined.

Leo wasn’t perfect. And Tem liked that.

His body folded against hers, his fingers lacing deep into her curls. The slightest hint of whiskey lingered on his tongue. Tem drank it in—drank him in.

Leo kissed her for far longer than he kissed the other girls. There would be no mistaking his preference for her now, if there was ever a question to begin with. When Tem finally drew away, Leo barely let her go. His slate gray eyes were inch⁠es from hers, and she saw nothing but victory in them. She knew the prince loved a challenge—that he viewed Caspen as a competitor—an opponent—and Tem as the prize to be won. She knew she’d given him exactly what he wanted. But perhaps, for once, it was what she wanted too.

“We kissed for too long,” she whispered.

“Impossible,” he breathed. “I’d kiss you forever if I could.”

It was then that Tem noticed the crowd was silent.

There were no cheers for her like there were for Vera—no frenetic roar of approval. The villagers had one vote to cast, and it was not for Tem. There were only two people clapping for her: Gabriel and her mother. She couldn’t pretend to be surprised.