Page 160 of Between Two Kings

“It is an honor to have one’s marriage contested.”

Tem thought back to when Adelaide had told her it was an honor to be pursued by Apollo and Caspen at the same time. They desire you. You should take that as a compliment. Tem was a little tired of being told that the inconveniences in her life were an honor. None of this felt like an honor. It felt like an enormous, insurmountable annoyance.

“It means you are a coveted prospect,” Adelaide continued. “You are meant to enjoy the process.”

Tem snorted. “Enjoy it?”

“Yes.”

“But I don’t want to be with anyone else. I’m already married to Caspen.”

“Yes,” Adelaide said gently, and Tem knew she was trying to placate her. “You are already married. But you must remember that basilisks do not conduct themselves as humans do. There is no law that joins you in matrimony. For us, marriage is simply a choice.”

“But we’re bound together by blood.”

“The blood bond is significant. But all it means is that your lives are tied to one another.”

Tem felt the sudden urge to scream. It was too much, these ridiculous rules and loopholes and traditions. There were not many times when she missed her life before Caspen, but for a single moment, Tem remembered how simple it had all once been. She thought about how her greatest worries were tending to the chickens or weeding the garden, how her nights consisted of nothing more than meeting Gabriel at the Horseman for a drink.

Then she remembered the pain. She remembered the dissatisfaction and the loneliness and the despair she’d suffered during her time on the farm. She was never going back to that. This was her life now, traditions and all.

Tem looked at Caspen. He was staring into the distance, his fists clenched at his sides. She imagined for a moment what it would be like to marry another—to have someone other than Caspen in her bed each night. There was only one man for which she’d entertain the thought, and he was engaged to someone else.

“This can’t happen,” Tem whispered.

“It is happening,” Adelaide said. “The process is already in motion. Now that your marriage has been contested, the tournament must be held. It will determine who is worthy of your hand.”

“Caspen is already worthy of it.”

“Not to the Senecas.”

Stubborn resistance curled in Tem. “But why? There are other inter-quiver couples. I don’t see anyone else’s marriage being contested.”

“You are a Hybreed, Temperance. It is an incredible gift. Your loyalty is an advantage to whichever quiver you favor.”

Tem hadn’t found that being a Hybreed was an incredible gift. Being half-basilisk had caused her nothing but an insurmountable pile of trouble. There was nothing incredible about it.

“Tension has existed between our two quivers for centuries, Temperance. The quiver with a Hybreed has the upper hand. The Senecas know this, and they covet that power. They do not accept that you have married a Drakon. They want you on their side.”

“But I don’t want to choose a side,” Tem insisted.

“You chose a side when you married a Drakon.”

Now Tem looked at Caspen. His eyes were closed. Perhaps he was processing this in his own time. But Tem needed him right now.

“Caspen,” she said firmly. “Say something.”

Caspen heaved a great sigh, his chest rising and falling in what felt like slow motion. When he opened his eyes, he looked at her. “The tournament is an ancient tradition, Tem. It is bound by magic. We”—he raised his hand to touch her again before dropping it—“are bound by its magic.”

A rock settled in her stomach. Tem wasn’t used to Caspen admitting defeat. She refused to marry another. Why didn’t he feel the same?

“But why now? Why didn’t they just prevent us from getting married in the first place?”

“They should have,” Caspen said. “But my father placated them. He promised to use you to defeat the royals. Now he is dead, and the humans are still in power. The Senecas are angry he broke his word.”

“This is ridiculous,” Tem said.

Caspen sighed. “Perhaps to you. But you are a Seneca, Tem. Your quiver has every right to present a more suitable match for you.”