Page 170 of Between Two Kings

“My people had a good reason,” she said.

Leo’s eyes met hers in genuine surprise. “Which was?”

Tem froze. She’d keep Caspen’s secret out of fear of what might happen if Leo knew he was the one responsible. But if they were to truly rule their kingdoms in tandem, perhaps Leo deserved to know the full story. Perhaps he deserved the truth.

“Caspen is the one who petrified Jonathan and Christopher.”

Leo raised an eyebrow. “And why would he do that?”

“It was…retaliation.”

The inevitable question followed: “Retaliation for what?”

Now Tem hesitated. How much should she reveal? It wasn’t a matter of preserving Jonathan’s and Christopher’s reputations—they were dead. But Tem wondered how Leo might react to the specifics. It might make him angry. But it also might help him understand why Caspen had done it, so she said, “They hurt me.”

A waterfall of emotions passed over Leo’s face in quick succession. First shock, then anger, then outright concern. “What? How?”

“It’s…not important.”

“I beg to differ.”

“Leo,” she said tiredly. “Please.”

“Tem.” She saw his fingers tighten on his whiskey glass. “Tell me.”

She sighed. There was no avoiding this—she knew he wouldn’t drop it, and part of her was happy that he cared. But another part of her had no interest in telling him about the assault. It wasn’t something she wanted to think about ever again, much less describe in detail.

“They ambushed me,” she said, keeping it as simple as possible. “When I was alone on the trail. They…touched me.”

Leo’s face went white. “Touched you how?”

“It’s not important,” she said again, firmly this time. Tem meant it. There was no reason for him to know any more.

In response, Leo poured another whiskey, this one significantly larger than the first. “You should have told me,” he said through gritted teeth.

“It wasn’t exactly dinner-table conversation, Leo.”

“I don’t mean tonight. I mean you should have told me back when we were—”

His sentence died on his tongue, but Tem finished it anyway: “Together.”

The word lingered in the air.

Leo threw back a gulp of his whiskey.

Tem sighed. “There was no reason for you to know, Leo. Caspen handled it.”

“I understand he handled it. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have told me. For Kora’s sake, Tem. I defended them in front of the entire village. I said their deaths were devastating.”

Tem remembered his speech, how it was meant to placate the villagers. She could understand where his anger was coming from. But she didn’t blame him for defending them. It was his duty to defend his people.

“What do you want me to say, Leo? It would have been wrong to put you in a position where you had to choose between your subjects and me.”

He let out a bitter laugh. “Please, Tem. You’ve never had a problem putting me in a position to choose.”

His words stung her. She was the one who had to choose. “That’s not fair and you know it.”

Leo merely shook his head. “Unbelievable,” he whispered. “You are fucking unbelievable.”