Page 200 of Between Two Kings

“You know what I mean.”

“Caspenon will be fine, Temperance.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I know my brother. And nothing could stop him from fighting for you.”

“I can’t live without him.”

“The tournament presents only a possibility of that. Not a guarantee of it.”

A pause.

Apollo’s next words came quietly: “I understand you are afraid. But if Caspenon does not win, I will protect you from Rowe. No harm will ever come to you by his hand. You have my word.”

Tem opened her eyes, nearly losing her breath when she saw how close Apollo was standing.

“I share my blood with him.” Apollo touched his finger to the claw around her neck, the exact same the way Caspen had. “Just as you do.” His voice dropped to a whisper as he finished. “We will not let you go so easily.”

“It’s not up to you.”

“Your heart will call to your true match, Temperance. There is no reason to fear that.”

“Yes. There is.”

“Why?”

“Because I love Leo.” The moment she said it, terror struck her.

Apollo frowned. “Leo?”

Tem realized Apollo only knew him by one name. “Thelonius. The human king.”

She expected a reaction of some kind. For him to shout, perhaps, or berate her. Instead he tilted his head, looking at her with what could only be described as compassion. His gaze flicked down to her hand, where her silver wedding band glinted.

“I always wondered why you still wore that,” he whispered.

Tem twirled the ring around her finger, feeling the cool metal. Caspen had never once asked about it. She was beginning to think he never would. “I…can’t bear to take it off.”

Apollo tilted his head, as if he’d just understood something. “You are afraid your heart will call to him.”

Tears filled her eyes. When he said it out loud, somehow it made it real. “Yes,” she whispered.

Apollo sighed. It wasn’t an angry sigh—more wistful, as if he felt sorry for her. Most likely he did. Tem had allowed this to go too far, had indulged her feelings for too long. Now she would face the consequences. Apollo could not fix this. No one could.

“We cannot help who we love, Temperance.” It sounded like he was speaking from experience. “You are not the first person to enter the tournament uncertain. And you will not be the last.”

“I’m not uncertain,” she said. “I love them both. That is certain.”

Apollo regarded for a moment before speaking. “I cannot pretend to understand your love for the human king. From what I have seen of him, he looks rather frail.”

Tem almost laughed.

“But I can understand matters of the heart,” Apollo continued, touching his fingers gently to Tem’s chest. “And matters of the heart are never simple.”

Tem looked up at him. Apollo said it calmly, in a tone that implied he had extensive experience in the matter. And she supposed he did. Caspen and Apollo had both been alive for centuries—far longer than Tem. She was twenty years old. She was a child in comparison. But nobody here treated her like a child, especially the Drakon brothers. It was a double-edged sword. She was not afforded the grace a child would be in the same situation. Tem had made her bed, and now she would have to lie in it.

“Temperance,” he said softly, and she looked up at him. “My brother deserves to know how you feel.”