Page 203 of Between Two Kings

What lay beyond them took Tem’s breath away. Unlike the contained room with the altar where the ritual was held, they had entered an arena. It was broad and deep and oval in shape, with great sloping rows of benches that nearly reached the towering ceiling. Every single seat was filled; basilisks were writhing and cheering and waving from the stands. The same white sand that covered the shores of the lake filled the arena. There, in the middle, was Caspen.

Immediately, Tem ran to him. She didn’t care whether it was allowed; she didn’t care that everyone was watching. She only wanted to be near him.

“Caspen,” she breathed as soon as they were face-to-face.

He smiled. “My love.”

Behind him stood the other contenders. Rowe was already scowling at her. Tem didn’t even bother looking in his direction, focusing instead on Apollo, who was watching her with a contemplative expression on his face. Was he thinking about her confession? Or was he anticipating what was to come?

“Did you sleep?” Caspen asked.

“Barely. Did you?”

“No.” He didn’t elaborate.

Before Tem could ask him to, Adelaide appeared at her side. She was holding a large golden chalice filled with elixir. “It is time to begin,” she said to the contenders. “Please stand in a line.”

The basilisks obeyed, arranging themselves into formation.

“You will each swear to honor the outcome of the tournament. Then you will seal your promise with the elixir.” She stepped toward Eros, who was first in line. “Kneel.”

Eros knelt.

“Will you honor the outcome?”

“I will,” Eros answered.

Adelaide dipped her fingers in the chalice and touched them first to one shoulder, then the other, as if he were being knighted. Then she handed him the chalice, and he drank deeply.

Rowe knelt next, and Adelaide did the same for him.

She went down the line until she reached Apollo, who gave Tem a smile before he bowed his head. Despite herself, Tem smiled back. There were many elements that were well outside her control. But at least she knew the Drakon brothers were on her side. With them in her corner, what did she have to fear?

Finally, it was Tem’s turn.

“Will you honor the outcome?” Adelaide asked.

Tem hesitated, suddenly paralyzed. There were too many things that could go wrong, too many lives and relationships at stake. All of it was on her shoulders. And what of the final tier? What if her heart called to another? Would she honor the outcome?

In the pause, Apollo’s mind brushed against hers.

Do not be afraid. Let us do this for you.

“Temperance.” Adelaide’s voice cut through Apollo’s. “Will you honor the outcome?”

Everyone was watching her expectantly. They had come to the end of the road. It was time to let fate take its course.

“I will.”

Adelaide nodded. Then she dipped her fingers in the chalice, touching Tem’s shoulders the way she’d just touched the contenders’. Tem drank the last of the elixir, her entire body warming as it slid down her throat. As soon as she finished swallowing, Adelaide raised the empty chalice over her head, turning toward the crowd to yell, “It is done. Let the tournament begin.”

The arena erupted into cheers.

“Temperance,” Adelaide said. “Come with me.”

But Tem couldn’t move. She was staring at Caspen, who was staring at her.

“Caspen,” she said. But there were no words—nothing to say to encompass everything she was feeling. So she said the only thing she needed him to know: “I love you.”