Page 228 of Between Two Kings

But Tem did not have the words. Everything was the matter.

“Temperance?” Her mother emerged from the bedroom. “What are you doing here?”

At the sight of her mother, Tem fell to her knees in a defeated heap, sobs racking her body. She was dimly aware of hands on her shoulders, lifting her up. The familiar scent of the sea enveloped her. A mug of tea was pressed into her hands, and she savored the heat. All three of them sat at the kitchen table, in silence, until Tem was ready to speak.

“I think I made a mistake,” she whispered. “I’ve ruined everything.”

“You are allowed to make mistakes, my child. They are a part of life. Everyone makes them.”

“You don’t.”

Kronos smiled softly. “Of course I do. I make them all the time. Do you truly think that I have lived as long as I have without making any mistakes?”

Tem deeply wanted to believe him. But she felt so horrible it was difficult to do so.

“It is not your mistakes that matter, child. It is how you fix them.”

But Tem couldn’t fix them. Not this time. What she’d done was unfixable. “I don’t want Leo to die,” she whispered.

Kronos sighed, placing his hand on her arm. “Have you been able to transition at all?”

She shook her head.

“Then you must make your choice soon. He will not have long.”

“If I just had more time, I could—”

But what, exactly, could Tem do? More time wouldn’t change her circumstances. It would only prolong them.

“If time is what you need, there is one thing you can do.”

“What?”

Kronos glanced at her mother, who gave him a sad, knowing smile.

“The crest must be consummated with sex. But if you do anything leading up to that act, his fate will be delayed.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you kiss him, if you do anything other than sex, it will buy him some time.”

Tem didn’t bother asking how he knew that. She had seen the look between her parents—she knew they had a long history together. She was grateful for that history—it informed her future.

“You must know that is not a permanent solution,” her father continued. “The draw of the crest will not wait forever.”

Tem stared at her tea, trying to imagine a world in which she and Leo would even be allowed to kiss each other. She doubted Evelyn would ever let them be alone together again. And after what just happened with Caspen, he probably wouldn’t either.

“I can’t kiss him,” she whispered. “I can’t do anything else either.”

“Then you may have to watch him die.”

They didn’t speak any more after that. The sun was rising anyway, and her mother went out to tend to the garden. Tem spent the day in her parents’ bedroom, alternating between sleeping and eating the meals her father brought her. Eventually, it was evening, and Tem still wasn’t ready to return to the mountain. She knew Gabriel had the day off, and she knew where to find him.

“Tem, dearest,” he said when she walked into the Horseman. “It’s been too long.”

It had been barely a day, yet Tem agreed. She returned his embrace, holding him tighter than usual. “Did you enjoy the rest of the celebration?” she asked.

“Of course I did. What about you? I’m surprised you’re able to walk after all that.”