Page 230 of Between Two Kings

It wasn’t lost on Tem the magnitude of what Gabriel had done. To give up his seat as the leader of the rebellion was no small gesture, and it was all because of Damon. She knew without asking that the bond between them was strong. Damon had chosen Gabriel as his mate. It was only a matter of time before Gabriel chose him right back, if he hadn’t already. Tem was suddenly afraid that she had made things worse for him—that if the villagers viewed Tem the way Vera did, then they might view Gabriel just the same.

“Gabriel,” she said. “I need you to stay safe. If the villagers know you’re on our side—”

Gabriel’s hands clasped over hers. “Then they’ll know I’m loyal to the people I love.”

***

The next few days were agony.

Tem spent hours traipsing around the passageways, trying not to think about everything that was going wrong. She didn’t dare seek out Apollo; she didn’t want to see him anyway. She only wanted to see Caspen, and he was nowhere to be found. It wasn’t until Sunday that Tem truly began to worry. They were supposed to have dinner at the castle. What if he didn’t show? What if she had to brave the meal alone? The thought was too much to bear. Surely, he would show. Surely, he would not leave her to suffer Evelyn alone.

But when the carriage arrived to take her to the castle, Caspen was not in it. Tem sat alone on the velvet bench, staring out the window at the stars, wondering where on this earth her husband might be. Had he retreated to the sea, where basilisks originated? Or was he simply hunting, as he always was, trying to regain the strength that Rowe was taking from him? It killed Tem not knowing. But there was nothing she could do about it. All she could do was walk in the front door of the castle and follow the butler to the dining room for dinner.

Leo was already seated. He was alone.

“Where’s Evelyn?” Tem asked.

At her question, he flinched. “She won’t be joining us tonight.”

“Why not?”

“She’s not feeling well.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“What’s wrong with her?”

“She is ill, Tem. What more information do you need?”

“None, I guess. I’m just asking.”

“Very well. Shall we eat?”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

Tem noticed that Leo didn’t ask where Caspen was. He was acting…odd. Restrained, as if he were holding something in. It wasn’t like him. Usually, she could read him like a book. But not tonight. Tonight, it was as if he’d erected a shield between them—one that prevented her from seeing what was really going on.

They sat at opposite ends of the table, staring at each other. Tem was quite sure that Evelyn wasn’t ill. Surely, she had no desire to see Tem after their disastrous meeting last time. She was probably upstairs, in Leo’s bathtub, drinking expensive champagne.

A butler began serving dinner.

Tem studied Leo intently as he ate, trying to determine whether he looked worse than he did last time. She concluded that he did. There were bags under his eyes, and his shoulders were hunched. How long did he have?

“Tem,” Leo said, breaking her from her thoughts. “Did the fight happen?”

She’d completely forgotten about their conversation in the library—how she’d told him about the tournament, and he’d told her to fix things.

“Oh,” she said. “Yes.”

“And? How did it go?”

How to answer him? It had gone terribly, all things considered. “It…” She trailed off.

When she didn’t continue, Leo said, “Did Caspen win?”