Page 84 of Between Two Kings

“Hide them,” he finished for her.

Tem nodded. It was not lost on her that this entire thing was a terrible idea. The thought of Leo expressing how he felt in writing and keeping them anywhere in the vicinity of his soon-to-be wife was surely a recipe for disaster. But there was nothing else to be done. Leo was right; there was nowhere for their feelings to go. So perhaps they could go into the letters.

“Will you write to me in return?” he whispered.

“Do you want me to?”

Leo turned back to her. His eyes traced down her body, and Tem knew he was picturing every inch of her curves. In his gaze, she saw everything he couldn’t say and everything he would no doubt write in the letters. She saw how badly he wanted her—how much it was killing him to refrain from touching her—how he was mere seconds away from sweeping her into his arms. She saw his pain. So it didn’t surprise her when he answered, “No.”

Should she be offended? Relieved?

Perhaps it was for the best that he didn’t want her to write. Surely, he already knew how she felt. And while keeping love letters around was risky for Leo, it was downright dangerous for Tem. There could be no evidence of her love for Leo—no physical confirmation of their bond. Basilisks were not free with their hearts. No one could read those letters.

Especially not Caspen.

Chapter Fourteen

Caspen was not in their chambers when Tem returned to the cave. She knew he was avoiding her, so she fell asleep alone, curled up in the middle of their bed, trying not to think about Leo. But her dreams were filled with him. They always started the same way: with the brush of a pinkie. Except this time, they weren’t standing in front of the dungeon door. Now they were in Leo’s bedroom, and they were naked.

Leo kissed her first, eager and desperate, his teeth pulling at her bottom lip. Tem received what he gave her, letting him touch her anywhere he liked. They were always a little freer in her dreams than they had been in real life. In her dreams, they were safe.

Will you keep me around?

For as long as you’ll let me.

Tem was still alone when she woke.

She’d hardly eaten any dinner; she’d been too busy crying in the bathroom to indulge in the roast beef. The thought of going to the banquet hall without Caspen was intimidating but not impossible. If Caspen was so comfortable leaving her alone, perhaps she should become comfortable being alone. Besides, she was starving.

The banquet hall was filled with basilisks from both quivers. It seemed that the tension with the Senecas had abated—perhaps the fact that the ouroboros had ended amicably was enough to appease them for the time being. Tem navigated carefully between the tables, dodging more than one writhing group of basilisks. Mating season was still well underway, and she was still not used to it. Tem tried to be polite—to look at anything else—but the only thing happening around her was sex. A man was fingering a woman right in front of her. Beyond them, two women were entangled on a table. Just as Tem was about to give up, she spotted an open seat and collapsed in it gratefully. No sooner had she sat down than she heard Apollo’s voice.

“All alone tonight, Temperance?”

It was the exact same thing he’d said to her in the passageway before she slapped him. Apollo was always catching her alone, as if he possessed some sort of instinct for when she would be at her most vulnerable. It was a rather uncanny ability, and she hated it.

“I guess,” she said as he sat down across from her.

Apollo smiled, picking up a fork and twirling it deftly between his fingers. “In that case, I shall keep you company.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I insist.”

“You insist?”

“I beg.”

“That’s better.”

Apollo leaned in, his mouth curling into a smile. “Do you like it when I beg?”

Tem shot him a look of utter disdain. “Only if it’s for your life.”

“You will never hear me beg for my life.”

“No? And why not?”

Apollo smiled, baring his fangs. “Basilisks believe in fate.”