Page 99 of Split or Swallow

Caspen held her gaze.

“Protecting you is only the beginning of what I want to do.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Tem couldn’t begin to understand the way Caspen was looking at her. If she didn’t know better, she’d allow herself to hope. But hope was painful, and there was no room for it in her heart. So she sat up.

Caspen sat up too, and for a moment, there was silence. When he spoke, his voice was a whisper:

“Do you know why I gave you a piece of myself?”

He was referring to the claw. Tem had always wondered why he’d done it—what exactly it had meant to him.

“No,” she said quietly. “Why?”

His fingers returned to her face, cupping her cheek with his palm.

“You surprised me.”

Tem’s heart stopped at his words. It was the ultimate compliment considering how many people he had met in his unusually long life.

“How?”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “You asked me to undress.”

“Oh. I can’t believe I did that. I figured it would make you angry.”

“On the contrary. It made me curious.”

“Curious?”

“Yes,” he was still holding her face. “It made me want to know you.”

“But why?”

“Because, Tem,” he pulled her closer. “You are worth knowing.”

Tem shook her head. It was incomprehensible. There was no other word for it. To think she could offer anything of value to a basilisk was an impossibility. She didn’t understand, and she feared she never would.

“We were strangers,” she whispered. “How could you think that?”

Caspen traced his thumb under her chin, pulling her gaze up to his.

“I find you extraordinary, Tem.”

Tem couldn’t fathom that. At her expression, Caspen leaned in.

“Is that so difficult to believe?”

Tem scoffed. “You’re the extraordinary one.”

Caspen tilted his head in the way he did when he was considering something.

“What do you find extraordinary about me?” he asked.

“Everything,” she answered immediately.

“Be specific.”