Page 285 of Split or Swallow
His mouth twitched.
“That I know.”
He was still touching her. But the time for sex had passed. There was business to attend to now.
“Caspen,” Tem pushed his hand away. “Adelaide said our engagement was bound by blood. What does that mean?”
Caspen’s eyes went to the golden claw around her neck. He touched it.
“It means that when I gave you this, my blood bound our lives together,” he said. “It is an ancient magic, and it is irreversible.”
Tem absorbed this information in shock.
“So if I die…?”
Caspen finished quietly:
“I die.”
She was floored by his admission—shocked by the lengths to which he would go in order to be with her and her alone. Tem should be angry that he’d done this—and so many other things—without asking. But for once, she couldn’t seem to muster any rage. The risk of the blood bond was far greater for Caspen than it was for her. There was little chance he would die, from natural causes or otherwise. Tem, on the other hand, was a Hybreed. She was a weapon; she would always have a target on her back. She had not yet mastered her basilisk side; she was vulnerable.
“Tem,” Caspen said. “Are you angry?”
She shook her head.
“No. But…it seems like such a risk.”
He nodded.
“It is a risk. Many basilisks choose not to bind their engagements in blood for that very reason.”
“But you chose to bind ours.”
“Yes,” he said quietly. “I did.”
“Why?”
Caspen looked at her for a long moment. His answer was simple:
“Because I need you.”
It was a familiar sentiment. Tem had seen it in his mind the very first time he’d let her in, and it was one that she shared. Still, the gesture was staggering. It was not lost on Tem that Caspen had given her the little golden claw shortly after they’d met. He’d bound himself to her—using his blood—long before they knew anything about each other. His love had been that strong—that sure. Tem couldn’t conceptualize such clarity. It was flattering, to say the least. But it was also a problem. If anything happened to either of them, the other would be affected. The other would die. Adelaide was right. They had to be careful.
“Caspen,” she said. “I need you to do me a favor.”
He brushed a curl off her shoulder.
“Anything.”
“I want to talk to Adelaide.”
Caspen frowned. “Tem,” he said quietly. “I told you I—”
“It’s not about the engagement.”
He tilted his head.
“Then might I ask why you wish to speak with her?”
