Page 322 of Split or Swallow
Leo continued:
“I understand that basilisks live very long lives. You will have nearly an eternity together.”
His gaze moved to Tem, and his next words were a whisper:
“I just…want you while I can have you.”
It was, as Bastian might say, an elegant solution.
Why shouldn’t they share her? Tem was in love with them both. She was equal parts human and basilisk. Tem already knew that Caspen didn’t consider the human prince to be his equal. As such, he also shouldn’t consider him a threat. Caspen looked down on Leo in the same way the royals looked down on the basilisks. Leo was not important to Caspen—he never had been. But he was important to Tem.
She looked at Caspen, and he looked back at her.
In his gaze, she saw how deeply her absence had affected him. He missed her—she could see it in his eyes, in the way they drank in hers. And she missed him. She needed their mental connection back—needed that essential part of her. And in order to restore it, she needed to marry Leo.
Caspen spoke first:
“It is up to Tem.”
Leo nodded.
“Of course,” he looked at her. “It’s up to you.”
Tem opened her mouth, then closed it again. It was extraordinary—there was no other word for it. She couldn’t believe she was standing here in this cave, between these two men, deciding the fate of a kingdom. It wasn’t anything she ever expected for herself.
And yet, it was everything she was meant to do.
There was no future for her on the chicken farm—no possibility of ever going back to the way things were. It was time to step into who she was always meant to be.
Tem was ready to speak her truth.
“I love you both.”
There was a distinct change in the air when she said it, as if the universe had tilted on its axis. For some reason, she felt powerful. It was incredibly freeing to finally say it—to lay herself bare before both of them at the same time. They were all on the same page now. There was nothing left to hide—nothing to fight over. She loved Caspen, and she loved Leo, and she wasn’t about to stop anytime soon. They would move forward together; they would forge their own path.
Tem wasn’t sure what would happen next. There didn’t seem to be much else to say after what had just been said. She found herself looking to Caspen, as she always had, for guidance.
He turned to Leo.
“I still do not trust you.”
Leo sighed.
“Then allow me the chance to prove myself,” he said calmly. “I will be crowned king at my wedding, at which time I will announce that we are entering a new era—one in which there will be no more bloodletting. If I don’t keep my word, you are welcome to kill me then. That will be my fate if things continue as they have been anyway. Am I wrong?”
Leo was smart. He knew that the timing of this meeting was not accidental—that surely, the basilisks were planning to take down the royals. He didn’t know about the crest—he had no clue that his father’s free will was being used as a bargaining chip. But there was no need for him to know. Those were just details—scraps of information that would tangle a plan that needed to be perfect.
Finally, Caspen replied:
“You are not wrong.”
Leo nodded. And that was the end of it.
With one last lingering glance at Tem, Caspen turned and disappeared back into the passageway. Tem didn’t go after him. There was no point. She would simply have to wait to see what the ripple effect of this conversation would be moving forward. She would have to hope for the best.
Leo broke the silence:
“That went well.”
