Page 349 of Split or Swallow

Caspen and Leo rose too, standing on either side of her as all three of them looked out over the clearing. The view was nothing short of carnage.

Some humans were killed, while others were crested. Still more were petrified: statue after statue filled the clearing, all cowered in various defensive positions, forever preserved in their final state of fear. The once pristine grass was strewn with body parts that had been ripped from their sockets. Blood was everywhere. It stained the white tablecloths and dripped in great uneven splatters from white ros⁠es. Sobs and screams filled the air.

It was horrible. All of it.

Beside her, Caspen stepped forward. He leaned down, sinking his fists into Bastian’s wet corpse before lifting what was left of his father high above his head. He let out a roar of anger and victory that echoed throughout the clearing with terrifying finality. All other sounds ceased immediately. Both basilisks and humans alike stared up at Caspen, the new Serpent King, wielding his dead father. As soon as everyone’s eyes were on him, Caspen hurled Bastian’s body off the stage. It land⁠ed in the middle of the aisle, crumpling into a bloody heap.

And just like that, it was over.

The remaining basilisks bolted for the maze, sprinting into the gaps in the hedges. Some of them wore their true forms, their giant bodies crushing straight through the walls. Caspen lowered his arms, watching them go. He would be merciful today.

Silence fell on the clearing.

Only then did the true cost of the evening became apparent. The grass was littered with bodies—some stone, some flesh, some halfway in between. Anyone who was still alive was huddled by the maze walls, their hands covering their eyes in case a basilisk wearing its true form was still nearby. Tem saw her mother in the distance, clinging to Gabriel. Pure relief passed through her.

“Caspen,” she pointed. “My mother—”

He was already stepping forward.

“I shall retrieve her,” he said, touching her jaw gently. “Rest.”

Tem didn’t protest. She watched as he descended the steps, the humans on either side of him cowering as he passed. Lilly followed in his footsteps, extending her hand to the first person she saw.

Tem turned to Leo.

He looked back at her, his face still shining with love.

“Tem,” he began slowly. “That was…not how I thought our wedding would go.”

Tem almost laughed. They were standing exactly where they’d gotten married earlier. It was dark now, the clearing lit only by the light of the harvest moon. Nothing was the same.

“Me neither,” she said.

He brushed his fingertips along her shoulder.

“Are you in pain?”

She shook her head. Not anymore.

“Are you?”

Leo held up his hand. His palm was badly scraped, blood dripping down his wrist.

Tem took it in hers, pressing her own palm over the injury and closing her eyes. She’d never done this for someone else before. But she did it for Leo, using her power to fix the ripped skin, stitching it back together as Caspen had done so many times for her. When she lifted her hand, the wound was healed.

“That’s…quite extraordinary,” Leo whispered.

Tem nodded. It was.

For a moment, they simply looked at each other. Leo was covered in blood, but it was mostly Tem’s. He extended his fingers, reaching for her face. Tem let him touch her, leaning into his warmth, remembering the way his lips had felt during the crest.

“I…have some regrets, you know,” he said quietly.

“About what?”

He cupped her cheek with his palm.

“I’m afraid I wasn’t what you deserved.”