Page 80 of Split or Swallow

“You should be sorry. If I had been with the Serpent King, I’m sure I would’ve known how to keep him.”

“Are you serious?”

Vera flipped her curls over her shoulder. The other half of the wine disappeared into her mouth as a butler ushered them into a dimly lit dining room along with the rest of the girls. A large circular table was arranged in the center of the room, surrounded by plush velvet chairs. Shiny gold name tags adorned each plate.

“You’re so ungrateful, Tem,” Vera hissed as the butler distributed more wine. “Of all people, you have the best teacher. Everyone knows that’s the reason you got your date.”

Tem had nothing to say to that. Little did Vera know that the Serpent King was hardly teaching her anything, and she’d only gotten her date because Leo wanted to make his father angry.

“The prince obviously likes you,” Vera continued. “You’re dressed like a nun and he still can’t stop staring.”

Tem glanced across the dining room to see that Leo was already there, leaning against the far wall. His eyes were on her thigh, which was exposed by the high slit in the dress. It was the only skin visible, yet somehow he’d managed to find it.

She shook her head.

“He’s only staring because he hates this dress.”

“Whatever,” Vera rolled her eyes. “Dresses don’t matter tonight anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

Vera suddenly had the same look on her face she got whenever she was about to drop a particularly scandalous piece of gossip. She leaned in, her red lips pinched with glee.

“The Frisky Sixty is tonight.”

Tem’s stomach dropped.

“How do you know?”

“My snake told me. Didn’t yours?”

Tem was too shocked to reply.

The Frisky Sixty was a notorious part of the elimination process. Each girl would have sixty seconds with the prince, behind closed doors, with nobody else present. The villagers had dubbed it the “Frisky Sixty” because sixty seconds really wasn’t enough time to do anything other than take your clothes off. And that’s exactly what the girls were expected to do. The prince was choosing a wife, after all. The Frisky Sixty gave him the opportunity to see what each girl had to offer. It was an antiquated, offensive, and abhorrent tradition. But it was also the simplest means to an end. What better way to guarantee that Leo would make an informed choice than to show him his options ahead of time?

Tem tried to dull the sharp prick of indignation that pierced her side. She couldn’t believe Caspen hadn’t informed her this was happening tonight. Then again, why would he? He hadn’t prepared her for any other part of the competition either. She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt—she wanted to believe that he hadn’t known about this. But Vera’s basilisk had known, and he had told her. Surely, the Serpent King would’ve been informed. Tem wasn’t just unprepared—she was beginning to feel like Caspen was sabotaging her.

A gentle clink clink clink filled her ears. The butler was tapping a knife on a wine glass. The room hushed as he said:

“Please be seated. Dinner is served.”

Everyone obeyed, milling around the table and looking for their name tag. Tem had just found hers when Leo’s nimble fingers swiped it out from under her.

“What are you—” Tem started to say but he was already walking to the other side of the table and switching her name tag for the one next to his. He sauntered back to place the other name tag where Tem’s had been a moment ago. It was Ve⁠ra’s.

“Trust me, you don’t want to do that,” Tem said.

“Trust me,” that familiar mischievous smile twisted his lips. “I do.”

Tem could only imagine the conversation she would have at the bakery tomorrow. But she couldn’t go against the prince.

With a sigh, Tem followed Leo to the other side of the table. He pulled her chair out for her and she sat reluctantly, already bracing herself for what was to come. She chanced a glance at Vera, who was staring daggers at her.

Tem turned to Leo.

“You’ve just made my life significantly more difficult.”

He arched an eyebrow.