Page 97 of Split or Swallow

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

It was the second time he’d said that tonight. His hand was heavy on her leg, and she tried to ignore how close his fingers were to everything she wanted him to touch.

Tem took a huge gulp of wine.

“May I ask you something?” Caspen said quietly.

“Of course,” Tem nodded, surprised by the request. She couldn’t imagine what the basilisk could possibly want to know about her.

His hand tightened on her thigh.

“How did you get away from those boys?”

“Oh. Um…” Tem paused, embarrassed at having to recount the story. “Why do you ask?”

Caspen’s jaw clenched.

“Because I need to picture you getting away,” he said, his voice low. “Otherwise I only picture you getting hurt, and that I cannot bear.”

At his words, a chill ran down Tem’s spine. Once again, she was on the verge of convincing herself that he cared—once again, she was indulging in a fantasy that would never come to fruition. But she indulged it anyway, answering his question as steadily as she could:

“I…hit Jonathan with my knee.”

To her surprise, Caspen’s face split into a sudden grin. “Did you really?”

“Yes,” Tem said, thrown off by his reaction. “It was quite effective, actually.”

“I do not doubt it,” Caspen replied, still smiling.

Tem wasn’t sure what to make of his mood.

“Is that amusing to you?”

At her tone, Caspen’s expression sobered somewhat.

“Not inherently. I just know how much a knee can hurt.”

He tapped his finger gently on her kneecap.

Tem couldn’t help but smile. He’d probably been kneed many times during his centuries of training girls for the prince. She was happy she hadn’t contributed to that statistic.

They drank in silence again. Tem remembered something Caspen had said, and she knew she had to ask:

“What are you going to do to them?”

Caspen’s eyes flicked to hers. They both knew who she was referring to.

“There is no need for you to know,” he said quietly.

“I want to know.”

Caspen sighed, finally withdrawing his hand from her leg. He set his wine on the floor before reclining on his back, his gaze pointed up to the ceiling. When he spoke, his voice was a whisper:

“I am going to punish them.”

“But how?”

He still didn’t look at her. Tem set her glass on the floor and reclined too, positioning her body close enough to feel his heat.