Page 103 of Between Two Kings

“No,” Caspen and Leo said at the same time.

“Yes,” Tem insisted. “If you’re so eager for blood, you can have mine.”

Caspen’s grip tightened even more.

“No, Tem,” Leo insisted. “Not you. Never you.”

Tem straightened. “Why not? I’m part basilisk. I made that”—she pointed at the gold claw on Caspen’s chest—“and my blood is just as good as anyone else’s.”

Leo’s eyes flicked to Caspen’s necklace. His brow furrowed, and Tem wondered what he was thinking. He shook his head. “You’re not an option, Tem.”

“And why not? I’m no different than anyone else.”

“Of course you are.”

“No. I’m not. And if you want my people to bleed, that means you want me to bleed too.”

“I don’t want you to—” But he cut himself off.

Tem leaned forward, staring straight at him, her voice dangerously quiet. “Don’t want me to what, Leo?”

Leo pursed his lips. He understood. She knew he did.

Tem was making this difficult for him: forcing him to choose between keeping his soon-to-be wife happy and keeping Tem safe. It was a cruel choice but a necessary one. Tem needed to shine a spotlight on Evelyn’s asinine idea. Leo was only entertaining it in the first place because he thought some random basilisk would be the one to be harmed. But she wouldn’t let him off so easily. If Leo wanted blood to be spilled, that blood would be Tem’s.

“I don’t want you to get hurt,” Leo finally finished quietly.

His words fell on deafening silence.

Evelyn’s lip were pressed together in tight displeasure, her eyes flicking from Tem’s to Leo’s, then back again. Tem ignored her. This was between her and Leo. She already knew where Evelyn stood, already knew she was evil. But Leo was redeemable. Leo was good. Tem was going to remind him of that.

She looked him in the eye. “You say you don’t want me to get hurt, yet you also want the bloodletting to continue. So which one do you want more?”

Leo’s face was pale, his expression strained. Tem could see the toll this was taking on him, but she was not about to let up. She would not let him sit in his privilege and pretend that his actions did not affect others.

“If you want blood,” she said again. “You’ll need to take mine.”

As the silence deepened, Caspen’s grip grew even tighter. She could feel him pushing at the edges of her mind, trying to get in. But Tem had shut him out long ago. This was her battle to fight with Leo—her personal mission to make him understand that Evelyn’s request was unacceptable. If Leo wanted the bloodletting to continue, he would have to claim it and wear it proudly. If the kingdoms were to backslide, Tem was not going to make it easy to do so. If Leo was going to let this happen, he was going to have to let it happen to Tem. That was the only outcome that would teach him a lesson.

Caspen clawed at her mind. His presence was so strong, she was having trouble concentrating—finding it almost impossible to breathe. His fingers gripped her hand in an ironclad clasp. Still, she did not yield. Tem would face this alone because she did not want Caspen to have to face it at all.

Evelyn blinked her round, baleful eyes. She turned slowly to Tem. “I think it’s rather noble of you.”

“Noble?” Caspen spat.

It was the first word he’d said in minutes, and immediately, the hairs on the back of Tem’s neck stood up. She heard the danger in his voice, and it scared her. Evelyn was extremely close to crossing a line, and if she took it any further, there was a very real possibility that Caspen would snap. His presence was a storm, crackling and fierce.

“Noble is one word for it,” Tem said as calmly as she could. “Necessary is another. If a sacrifice must be made to keep peace between our kingdoms, I will make it.”

“I forbid it.”

Tem turned to Caspen. To her surprise, he wasn’t looking at her. His gaze was still on Evelyn, his golden eyes narrowed in pure loathing. Her eyes were narrowed in return.

“If Tem is volunteering, then we should allow her to make her own choice.”

Caspen and Leo let out identical noises of disbelief.

“Tem is altruistic to a fault. This is not her choice to make,” Caspen growled.