Page 133 of Between Two Kings

He let out a long breath. “You were down there a long time. I couldn’t bear it any longer.”

Tem didn’t know what to say to that. She didn’t feel like pointing out the inherent privilege Leo held in being able to get drunk while she bled. There was no point. “Where’s Evelyn?”

“Asleep.”

Tem almost laughed. Here was Leo, so worried about her that he’d gotten drunk. Evelyn, on the other hand, slept without a care in the world. Did she know where her husband was? Did she know he was here, in the foyer, staring at Tem like he wanted to take her upstairs and fuck her while Evelyn watched?

Leo stepped closer. “I couldn’t bear it, Tem,” he said again.

The words were a whisper, and Tem believed them. “I’m going home, Leo,” she said.

“Please, let me get you something—water, a drink, anything.”

“No, Leo.”

“Please, Tem,” he whispered. “I just want to help.”

There was nothing he could do to help, and they both knew it. The time to help was an hour ago, before he’d let her enter the dungeon. Now the damage was done.

Still. The thought of a bumpy carriage ride was not an appealing one, especially after what she’d just been through. Tem needed a moment to rest. So she whispered, “Fine.”

Leo’s eyes lit up. He extended his hand toward her, the gold cuff glinting on his wrist. When Tem didn’t take it, his face fell. “Very well,” he said. “Come this way.”

They went to the parlor. As soon as they were inside, Leo poured her a whiskey. Alcohol was the last thing she needed, but she took it anyway, leaning against the fireplace as she sipped it. In the silence, they studied each other.

The effect of the crest was obvious. Leo was pale. He had bags under his eyes. Tem had a horrible flashback to when she’d watched Caspen deteriorate in front of her in much the same way. Only now it was Leo—the other man she loved—and there was nothing Tem could do about it. Or was there?

She could fuck him right here, right now. The urge was borderline irresistible. Her basilisk side yearned to do it—to push him against the wall, undo his trousers, and let him inside her. She wondered if Leo would let her. From the way he was looking at her, she thought he might.

His voice broke through her thoughts. “Why don’t you like champagne?”

Tem blinked. It was a bizarre question. “Why would you ask me that?”

“I’m curious. You never drink it.”

“It’s too sweet.”

“Hm.” He tipped his glass to his lips. “Evelyn loves it.”

Tem snorted. That didn’t surprise her.

Leo raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “Something funny?”

“Why does she like it?”

“Ah,” he said, swirling his whiskey. “She says it tastes expensive.”

Everything Maximus had just told Tem about Evelyn slammed immediately back into her mind. Should she tell Leo what she knew? He practically knew already—he’d called Evelyn greedy once before. But that was not the same as knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that Evelyn was using him for money. That knowledge was reserved for Tem, and she would not share it with Leo unless she was sure it was the right thing to do. She needed proof before she destroyed a marriage on nothing but Maximus’s word.

“You don’t like her, do you?” Leo asked quietly.

Of course Tem didn’t like Evelyn. But she couldn’t say that. Tem would not risk breaking his heart until she heard the truth from Evelyn herself. Instead she remembered what Maximus had said—how Leo fell for the same types of girls.

“I think she’s smart.”

“No you don’t. You scrunch your nose when she talks. Like this.” Leo mimicked the motion, scrunching his nose in a passable impression of her.

Tem almost laughed. “So? That doesn’t mean I don’t think she’s smart.”