Page 153 of Between Two Kings

“Basilisks give in to their instincts. We are unable to resist the draw of sex. You, on the other hand, do nothing but resist it.”

Tem frowned. She’d never thought of that as a distinctly human trait. She didn’t usually resist sex. It was specifically sex with Apollo that she was trying to avoid. Then again, she was avoiding it with Leo too. But that was out of necessity.

“I admire your restraint,” he continued. “I only wonder how long you can maintain it.”

Tem shrugged, the motion far more casual than the conversation. Her answer was not at all what she believed: “Forever, probably.”

His smile widened. “I very much doubt that.”

Tem very much doubted it too.

There was a day, not so far in the future, when she would break—when she would no longer be able to resist the draw of sex. But she couldn’t afford for that day to come. Not when Leo was the one she wanted to have sex with. Not when her own life was on the line. Basilisks were ruled by their bodies; humans, by their minds. Tem was constantly at war with herself, trying to maintain a balance. Caspen had said that her two sides were limitlessly powerful. But Tem hadn’t been feeling particularly powerful lately. It had taken tonight—this experience with Apollo, specifically—to feel capable again. Tem wondered if Apollo could sense this, if he knew the effect he had on her.

I do know.

Tem jumped at his voice in her mind. You can’t just eavesdrop on me like that.

I have already told you, Temperance. Your thoughts are rather loud.

Well, tune them out.

That is impossible.

Tem rolled her eyes.

In response, Apollo took her hand in his, lifted it to his mouth, and pressed his lips to her wrist. Tem didn’t know what to make of the gesture—it was the same one he did when they first met. It was oddly respectful, as if he were paying tribute to someone of much higher rank. Then again, Tem was technically his queen. Perhaps that’s exactly what he was doing.

“Should you ever tire of resisting,” he murmured against her skin, “I am at your disposal.”

That, if nothing else, was certainly true. Apollo was always right there, on the edge of Tem’s vision, waiting. In some ways, she liked that he wanted her so badly. But often his desire felt like a cage. He was no different than all the other basilisks under the mountain: virile and eager and willing to sleep with her at a moment’s notice. There was something to be said for wanting what she couldn’t have.

Her thoughts turned to Leo.

He was the only thing she couldn’t have. Everyone else was available to her; everyone else was hers for the taking. But even now, after sharing this moment with Apollo, Tem could only think of the human king.

Apollo was watching her carefully, as if curious to see she would do next. He had every right to be curious, Tem supposed, after what had just happened between them. But she would not be going any further with Apollo tonight. So she said, “Can you help me down?”

His face resumed its usual smooth expression. “Of course, Temperance.” Apollo’s arm curled around her, lifting her from the low brick wall and setting her on the ground. He lingered for just a moment, their bodies pressed together.

Tem closed her eyes, savoring it. Then they pulled apart.

“We should return,” Apollo said.

Dawn had run its course; it was nearly full daylight.

“What about the body?”

“I shall take care of it later.”

Tem frowned. She looked over her shoulder at the statue of the man, his granite hand still holding the feed scoop.

“Won’t someone find it?”

“It will not be here for long. I will return as soon as I escort you back.”

“I don’t need escorting, Apollo.”

“I never said you did.”