Page 159 of Between Two Kings

“I said leave us.”

Even Tem went still. Caspen’s tone was the one he used when he was a moment away from losing his temper. It was a familiar tone to Tem, and surely to Caspen’s sister as well.

“Cypress.” Adelaide touched her cheek gently. “Please leave us. I will come to you when we are done.”

It was her plea, finally, that made Cypress leave. She stood without another word, glaring at Caspen on her way out. He ignored her. The door had barely shut when Adelaide said, “Caspenon. You must understand that we—”

“I did not ask for an explanation,” Caspen snapped. “Who my sister chooses to bed is not my concern. I cannot help it if she prefers my scraps.”

Hurt flashed over Adelaide’s face, but she quickly suppressed it. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair uncharacteristically mussed at the back. Tem had never seen her so vulnerable. She raised her chin. “Then why are you here?”

“I am here because Tem and I cannot touch.”

Adelaide raised an eyebrow. Then she sat up slowly, crossed her legs, and positioned herself so she was facing them on the edge of the bed.

“You…cannot touch?”

In reply, Caspen reached for Tem, his fingers once again meeting the barrier between them. An ache ran through her at the sight of his hand an inch from her skin. Out of instinct, she reached for him too, stopping when she felt resistance just before his fingers. She stared at their hands, suspended in the air. The sight made her want to cry.

“Kora,” Adelaide whispered.

Caspen dropped his hand. “You have seen this before,” he said sharply. “Is it the same?”

Adelaide’s beautiful face darkened. She ran a palm over her hair, smoothing it. “I…do not know. It could be.” Adelaide stood, crossing to them. She took Tem’s hand in her own before grasping Caspen’s in the other and raising them. All three of them watched as Adelaide pushed their hands together. A stubborn inch of air remained between them, vibrating with restrained energy.

Tem didn’t understand it. But she hated it—and she couldn’t take it anymore. “Will one of you please tell me what’s going on?”

Neither basilisk answered.

Adelaide released their hands and muttered, “Remarkable. When did it begin?”

“Just now,” Caspen replied. “Mere minutes ago.”

Adelaide nodded. “I have only seen this once before, and I was very young.”

“But you know what it means.”

Adelaide bit her lip. “Yes,” she said quietly. “I know what it means.”

“Well?” Tem cried. “What does it mean?”

A perilous pause followed. In it, Caspen and Adelaide looked at each other. Tem saw a myriad of emotions flow between them—first shock, then disbelief, then resolve. What felt like an eternity passed before Adelaide finally answered. “It means that the Senecas have contested your marriage.”

Tem blinked. “Contested it?” She glanced at Caspen, whose face was a stiff mask of anger. He seemed too irate to speak.

Adelaide continued, “When you married Caspenon, you wed outside your quiver. The Senecas take offense to this. By contesting your marriage, they are invoking an ancient process to challenge your union. You and Caspenon cannot touch each other until it is resolved.”

Tem remembered what Caspen had told her: The Senecas are angry. They feel I am corrupting one of their own. She pictured the words on the courtyard wall: Give her to us. Here, finally, was the retaliation Caspen had feared. The Senecas were done waiting for her to join their side. They had warned her, and she had ignored them. And now they would take her by force.

“And how exactly will it be resolved?”

Adelaide’s eyes slid to Caspen’s, then back to Tem’s. “There will be a tournament in your honor. The victor will win your hand in marriage.”

The ground seemed to fall out from beneath her. “Excuse me?”

“Temperance,” Adelaide said steadily. “There is no need to be alarmed.”

“No need to be alarmed?” Alarm was all she felt.