Page 17 of Between Two Kings

Tem stared at him blankly. “You’re not surprised that I’m half-basilisk?”

“No.”

“Or that I did the ritual?”

Gabriel’s grin widened. “No. Although I’m a little jealous you got to fuck Caspen’s father.”

She smacked his arm. “Be serious, Gabriel.”

“I am, Tem. I can only imagine the gene pool of that family.”

That earned him another smack. Gabriel simply chuckled into his beer.

“Aren’t you…” Words failed her. “Disgusted? Or at least…worried?”

“Disgusted?” Gabriel let out a deep, mirthful laugh. “Tem, dearest.” He pulled her closer, pressing his lips to her cheek. “I was beginning to think that you were entirely boring. That would disgust me far more than what you just told me.”

With one simple sentence, her soul unfurled. Of course Gabriel accepted her; of course Gabriel still loved her. There was nothing that could come between them—he was not so easily deterred. He required no coercion to love her.

“As for being worried,” he continued. “Should I be?”

Tem bit her lip. “I don’t know,” she said honestly.

“Hmm.” He considered her, his head tilted. “Something tells me you’ll be fine.”

“And why do you think that?”

“Because you are far more capable than you think you are. You always have been.”

Tem considered this. She wasn’t sure if it was a compliment or not.

“What does surprise me,” Gabriel said quietly, his expression sobering, “is that you waited until now to tell me.”

Tem sighed. She remembered the night not so long ago, in this very booth, when she’d been about to tell Gabriel everything. Then Leo had shown up, and things had taken an unexpected turn. Now she wished things had turned out differently. What would have happened if Tem had confided in her best friend that night? It would have made everything that came next so much easier. If she’d had someone to talk to, she wouldn’t have had to face so many decisions on her own.

“I waited because I was afraid,” she said honestly.

“Of what?”

“Of what you would think of me.” Sometimes Tem didn’t even know something was true until she spoke it out loud, and the moment she said it, she realized how deep that fear truly ran.

“Tem.” Gabriel leaned in. “You’re my best friend. Nothing could ever make me think any less of you.”

Tears were imminent. “But I’ve done bad things, Gabriel. Really bad things.”

“You did your best with the circumstances you were given.” He clasped his warm hands over hers. “That’s all anyone can hope to do.”

Tem just shook her head. She didn’t deserve his patience and understanding. Not after everything she’d kept from him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“I know.”

For a moment, they simply looked at each other. Tem studied the face she knew so well, marveling at how beautiful Gabriel had become. The gangly awkwardness of childhood was long gone. He was a man now, and somehow she’d missed it.

There was one more thing she had to tell him. “Being friends with me is risky, Gabriel. I…don’t want you to get hurt.”

To her surprise, his mouth quirked into a smile. “How dangerous are we talking?”

She gave him a half-hearted shove. “I’m serious. You know basilisks can petrify humans.”