Page 219 of Between Two Kings

“So it’s just…gone?”

“I did not say that I disposed of it. Only that I took it from you.”

“Oh.”

Tem was having trouble wrapping her head around the fact that her love for Leo was something that could be taken. But then she remembered how Caspen had once placed his hand on her chest and taken her desire away—how basilisks were able to manipulate emotions and remove them at will. Love was an emotion, was it not? There was no reason why it couldn’t be taken like anything else.

“So that’s why I was able to choose Caspen?”

“Yes.”

“And nobody else knows that I…?”

“Love another?” He turned to her, his eyes dark. “No. They do not.”

Tem stared at him. “I can’t believe you did that for me,” she whispered.

“It is not a permanent solution,” Apollo said. “It must be given back. And quickly.”

“Oh,” Tem said again. There was a pause, and in it, she half expected him to give it back right that moment. But Apollo was looking at her with a peculiar expression on his face, as if he had just figured something out.

“What?” she prompted.

He didn’t answer. Instead he stepped closer, his brows furrowed. “You did not tell me the extent of your feelings for him.”

“Excuse me?” Tem had told him that she was in love with Leo. That was pretty much the extent of her feelings for him.

“You did not tell me that you crested him. Or that you have yet to consummate it. You did not tell me that his life hangs in the balance.”

Tem’s mouth fell open. “How do you know that?”

Apollo pressed his hand to his chest. “It is right here.”

She stared up at him. He’d gleaned all that just from extracting her love for Leo? If she’d known he was going to find that out, she never would have let him back inside her mind. Up until now, this had been her burden to bear—a secret only she knew the consequences of. Even Adelaide, her closest confidant, was not aware of the extent of it. But now that Apollo knew it too, Tem felt…relief. And also fear. What if he told Caspen? But Apollo would not do that. The time had come, finally, to trust that he wanted what was best for his brother and also what was best for her. Apollo was selfless in that way. He hid behind a facade of carelessness, but underneath it all, Apollo cared about Caspen, and he cared about his family. He was a fierce protector—that much was abundantly clear—and he had done the unthinkable in order to ensure Caspen’s victory. He’d placed his brother’s feelings over his own—he’d acted selflessly. That was a person she could trust.

“I must give it back, Temperance. I have no desire to hold on to this lie.”

Shame flushed her face. When he phrased it like that, it seemed so much worse than it was. But perhaps Apollo was right. Perhaps it was worse than Tem had thought it was. Every moment she harbored love for Leo was a moment closer to disaster. Apollo would not be there to take away her emotions every time they became a problem. Tem would have to deal with this head-on, or it would be dealt with for her.

“Besides,” he continued, “I could not keep it even if I wanted to.”

“What happens if you keep it?”

“It will come out,” he said simply.

Then he placed his palm on her chest and closed his eyes.

Unlike when he’d extracted her emotions before—violently and with no warning—this time they seeped back into her chest slowly, warming her the way a crackling fire would. It was as if a flower were blooming in her chest. Tem could feel the petals opening, reaching outward like fingers. Finally, her link to Leo was restored. The moment it was done, Tem sighed. Her love for him might cause her pain, but it also made her whole. She’d felt utterly wrong without it, like she was missing a part of her. And in a way, she was. Despite the fact that this was tearing her apart, it was also the only thing keeping her together. Without her love for Leo, she lost a part of herself.

“You must rid yourself of this,” Apollo said quietly.

But Tem couldn’t do that. She’d already tried falling out of love with Leo. Nothing could be more impossible. “I can’t.”

“Temperance.” He stepped closer. “You must. If you consummate the crest, your blood bond will be broken and Caspenon will be forced to kill you. He will never forgive himself.”

Tem shook her head. “I can’t tell him.”

“You cannot go on like this. You are tearing yourself in two.”