Page 35 of Between Two Kings

The woman’s face was flushed. Tem felt much the same: warm and turned on, as if she were watching something she shouldn’t be. She remembered how Caspen had said she wasn’t intruding, and she tried to believe it. But as soon as the man began to enter the woman, Tem couldn’t help but close her eyes.

Open your eyes, Tem.

I can’t.

You must watch.

I’m too nervous to watch.

There is nothing to be nervous about.

Says you.

Says everyone.

Everyone is watching me watch them. I can’t do it.

Empathy flowed from him to her. I understand. But no one is judging you.

Tem was still wrapping her mind around the fact that she was judging them. I feel like I’m intruding.

You are not.

What if I don’t do it right?

There is nothing to do but watch.

But that wasn’t true. He’d told her that she needed to touch herself—that she needed to climax in order to bless them. Her approval of their marriage was directly contingent on that event, and if it didn’t happen, everyone would see her failure.

I can’t do this. I’m nobody.

You are their queen. A moment passed. Then: You are my queen.

Caspen believed in her. Caspen knew she could do this.

Tem. My love. Open your eyes.

Tem opened her eyes.

The couple was now fully intertwined, staring adoringly into each other’s eyes with every thrust. Tem thought about their blood bond—how they were bound together on a magical, unbreakable level. It was the same bond she shared with Caspen, and it was immeasurably special.

Just watch them, Tem. Witness their love. It is beautiful.

Despite Tem’s nerves, it was beautiful. There was nothing more beautiful, really. What could be better than watching two people who were in love express that love to each other? It was no different than what she did with Caspen every night. It was no different than what she’d done with Leo. Sex was beautiful. Sex was everything.

The couple was clearly obsessed with one another; they kissed at every opportunity, cradling each other’s faces and pressing their lips together tenderly. Tem saw the way they looked at each other like they were the only two people in the world. It was humbling to witness such devotion. Tem wondered suddenly if this was how she and Caspen had looked like during the ritual.

We looked better.

Tem rolled her eyes. Caspen was still in her head, watching from behind her. Eventually, under the protection of his steady presence, Tem relaxed. She still hadn’t touched herself—hadn’t even moved from where she was standing. But she felt ready now to indulge, as Caspen had so eloquently put it. And she wasn’t going to do it from here.

Slowly, so as not to disturb the couple, Tem stepped forward and knelt on the edge of the mattress. The moment she did so, a wave of approval crashed into her mind. It wasn’t just from Caspen; Tem felt it from all over—everyone in the crowd who was watching her wanted her to do this. Their hunger was staggering.

She touched herself tentatively at first, hesitating only due to the acute awareness that everyone was watching her. Tem had been watched before, but this felt different from the ritual. Back then, Bastian had been involved, and she’d had a clear task to complete—one that Caspen had taught her to do. But this time felt more nebulous. This time the approval being sought was her own.

The couple was enamored with each other, and Tem was enamored too. She synced her motions to theirs, fingering herself in gentle, forgiving strokes, pretending that she was the only one in the room. Her basilisk side was turned on. But her human side couldn’t comprehend that the couple was having sex for her. Every time she thought about it too hard, her throat tightened and her heart sped up. She glanced around the crowd for a distraction. To her surprise, she found one. Apollo.

Everyone was watching the couple. But Caspen’s brother was watching her.