Page 5 of Between Two Kings

“Be still.”

She would be anything for him.

“Say it. Say you want my cock.”

She would say anything for him.

“You were made for me.”

Nothing could be more true.

Was Leo remembering it too? Was he seeing what Tem was seeing—the two of them together, the way they were supposed to be? Tem expected him to pull away, but he didn’t. Instead, after a debilitating pause, his finger moved too. It trailed along the length of hers, brushing all the way up to her knuckle. Tem savored the vibration that coursed up her arm at the contact.

Something inside her called to him. Something predatory and instinctual and undeniably inhuman. Tem had to have him; she needed to kiss him and taste him and press her skin against his until she—

“After you,” Lord Chamberlain said.

They both jumped at the same time, yanking their hands apart. The dungeon door was open, its gaping darkness beckoning.

Tem’s heart was pounding so fast, she found it difficult to breathe. It was as if she’d just exchanged something vitally important with Leo—as if some element of his body had transferred itself to hers, and vice versa.

She didn’t dare look at him. Instead she stared straight ahead as they entered the dungeon, stepping into the darkness together. It was just as she’d remembered it: dimly lit and brutally cold. But this time, it wasn’t her father in the cell at the end of the row. It was Leo’s.

Maximus was slumped against the stone wall, his blond hair tangled, his eyes closed. He looked nothing like the proud king she’d come to know during the courting contest, and Tem found she enjoyed the sight. He was right where he belonged, reaping the consequences of his actions in the place where he had caused others so much pain. Seeing him in the same cell her own father had once occupied was an incredible victory and one she knew she owed to Leo. Tem wondered how soon after the wedding he’d put his father here. She could only imagine how that must have felt for him.

“Father,” Leo barked. “Wake up.”

Maximus’s eyes opened slowly. They traveled first over Leo before settling on Tem. He let out a low, humorless laugh that cut into her like a blade.

“Not who I expected,” he said, his voice hoarse.

“We need you to witness our annulment,” Leo continued as if he hadn’t spoken.

Maximus laughed again. This time it descended into a tortured cough. “Pathetic,” he said, his eyes locked on Leo’s. “Even for you.”

“Enough, Father.”

Tem looked at Leo. It wasn’t his usual sharp comeback—he sounded tired. She wanted to reach for him again.

Maximus shrugged, and it was then that Tem noticed he was manacled to the cell floor. It seemed a particularly cruel way to keep him—he couldn’t stand, and his shoulders were permanently hunched. It was a personal touch; there was no need to restrain him within his own cell, and Tem knew Leo must have ordered him to be kept that way. She wasn’t sure how to feel about this revelation. She knew Leo was capable of cruelty—all men were. But it wasn’t his instinct, and it certainly wasn’t his preference. Had his experience at the wedding hardened him? Was he no longer the twenty-year-old boy she knew?

There was no time to wonder about this. Lord Chamberlain produced a piece of paper from his jacket pocket, and in the dim light of the dungeon, Tem caught the words dissolution of marriage. She felt the sudden urge to fight back tears. This is what would unbind her from Leo? It seemed so stupid, so worthless. Tem stared at the piece of paper. It was so simple—nothing more than ink on a page. Signing this would do nothing to change the way she felt. It wouldn’t soothe the fiery need that threatened to drown her whenever he came close. Nothing could soothe that—love demanded to be felt.

“Ladies first,” Lord Chamberlain said as he brandished the paper at Tem.

Numbly, Tem took the quill and signed her name. She took specific care not to touch Leo’s skin when she handed the paper to him. Then he signed his name too. Lord Chamberlain passed the paper and the quill through the bars, into Maximus’s outstretched hands. He took his time signing it, first reading every word as if he were savoring the experience. Tem couldn’t exactly blame him. Surely, this was the highlight of his day. When he was done signing, Lord Chamberlain retrieved the paper and tucked it away into his jacket. The moment it disappeared, Tem felt even colder.

They were just about to leave when Maximus said, “Well, Thelonius? Has it been hard?”

Leo stopped in his tracks. Tem stopped too.

“Has what been hard?” he whispered.

“Knowing the truth.”

Leo’s fists clenched at his sides. Tem looked from him to Maximus, wondering what was going on. She was missing something—clearly there had been a previous conversation between father and son.

Leo’s answer was a single word: “Yes.”