Page 81 of Between Two Kings

It was all he said, and it wasn’t enough. If Leo didn’t trust Evelyn—to the extent that he’d actually confronted his father about whether or not he wrote the letter that ended their relationship—there was no going back. Doubt had crept in, and there would be no stopping its destructive path.

Tem didn’t want Evelyn to be lying to Leo. She wanted Evelyn to be the love of Leo’s life. Because if she wasn’t, then everything Tem had put them through hadn’t been worth it. Tem couldn’t bear the thought that his pain was for nothing. She needed this to work.

“Leo,” she whispered. “She came back. Isn’t that enough?”

Leo stared at the fire, his eyes unfocused. He was becoming angry—she could see it on his face. Something was brewing here: something bad.

“I am surrounded by liars,” he whispered. “Including you.”

His words stopped her short. Because they were true. “Leo—”

“What did she say to you last week? Hm?”

Tem pursed her lips. It was telling that Leo focused on that conversation in particular—as if he knew something significant had happened during it, that there was something Tem couldn’t say. He was so intuitive. It was a quality she usually loved about him, but she hated it right now.

“She just—”

“And don’t you dare lie.”

She sighed. He couldn’t have it both ways. It wasn’t possible for her to tell him what Evelyn said to her last week and also not lie. As a Hybreed, she could lie, though it was painful to—to lie to Leo was painful physically and emotionally. And she knew telling the truth now could sabotage his relationship.

The pause went on too long. Leo leaned in. “What did she fucking say to you, Tem? What did the two of you talk about? Did you talk about me? About us? What secrets did my future wife divulge to you that she doesn’t care to divulge to me?”

Tem didn’t answer. She couldn’t.

“Did she tell you why she left me? Did she read you the fucking letter my father supposedly left her?”

At some point during his tirade, Leo stood up. He was towering over Tem, his hands on either side of her armchair, caging her in.

“What did she say to you?”

“Leo,” Tem cried. “Calm down.”

His reaction was immediate. His expression softened and his shoulders relaxed as he sat back down, his hands clasped loosely in his lap. Tem blinked, floored by the sudden change. Then horrible realization struck.

Tem had just given Leo an order. And as the object of her crest, he was bound to obey it.

“I’m sorry,” Tem said immediately, scrambling for how to fix it. “You…you don’t have to calm down unless you want to.”

A moment of silence passed. Then, lightning-quick, the anger from a moment ago returned. He leaned forward but didn’t stand. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Tem opened her mouth, then closed it—only she knew the details of the crest. Leo had no idea that what she’d done to him on their wedding day had any long-term implications.

“Tem?” Leo insisted. “What the fuck did you just do to me?”

“Leo,” she said as calmly as possible. “Do you remember at the end of our wedding—what you did for me?”

His eyes bored into hers, accusatory and fearful. “Yes. Of course I do.”

“You saved my life,” Tem said slowly. “And I am so grateful.”

“Get to the fucking point, Tem.”

She flinched at this tone but didn’t let it deter her. “When you saved me, it…bonded you to me.”

Leo stared at her expectantly.

Tem groped for the right words. “That bond is significant. And permanent. And it has certain…side effects.”