Page 177 of Split or Swallow

“The royals use basilisks for bloodletting.”

Tem frowned. “Bloodletting?”

“It is a process where our blood is alchemized into gold. This—” Caspen touched the golden claw around her neck “—is a piece of me.”

Comprehension hit Tem like a tidal wave. The necklace was not just a gesture—no mere trinket to symbolize his intentions—Caspen had bled for her.

“They hunt us, Tem,” he continued, his words rushed and tight. “They take us to the castle and they bleed us until we have nothing left to give,” he gestured at the memorial. “Hundreds have died there.”

Tem reeled from this revelation. It was difficult to comprehend such cruelty. Everything made sense now—how the royals had accumulated so much gold—how they used their wealth to wield power over anyone who tried to cross them—how Maximus kept the basilisks in their place. She thought of Leo’s teeth, of his tapered incisors sheathed in gold: a symbol of wealth, of power, of dominance. Their fang-like shape was nothing but an imitation and a mockery of the basilisk from whose blood they were made. Tem fought a wave of nausea as she remembered how her tongue had touched those teeth just last night. Something even worse occurred to her.

Did Leo know about this horrible practice?

Would he sanction it, the same way his father had? Leo hated the basilisks. It was a hatred formed by years of prejudice—a hatred that ran irreversibly deep. Tem remembered Leo’s gold cuff: the same one that encircled Maximus’s wrist.

Like father, like son.

“Is there a way to help them?” Tem whispered. “To get them out?”

“Yes,” Caspen said slowly, his golden eyes searching hers. “But it will be…difficult.”

Tem was sure of that. There was no way to rescue the basilisks in the castle without alerting the royals of their departure. Surely any plan to get them out would involve bloodshed. Tem didn’t want to imagine which side would suffer more.

“Tem,” Caspen murmured, breaking her from her thoughts. “The time will come when you will have to choose.”

Tem didn’t want to believe it. She refused to believe it.

And yet, somewhere in the depths of her soul, she knew Caspen was right. She knew, without a doubt, that she would be forced to pick a side—that eventually, her heart would inevitably break.

“I don’t want to choose,” she whispered.

Caspen smiled sadly.

“I know.”

The room seemed to grow colder.

Tem’s fingers touched the little golden claw around her neck. She thought about how it was made from Caspen’s body—from his blood. There were no words for what he had done.

Her eyes found his.

“Caspen,” she whispered.

He pressed a single finger to her lips.

“Tem,” he murmured. “It was worth it. For you, I would give anything.”

His hands moved to either side of her face.

“I love you.”

He’d said it just minutes ago. But this time it was a plea: a question to which only Tem had the answer. He was asking if she was on his side—if her feelings for Leo were non-negotiable—if she would choose the basilisks over the humans.

Tem didn’t have the answers to any of those questions.

Caspen looked at her, and for the first time, she saw how difficult their situation was for him. It wasn’t unlike the way Leo had looked at her just this morning. Both men wanted Tem for themselves. But there was a factor that neither of them could predict: her. She did not want to pick a side; she did not want to choose. There had to be another way.

They stood at the memorial for a long time. Eventually, Tem began to shiver again, and they walked back through the passageways together. When they reached Caspen’s chambers, Tem reclined on his bed. Caspen followed, wrapping his arms around her before releasing a weary sigh against her shoulder. Tem knew he had not asked for any of this.