Page 201 of Split or Swallow

Some with each other, some with themselves. In pairs, in groups, in sweaty, roiling piles of limbs. Men with women, men with men, women with women. There was no order to it whatsoever—Tem had never seen anything like it. It was already enough of a shock to see hundreds of naked people at once, but to watch them all fuck each other was far beyond anything Tem could comprehend. She watched as three women tore into each other with an intensity that bordered on violence. One man was on his knees as another man thrust his cock into his mouth. Another man kissed one woman while a different woman sat on his cock. It was complete and utter chaos. The hiss reverberated off of them in a continuous wave, throbbing with their collective movements. It seemed to be growing, somehow, into something that wasn’t just a sound. Tem felt the pressure of the air begin to change. She recognized the smell of smoke.

“Caspen?” Tem whispered, her voice small.

Caspen grabbed her face. To her surprise, his eyes were dark with fear.

“You need to leave,” he said. “Right now.”

“What? No—I’m not leaving you.”

He was trying to pull away from her. She wrapped her legs around him tightly, holding him closer. He was already hard again.

“Tem, please,” he said desperately. “You need to leave.”

“Tell me what’s going on.”

“They are about to transition.”

“All of them?”

“There is no time to explain. You must close your eyes. And do not open them until I tell you.”

“What? Why—?”

“When they come, they will transition. I will transition.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I cannot stop it, Tem. I am one with them. Just close your eyes.”

“What do you mean you’re one with—”

“Close your eyes, Tem!”

It was an order. Tem closed her eyes.

The hiss grew to an unspeakable volume, filling her from the inside out, drilling into her skull with such intensity she could barely stand it. Her legs were still wrapped around Caspen, but a moment later, they were being pushed apart. Whereas one moment ago she had been pressed against his warm, damp skin, now she felt hard scales scraping against her thighs. He was embodying his true form—right now—right in front of her. But she couldn’t see him. She could only feel the shape of his body change from distinctly human to distinctly…not. His natural temperature was already higher than hers, but now it felt like she was touching a tin roof in the peak of summer. Tem’s skin began to burn. She lurched backwards, curling into herself, trying not to touch any part of him. All she heard was the earsplitting hiss of the crowd, ripping her eardrums to shreds.

Tem had no idea how long it lasted. The hiss reached a thundering crescendo, and she knew they must be climaxing. She covered her ears, shutting out the screeches, shutting out everything that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up in anticipatory fear.

Eventually, the hissing stopped.

“Tem.”

Her name.

“You can open your eyes now, Tem.”

She didn’t move.

“Open your eyes for me.”

Tem opened her eyes.

At first, she saw nothing but smoke.

Then she saw Caspen—the human version—looking down at her. Tem raised her head. She was curled up on the altar, cradled in Kora’s hands. The room was emptying—all the basilisks were once again wearing their human forms. Bastian was nowhere to be found.

She sat up straight, placing her hands on Caspen’s chest. His skin was hot.