Page 217 of Split or Swallow

But he cut himself off. Now it was Caspen’s turn to take a moment to compose himself. Tem waited impatiently for him to continue. When he did, his voice was low:

“I was a fool, Tem,” he stepped closer. “I thought I could protect you, but I have made things incomparably worse.”

Tem frowned.

“How?”

“My father accessed your mind during the ritual. He knows what you are.”

Tem remembered how Bastian had told her to finish first. She thought of the moment afterward, between father and son—how Caspen had said: I will not allow it.

“Caspen,” she said with conviction. “What does your father want with me?”

Caspen closed his eyes. For once, Tem didn’t rush him. Somehow she knew that they had arrived, finally, at the last piece of the puzzle. She was about to get the truth.

When he opened his eyes, Tem saw unmistakable fear in them. It matched the fear she’d seen in his mind—the dark cloud of worry surrounding his thoughts of her.

“He wants you to crest the royal family.”

Tem’s mouth fell open.

“Usually contact is required for the crest,” Caspen continued quickly, his voice low and strained. “But your power is unique. Hybreeds can crest many people at once, without touching them at all. You simply need an opportunity where all the royals will be gathered together.”

Tem felt lightheaded.

“The wedding,” she whispered.

Her wedding.

Caspen nodded.

“Once you crest them, they will lose their free will. They will be vulnerable. My people would immediately take over.”

Tem narrowed her eyes.

“Was this your plan all along?” she asked. “For the prince to pick me so I could crest his entire family?”

“Of course not. I never wanted this for you.”

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

“I cannot lie, Tem.”

“Yes you can. You twist the truth all the time. How do I know you aren’t doing it now?”

“What do you wish for me to say? You are precious to me, Tem,” his voice almost broke. “I do not want anything to happen to you. My father is the last person I would want to find out what you are. He is the cruelest man I know.”

“And yet you were willing to kill for him.”

Caspen went perfectly still.

“That was a long time ago. And it is my deepest regret. You know this.”

But Tem only shook her head, struggling to grasp her new reality—a reality in which she couldn’t trust Caspen.

“I don’t know anything anymore.”

They stared at each other in the flickering firelight, the only sound the crackle of the flames. Something had broken between them—something vital. Tem didn’t know where they stood after this. She didn’t know how to navigate a world where Caspen lied to her.