Page 29 of Split or Swallow

Tem was a mess of nerves the entire next day. Nothing she did alleviated the twist of anticipation she felt whenever she thought about going to the castle. Normally, she would seek out Gabriel for relief. But he was busy helping the kitchen staff prepare for the event tonight, so there was nothing left to do but help her mother around the farm and try not to think about how slowly time was passing. To make matters worse, she couldn’t stop picturing what had happened last night in the cave. Every time she thought about Caspen’s cock in her hand, she felt a deep ache between her legs that made her want to run to her bedroom and never see daylight again.

The afternoon passed in a daze of chores and errands, the hours sliding by in a meaningless blur. Caspen sent no pulses. Tem hardly heard her mother when she spoke; she barely registered the crowing of the roosters. It was only when she had to visit the bakery to drop off the daily allotment of eggs that Tem was forced to engage in a conversation that lasted more than two words. It was with Vera, and as always, it was unbearable.

“So, Tem, are you ready to meet the prince tonight? I have my dress picked out already, of course. Brand new, and made of the finest pink silk you’ve ever seen. What will you be wearing?”

“Oh,” Tem said, wishing she could drown herself in the vat of chocolate behind Vera. “I hadn’t thought about it. One of my mother’s dresses, I guess.”

“You’re going to wear something used in front of the prince?” Vera scoffed. She was counting the eggs so slowly Tem felt as if time were flowing backwards. “That’s rather embarrassing, don’t you agree?”

Tem did agree, but it didn’t change the fact that she had no other dress to wear.

“I’m in a hurry,” she said instead, which only made Vera’s sneer deepen.

“Where could you possibly have to be? Can’t the chickens lay eggs without you?”

“Would you just hurry the fuck up?” Tem snapped.

Vera’s mouth fell open. Tem was almost as surprised as she was. Throughout all the years of cruel teasing, Tem had never retaliated against Vera.

“There’s no need to be rude,” Vera said, her heart-shaped face scrunched in disapproval. “That kind of attitude won’t get you anywhere with the prince.”

“It got me somewhere with the Serpent King,” Tem shot back.

If Vera was shocked before, she was livid now. Her eyebrows pulled together, and she leaned over the counter, narrowing her eyes at Tem.

“You’re with the Serpent King? You’re joking.”

Tem leaned in too, holding eye contact.

“I’m not joking. And as you know, his girls are always chosen. So I may not have a new dress, but I doubt I’ll need one to catch the eye of the prince.”

Tem snatched up her payment and left before Vera could say another word.

By the time it was finally evening, the thrill of defying Vera was long gone, and Tem was oscillating between tentative courage and absolute terror. The claw hadn’t pulsed all day, and she had no idea what that meant. Surely, on today of all days, Caspen would think of her. But then she remembered how he’d called her his “student”, and the wall of shame came crashing down once again. Of course he wasn’t thinking of her. She was thinking of him because she was an overeager girl who somehow kept forgetting that her teacher was a deadly creature who could kill her with a single glance. How painfully predictable of her.

She was in the garden aggressively weeding the walkway when her mother approached.

“A package came for you.”

Tem looked up in surprise. “What is it?”

Her mother shrugged. “I didn’t open it.”

“Who brought it by?”

“It was on the porch when I returned from the coop. I put it on your bed.”

For some reason, this news sent Tem’s heart into a canter. Before she had time to wonder who it was from, the claw pulsed. Caspen. It had to be.

Tem practically sprinted to her room, feeling lighter than she had in hours.

The package was wrapped in black paper and tied with gold ribbon. Tem touched the ribbon first, running the tip of her finger gently over its length. When she pulled on the end, the knot unraveled easily, the paper falling open to reveal a shimmering pile of fabric. Tem held it up and saw it was a dress. Unlike the linen dress she had planned to borrow from her mother, this one was made of silk, no doubt like the one Vera had bragged about earlier. It was deep emerald in color, and Tem knew Caspen had chosen it to compliment her skin tone.

Tem was brutally torn by the gesture. If the dress was meant to make her prettier, did that mean the basilisk wanted the prince to find her attractive? And if he did, did last night mean nothing to him?

Something glinted on the bed, and Tem set the dress aside to see a gold necklace nestled in the paper. When she picked it up, she saw there was a small charm attached. It was deeply polished and shiny, glinting in the candlelight. With a gasp, she realized it was a claw—a perfect miniature of the one inside her. She stared at it in awe. Tem had never owned anything gold before. It was an expensive metal—a metal that Tem and mother could never afford—a luxury reserved only for the royals. Tem had only one piece of jewelry to her name, a dull silver ring she wore on holidays. The ring paled in comparison to the necklace.

Tem immediately put it on.