Page 303 of Split or Swallow

Leo closed his eyes as if he could block out her words. Tem stepped closer, clenching his hand even tighter in hers.

“If you want things to change, you have to be the one to change them, Leo.”

His eyes were still closed. Tem barreled onward:

“Is this what you want your legacy to be? Greed? Torture?”

Leo opened his eyes.

“Of course not,” he whispered.

“Do you think it’s right?”

He was silent.

She couldn’t tell whether she was getting through to him—whether he was coming over to her side.

“Tem…” Leo said slowly. “This is…”

“Wrong,” she insisted. “It’s wrong, Leo.”

He took a deep breath.

“But they’re…snakes, Tem. They aren’t…we don’t consider them to be…”

“People?”

He pursed his lips.

Tem knew it would be nearly impossible to unravel twenty years of prejudice in one fell swoop. There was only one thing she could do that might fully convince Leo of the atrocities that were happening here: one single thing that might sway him.

“What if it were me in that cell?”

Leo frowned.

“It wouldn’t be.”

“If your father had his way, it would.”

“I don’t understand.”

Rather than respond, Tem led him down the long row of cells, her heart growing heavier with each step. When they reached the very end, Tem steeled herself for what was to come.

Her father was in the same position as before: slumped over, gaunt and weak. But even in the darkness, Tem could see he had worsened. His eyes were closed, his breathing ragged. More wires had been fused to his fingers—his hands looked like they were bleeding gold. Tem didn’t bother trying to speak to him using her mind. Even if she were still able to do it, she very much doubted he would answer.

Tem turned to Leo. There was simply no other way to say it.

“Meet my father.”

Leo blinked.

“His name is Kronos.”

At the sound of his name, Kronos opened his eyes, and Leo took a step backward. Tem retained her grip on his hand, forcing him to remain next to her.

“My mother went through the same training I did. She fell in love, just like I did.”

Leo shook his head, slowly, his eyes locked on Kronos. Tem filled the silence, trying to give him as much information as possible before he inevitably bolted.