Page 37 of Split or Swallow

He was thinking he wanted to fuck you.

Tem nearly jumped out of her skin at Caspen’s voice, which was so crystal clear it sounded as if he were standing right next to her. He chose now to return to her mind? Tem tried to send a question back to him—to ask him if he was still angry about the skull—but it was like throwing water at a wall. There was a barrier between them that it seemed only he could bypass. Tem felt a slight twinge of annoyance.

Gabriel was speaking, but she hadn’t heard it.

“What?” she asked.

“I said, he was probably thinking how diabolically good you look in that dress.”

Even though it was just Gabriel, Tem blushed. It was practically the same thing Caspen had said.

Before she could come up with an appropriate answer, the energy in the ballroom changed. When a moment ago there had been raucous chatter, now a sudden hush fell as movement broke out at the far end of the room.

“What’s happening?” Tem whispered.

“The first elimination,” Gabriel whispered back.

But that was impossible. It was far too soon—the first elimination wasn’t supposed to happen for another week, after the prince had a chance to kiss each girl.

“Are you sure?”

“Everyone in the kitchen was talking about it. He’ll be cutting two girls tonight.”

“Two? Based on what? He hasn’t gotten to know any of us yet.”

“Looks, I suppose.”

“And you’re just telling me this now?”

“Vera distracted me! The girl is a terror. Anyway, I figured you knew already.”

But Tem hadn’t known. And she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. There was supposed to be a proper order to the training process—one that shouldn’t involve surprise eliminations. It wasn’t fair. Then again, none of it was really fair. Lilly’s words ran unbidden through her mind: I have a feeling he won’t be able to resist you. Tem glanced down at the dress Caspen had given her, remembering the way the prince had looked at it with hunger in his eyes. Would it be enough? Or had she insulted him by not accepting his compliment? He’d abandoned her the moment they’d returned to the ballroom—did that mean he wasn’t interested in her? Their conversation in the study had been unconventional from start to finish, and had ended on decidedly less than friendly terms. Tem had no idea where they stood.

Tem had gone her entire life without men liking her based on her looks. Why should the prince be any different? She’d probably be the first girl to go. But if she was eliminated tonight, her mother would never forgive her. Even worse, she’d never see Caspen again. She would have no excuse to go into the caves—no reason to see him. Without Caspen, Tem would probably die a virgin.

She couldn’t be eliminated.

The crowd was moving, forming a semicircle around one end of the ballroom, where something was being assembled. Tem squinted to see what looked like podiums of various sizes, arranged in ascending order of height. She counted eleven of them. Tem frowned. If two girls were to be eliminated, there should be twelve podiums. Then she remembered the girl who had run off right before they entered the caves.

Tem glanced around for Vera. She was fluffing her hair and shooting meaningful glances at Leo, who was leaning against a column, looking bored by the proceedings.

“If the ladies could please form a line, we can begin.”

The command came from a handsome, middle-aged man in a uniform. His blonde hair was flecked with gray. Tem recognized him as the Lord Chamberlain, the most senior officer of the royal household and the king’s brother. Tem had seen him around the village, attending to business on behalf of the king.

Gabriel gave her arm a squeeze.

“Better get up there.”

She shot him a terrified glance.

“Kill me. Right now.”

In response, he pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. Then he gave her a little push, and she had no choice but to join the line of girls walking through the crowd. By the time they reached the podiums, Tem’s heart was beating out of control. Everyone was looking at them. And maybe it was simply her imagination, but it felt like everyone was looking at her. Hundreds of pairs of eyes raked over her dress, hundreds of stares pointed directly at her body. She’d never felt more like an animal in a cage than she did right now.

“That’s it, right along here,” the Lord Chamberlain ushered them into an orderly line, turning them so they were standing in front of the podiums, facing the crowd. When they were all in position, he said:

“Your Highness? It’s time.”