Page 53 of Split or Swallow

“Nothing, it’s just—” Vera’s mouth twisted, “—my back is killing me.”

“Why?”

She scoffed. “All this sex, of course. You’d think we could at least do it in bed, like civilized people. Anywhere would be better than the floor of a dirty old cave. But I guess that’s all you can expect from a snake.”

Tem’s mouth fell open. Thankfully, at that exact moment, a girl in the crowd waved at Vera, and she disappeared.

Vera’s basilisk was having sex with her.

The bacon turned in her stomach. Maybe it was just Vera getting another jab in. Maybe she wasn’t actually having sex—she just wanted Tem to think she was. But Tem had to know for sure.

She spent the next hour tracking down each girl left in the competition, subtly steering the topic toward their time in the caves, the twist in her chest becoming tighter with each conversation. They were all having sex. Every single one of them. Which meant that Tem was the only girl whose basilisk wasn’t fucking her. It felt like the surprise elimination all over again—like she was the ugliest girl in the room—like she was the girl that nobody wanted.

Tem’s insecurities curled around her like vines, squeezing her stomach and compressing her lungs. How long had the other girls been having sex? Since the first night in the caves? But no—Vera had said that her basilisk didn’t even touch her that night. So at least they were equal in that. But it didn’t matter. They’d been unequal every day since, and Tem was once again the least experienced girl in the room. Suddenly she couldn’t breathe. She needed to get away from all these people, and she needed to do it now.

Or maybe that’s not what she needed at all. Maybe what she needed was one person in particular. The only person who she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, wanted to fuck her.

It took all of thirty seconds to locate Leo. He was leaning against a column, watching the party, his head cocked back against the stone in bored indifference. At the sight of him, Tem felt the familiar cinch of stubbornness—the refusal to give in. But why shouldn’t she? Leo had made it clear he wanted to have sex with her. And he was obviously the only one. Why shouldn’t she kiss him? The night was not so young anymore. And more importantly, she was ready.

People parted for Tem like she was made of fire. By the time she got to Leo, a small circle had already cleared. He looked down at her calmly as she marched right up to him, grabbed his face, and kissed him.

It wasn’t right.

It wasn’t Caspen.

But it was a kiss, and she needed it, and Leo kissed her back without hesitation, pulling her against him as if he’d been expecting this from her all along. And maybe he had.

Leo was a good kisser. Frustratingly so. The rest of the party disappeared as his fingers tangled in her hair, arching her head back to meet his lips. His tongue dove into her mouth with expert rhythm, sliding against hers and coaxing a tiny moan from the back of her throat. She prayed he didn’t hear it. But from the way his grip tightened, she knew that he had.

Suddenly her back was against the column. Leo’s hands were moving lower. The kiss was barely appropriate anymore, and Tem had a sudden vision of Jonathan and Vera groping each other at the Horseman.

Tem pulled away. Leo let her go, but just barely. He was holding her so tightly that their lips were still touching as he whispered:

“That wasn’t so bad, now was it?”

People were staring; Tem felt as if she were in a fishbowl.

“Your Highness?” The Lord Chamberlain’s voice floated past Tem’s heartbeat, which was pounding in her ears.

“What is it?” Leo said without looking away from Tem.

“You have now kissed every girl. It is time.”

“Very well.”

Leo finally released her, taking a step back and adjusting his cufflinks. Then, to Tem’s utter surprise, he held out his hand. She took it cautiously, watching as he laced his fingers through hers. Their hands remained clasped together as they made their way toward the podiums, the entire ballroom watching them as they passed.

Leo didn’t hesitate. He walked Tem straight up to the first podium, holding onto her until she was standing facing the crowd. In a final gesture, he pressed his lips to her fingers. Then he dropped her hand and pointed at the next girl.

Leo eliminated two contestants: the blonde he’d ranked first the last time, and a girl with choppy brown bangs. Tem barely registered any of it. She simply stood on her podium—the first podium—and wondered how the hell she had gotten here. She was beginning to understand Leo’s game. It was clear he was rewarding her for the kiss—that she’d used her body as currency to buy herself this position. Leo was straightforward in that way. He was a man of his word, as ridiculous as that felt to admit. At least with him, she understood the rules of his game.

When the elimination was over, Tem was immediately ushered back to the carriages along with the other remaining girls. She stared numbly out the window the entire way home, replaying what had happened.

“Miss? Did you hear me?”

They’d arrived at her cottage. The footman was talking to her.

“Sorry, what?”