Page 114 of Between Two Kings

Tem froze. She knew that tone; she knew that look. Gabriel was flirting. That was nothing new, of course, but flirting with Damon was something else entirely. Something dangerous. Gabriel flirted with everyone—it was his default setting. She held her breath as Damon’s gold eyes held Gabriel’s blue ones.

A solid five heartbeats passed before Damon turned to Tem and said, “Your friend is charming. Do not let Apollo near him.”

“Wasn’t planning on it.”

“Plans tend to go awry, Temperance.”

“Don’t I know it,” she muttered.

Out of the corner of her eye, Tem saw Apollo moving closer again. Her stomach performed a preemptive swoop. “Gabriel,” she said quickly. “Come with me.”

Without waiting another second, she hooked her arm in his and pulled him into the crowd. Anything was better than letting him talk to any more basilisks.

“So what’s his deal?” Gabriel purred. “He’s delicious.”

“He’s Caspen’s other brother.”

“Even better.” Gabriel grinned, pulling her closer. “We could be in-laws.”

“Don’t be gross,” Tem cried.

But Gabriel was already looking back over his shoulder at Damon, who was watching them with his mouth turned up at the corner. If Tem knew anything about basilisks, she knew exactly what Damon was thinking—and she wasn’t about to let him act on it.

“Didn’t you hear him?” Gabriel squeezed her arm. “He thinks I’m charming. Clearly he’s got great taste.”

“Oh please.”

“What? It’s not my fault Kora made me irresistible.”

Tem rolled her eyes.

They spent the next few minutes navigating the courtyard together. Tem pointed out basilisk after basilisk, explaining their relation to each other and the differences between the quivers. Always, Apollo’s gaze followed them. It was as if he had nothing better to do than to watch them traverse the crowd, analyzing their every move.

Caspen was never far away either. Tem saw him on the edge of her vision, his arms crossed, his brow furrowed. She knew he was protecting them from afar, acting as a bodyguard, reminding the other basilisks that they were under the Serpent King’s protection.

“What’s that?” Gabriel pointed at the fountain full of shimmering, white liquid.

“That is none of your concern,” Tem said firmly. “And you are not allowed to drink it.”

“Why not?” Gabriel whined. “Everyone else is.”

It was true. But everyone else was a basilisk.

“It’s not for humans.”

“Do you get to drink it?”

“Yes. But I’m not a human, remember?”

“What will happen if a human drinks it?”

Tem realized she didn’t know the answer to that question. All she knew was how the elixir affected her when she’d had it for the first time. She could only assume its effects would be amplified on a human. “It requires a tolerance. Even Caspen can’t drink too much of it.”

“I’ve got quite the tolerance, Tem,” Gabriel said, pulling her toward the fountain.

“You’ve got quite the tolerance for alcohol,” she insisted, pulling him away. “It’s not the same at all.”

Before Tem could yank Gabriel back, a man approached the fountain. She already knew what he was going to do—she had seen it before, after all. But for Gabriel, the experience of watching someone ejaculate into the fountain was an entirely new one, and the moment the man did so, Gabriel gasped, “It’s cum?”