Page 123 of Between Two Kings

Kronos held her gaze. There was fear in his eyes. It scared her.

“What happened at the wedding?”

She blinked. So much happened at the wedding she had no idea where to start. “What do you mean?”

“I mean”—he leaned forward—“did you crest someone?”

There was only one person Tem had ever crested. “Yes.”

“Who?”

“Leo.”

“Oh, child,” Kronos said quietly. Then he stood, crossing to the window to look out into the garden at her mother. Late-afternoon light bathed his face.

“What is it?” Tem insisted. “What’s wrong with me?”

Her father sighed. Rather than answering her question, he said, “It will only get worse.”

“What will?”

“Your inability to transition.”

“But why?” Tem stood too, crossing to join him. “I’m a Hybreed. I’m supposed to be powerful. When Caspen taught me how to transition, it only took me a few tries to do it easily. And then—”

“And then you crested Leo,” her father finished.

Tem frowned. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“The crest is extremely powerful magic. Even more so when performed on someone you love.”

“So?”

“So”—he turned to face her—“it is pulling the two of you together as we speak.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You love him. And you loved him at the time of the crest.”

“Yes, but—”

“When you crest someone you love, you must consummate the crest.”

Tem’s mouth fell open. “What?”

“It is an ancient magic, Tem. When you crested Leo, you bound him to you. You must complete that bond. Your ability to transition will continue to deteriorate until you do so.”

“But Caspen never had any problem transitioning after he crested me.”

As soon as Tem said it, she realized why. They’d consummated the crest mere days later, when she snuck out of the castle to see him. Most likely there hadn’t been an opportunity for Caspen to transition between the time he’d crested her and when they’d slept together.

“Why haven’t I heard about this?”

“Most people have not experienced it. Basilisks tend to crest humans who they only wish to use for power. They are not often in love with them.”

“How do you know about it?”

Kronos shifted. His eyes flicked to her mother. He said nothing else, and Tem didn’t ask anything further. She didn’t want to know whether her father had crested her mother. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was the situation at hand.