Page 199 of Between Two Kings

She stared into his golden eyes, knowing he spoke the truth. But it didn’t change the fact that the tournament might force her to leave him.

Caspen dropped his hand, leaving her cold. Sleep well, my love. I will see you soon.

Tem nodded. She couldn’t seem to speak. Instead she left the banquet hall, trudging back to her chambers slowly, dreading the lonely hours before midnight. But to her surprise, there was someone leaning against her doorway.

“Going to bed so soon, Temperance?”

Tem crossed her arms. “What are you doing here?”

Apollo straightened. “I came to see you.”

“I know that. But why?”

“Because you are not well.”

It wasn’t a question, and Tem couldn’t fathom why he would say that to her. “Excuse me? I’m perfectly fine.”

“No.” Apollo leaned in. “You are not. You have been different since the night I taught you to petrify. You eat less. You do not sleep. Something is affecting you.”

Tem stared up at him in disbelief. How had Apollo managed to notice all of those things? Even Caspen hadn’t noticed she wasn’t sleeping well. Then again, he was gone all the time, hunting. There were some days when Apollo saw her more than Caspen did. And on those days, apparently, he had been watching her closely.

“What ails you, Temperance?”

Tem let out a tortured laugh. What ailed her? Too many things to count. She was worried about the tournament, the crest, Leo. She was worried that everything was about to fall apart. But Apollo couldn’t fix any of those things. Nobody could.

“Just go to bed, Apollo.”

“It is you who should be in bed.”

Tem frowned at his tone. He sounded genuinely concerned. Normally Apollo would have made some cheeky comment about how he wanted to come to bed with her. But not tonight. Tonight he was looking at her as if she were fragile, as if she might break. It wasn’t an expression she was used to seeing on him.

“Why do you care what I do?”

“I care because you and my brother are bound by blood. Your emotional bond is significant, which means that your well-being directly affects his. If you are not at your best, he cannot perform tomorrow.”

That stopped Tem short. “What do you mean?”

“I mean”—Apollo stepped closer, and she sensed his urgency—“he will need to be strong for the fight, which means you must be strong too.”

Tem bit her lip. She was anything but strong right now.

“What ails you, Temperance?” Apollo asked again, softer this time. “If you do not wish to tell me, I understand. But burdens are easier to bear when shared.”

He was right, of course. But her burdens were not the kind that could be shared. Apollo could do nothing about the situation with Leo—he could not free her from consummating the crest. He could not even guarantee the results of the tournament. And yet, somehow, his offer to confide in him helped. It made her feel less alone. So she said, “I’m afraid.”

“Of what?”

But there were no words to describe it. Tem was afraid of so many things. She couldn’t possibly list them all right now, and she didn’t want Apollo to know them anyway. To know them would be to sit in secrecy with her, and she did not wish that on him.

“Of the tournament?” Apollo prompted.

“Yes,” she said truthfully. Among other things.

“You have nothing to fear, Temperance.”

Tem closed her eyes, trying to believe him. “That’s easy for you to say. Your husband isn’t in danger.”

“I do not have a husband.”