Page 241 of Between Two Kings

He must hate you.

Tem closed her eyes.

Even if Leo still loved her, part of him also hated her. It was inevitable; she’d hurt him too badly for it not to be the case. Evelyn was right about everything. Tem had a husband of her own. She had an entire kingdom to rule; she couldn’t do both. Leo probably wouldn’t even want her back. Not after everything she’d done to him.

“He doesn’t hate me,” Tem whispered. She didn’t even know if she believed it.

“If he doesn’t now, he would if you told him.”

Tem opened her eyes. Evelyn was looking at her with such pity.

“And what would Caspen think?”

Tem knew exactly what Caspen would think. He’d made his thoughts crystal clear, drunk in the passageway after the tournament. Your little human prince is fragile. And I am tempted to break him. The days of an alliance between the two men were long gone. Their agreement to share her had been a short-lived fantasy. They could never go back to the way things were. She could not command the basilisks and the humans at the same time. It would be impossible. There were too many opposing viewpoints, too many needs that had to be met. Leo deserved someone to rule with—someone who could take on the responsibilities of being queen. Tem had responsibilities of her own.

“Tell me, Tem, even if you had them both—could you love them equally?”

How was it that Evelyn knew exactly what to say to her to make her doubt herself? Tem knew she loved them both. She always had.

“How can you say such things?” Tem whispered.

A sick smile twisted Evelyn’s lips. “Because I know you, Tem. We aren’t so different. And the sooner you accept that, the sooner you’ll understand that this is the way it should be—this is proper. I will get married to Leo. You will remain with Caspen. We both get what we want.”

But Tem wasn’t getting what she wanted. She wanted Leo to be happy, to choose his future, to be loved in the way that Caspen loved her. Evelyn didn’t love Leo. Not the way Tem did. She loved power and money. She loved gold and bloodletting and shiny, pretty objects that would slake her thirst for wealth. There was nothing more revolting to Tem than greed. It was all she heard in Evelyn’s voice when she spoke—all she saw in those big doe eyes. She could not condemn Leo to this.

“Leave Leo to me,” Evelyn said, leaning even closer. “And we never have to interact again after today.”

Tem frowned. “We still have to interact every week.”

“Do we? I don’t think there’s a need for any more dinners, do you?”

The point of the dinners was to cooperate, to ensure their kingdoms were amicable. There was a dire need for them. “And why not?”

“There is nothing more to discuss.”

“Of course there is. We need to figure out a way forward that doesn’t harm either of our people.”

“There is only one way forward, and it is the way things have always been done.”

Tem’s eyes narrowed. “What are you saying?”

“I am saying we will no longer ignore the resources at our disposal.”

“The basilisks are not your resources,” Tem snapped. “When you abolished the bloodletting, you agreed to enter a new era. If you bring it back—”

“I didn’t.”

Tem blinked. “You didn’t what?”

“I didn’t abolish the bloodletting. Leo did. Had we been married at the time, I would have advised him differently.”

Tem’s mouth fell open. “I don’t know what Leo sees in you,” she whispered.

A slow, vicious smile stretched her lips. For some reason, she looked delighted, as if Tem had just given her an incredible treat. “I know what he sees in you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Did you know he wrote you letters?”