Chapter Three
The Horseman was nearly empty, and that was just fine with Tem. Gabriel was in their favorite booth, surrounded by empty beer glasses. The moment she saw him, a part of her relaxed.
“My dearest Tem.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek as she slid into the booth. “How are you this fine evening?”
“Can’t complain.”
“I can. They’re charging me for drinks again.”
“They’re supposed to do that.”
“Not if you’re cute. It should be a rule that you drink for free if you’re cute.”
Tem smiled. His good mood was contagious, lightening the darkness that was plaguing her heart.
They hadn’t discussed anything of substance since the wedding.
Tem knew he was waiting until she was ready to talk about it, respecting her boundaries as only a best friend could.
But they both knew Tem owed him an explanation.
She’d rehearsed her speech a thousand times: how to explain that she was a Hybreed, how to tell him what she’d done to Leo, how to reveal the most vulnerable parts of her.
She’d avoided it out of fear—or possibly shame.
But her father’s words ran through her mind, and Tem knew she did not need to weather this storm alone.
Gabriel had always loved her, and he deserved to know the truth.
“Gabriel,” she said quietly. “There’s something I have to tell you.”
He threw his arm around her. “Well, let’s hear it, then.”
Tem bit her lip. Was she really about to do this? If she was to confide in him—to reveal this deepest, most essential part of herself—it could change their relationship forever. But Tem would rather it change than continue living a lie.
She told Gabriel everything.
Every secret she had harbored for so long, every sin she had kept close.
Everything that had happened over the past few weeks came spilling out of her in a torrent, landing at Gabriel’s feet.
He listened silently, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, his hand loosely curled around his beer glass.
When Tem was finally done, night had fallen and the Horseman was beginning to fill.
Gabriel looked her in the eye. He smiled.
“What’s that for?” Tem asked in bewilderment. Rather than react with horror—or, at a bare minimum, shock—Gabriel was grinning widely at her. He was almost on the verge of laughter.
“I always knew you had it in you.”
“Had what in me?”
“The gall.”
“But aren’t you…surprised?”
“No, dearest. I’m not surprised.”
Tem stared at him blankly. “You’re not surprised that I’m half-basilisk?”
“No.”
“Or that I did the ritual?”
Gabriel’s grin widened. “No. Although I’m a little jealous you got to fuck Caspen’s father.”
She smacked his arm. “Be serious, Gabriel.”
“I am, Tem. I can only imagine the gene pool of that family.”
That earned him another smack. Gabriel simply chuckled into his beer.
“Aren’t you…” Words failed her. “Disgusted? Or at least…worried?”
“Disgusted?” Gabriel let out a deep, mirthful laugh. “Tem, dearest.” He pulled her closer, pressing his lips to her cheek. “I was beginning to think that you were entirely boring. That would disgust me far more than what you just told me.”
With one simple sentence, her soul unfurled. Of course Gabriel accepted her; of course Gabriel still loved her. There was nothing that could come between them—he was not so easily deterred. He required no coercion to love her.
“As for being worried,” he continued. “Should I be?”
Tem bit her lip. “I don’t know,” she said honestly.
“Hmm.” He considered her, his head tilted. “Something tells me you’ll be fine.”
“And why do you think that?”
“Because you are far more capable than you think you are. You always have been.”
Tem considered this. She wasn’t sure if it was a compliment or not.
“What does surprise me,” Gabriel said quietly, his expression sobering, “is that you waited until now to tell me.”
Tem sighed. She remembered the night not so long ago, in this very booth, when she’d been about to tell Gabriel everything.
Then Leo had shown up, and things had taken an unexpected turn.
Now she wished things had turned out differently.
What would have happened if Tem had confided in her best friend that night?
It would have made everything that came next so much easier.
If she’d had someone to talk to, she wouldn’t have had to face so many decisions on her own.
“I waited because I was afraid,” she said honestly.
“Of what?”
“Of what you would think of me.” Sometimes Tem didn’t even know something was true until she spoke it out loud, and the moment she said it, she realized how deep that fear truly ran.
“Tem.” Gabriel leaned in. “You’re my best friend. Nothing could ever make me think any less of you.”
Tears were imminent. “But I’ve done bad things, Gabriel. Really bad things.”
“You did your best with the circumstances you were given.” He clasped his warm hands over hers. “That’s all anyone can hope to do.”
Tem just shook her head. She didn’t deserve his patience and understanding. Not after everything she’d kept from him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“I know.”
For a moment, they simply looked at each other. Tem studied the face she knew so well, marveling at how beautiful Gabriel had become. The gangly awkwardness of childhood was long gone. He was a man now, and somehow she’d missed it.
There was one more thing she had to tell him. “Being friends with me is risky, Gabriel. I…don’t want you to get hurt.”
To her surprise, his mouth quirked into a smile. “How dangerous are we talking?”
She gave him a half-hearted shove. “I’m serious. You know basilisks can petrify humans.”
“Pishposh.”
“And they’re constantly…”
Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “Constantly what, Tem?”
Tem blushed, remembering the banquet hall that very morning. “They’re constantly having sex.”
Gabriel’s face lit up with glee. “Are they, now? Do tell me more.”
“They do it all the time. It’s how they gain power and how they determine who ranks highest in their society.”
“Sounds like my kind of society.”
“Shut up. It’s…obscene. It’s all they do.”
“In that case”—his face brightened even more—“you should set me up with one.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Oh, come on, Tem. I could finally find someone who matches my stamina. Stable boys just aren’t cutting it these days.”
“This isn’t a joke, Gabriel. My world isn’t safe for humans. I don’t want you anywhere near it.”
Despite her warning, Gabriel was still smiling. “I think it’s rather unfair that you get to attend sex parties all day while I waste away washing dishes in the castle. You should let me come to one.”
“That’s not happening.”
“Tem, you’ve got to take me.”
“To the caves?”
“Yes. Immediately, if possible.”
“No, Gabriel.”
“Why not? If there are snake sex parties happening, I take it as a personal insult that I’m not invited.”
“There are no snake sex parties,” she hissed.
“Pah.” He flicked his fingers dismissively.
“Gabriel.” Tem put her hands on his shoulders. “I’m not attending any sex parties, and you wouldn’t be safe at them even if I were. I mean it. It’s dangerous under the mountain. I would never put you in that position.”
A sly smile curled his lips. “I’ve been in all sorts of positions, Tem. And I especially enjoyed the dangerous ones.”
Tem rolled her eyes at that.
“Fine,” he said finally, tapping the tip of her nose. “We’ll put a pin in that for now. But promise me this: no more secrets between us.” Gabriel looped his pinky finger around hers and kissed it. Tem did the same. “From now on, we tell each other everything.”
Tem smiled. For once, it was a promise she wanted to keep. “No secrets,” she agreed. “From now on.”
It was nearly morning by the time they left the Horseman.
Gabriel disappeared with a jaunty wave, crooning a church hymn as he rounded the corner to his cottage.
On the way back to the caves, Tem thought about what her father had told her: how basilisks were free with their bodies but not with their hearts.
Guilt clenched her stomach. Only Tem knew the truth—that her heart did not fully belong to Caspen.
Her feelings for Leo would not go away. With time or otherwise.
She couldn’t do this forever. She couldn’t lie.
She thought about what Gabriel had said as well, how he wasn’t surprised that any of this had happened to her.
How could that be true? Tem couldn’t fathom a world in which anyone was unfazed by such news.
But if nothing else, it spoke to Gabriel’s perception of her.
He thought she was worthy of the life she was now living. So perhaps she was.
When she reached their chambers, Caspen was by the fire. She crossed to him, touching his shoulder gently. It wasn’t time to bare her entire heart to him. But confiding in Gabriel had given her the courage to at least broach the subject that was most urgent.
“Leo wants us to come to the castle every Sunday night for dinner.”
The words were so quick, she almost wondered if he heard her. Tem closed her eyes as she said them, bracing for impact. A long pause followed.
“Why would he want us to do that?” Caspen sounded calm. But just barely.
“He wants us to try to get along. It will give us a chance to figure out how to run our kingdoms together.”
Silence. Tem opened her eyes.
Caspen was staring purposefully into the fire, the flickering flames reflected in his pupils. “He is naive.”
The words were sharp. Tem touched the tips of her fingers gently to Caspen’s chin, pulling his face back to hers. “Maybe so. But he’s also hopeful. And so am I.”
His expression was unreadable. He seemed to be holding back.
Tem soldiered on anyway. “He abolished the bloodletting, Caspen. And he wants to include the basilisks in discussions moving forward. That’s more than Maximus was willing to do.”
Caspen held her eye contact for a long moment. He blinked, slow and reptilian. Then he said, “It is still not enough.”