Chapter Twenty-Four
Tem fell back with a sigh.
She was painfully aroused. If anything, her climax hadn’t relieved anything, only made her want Leo more.
But there was no way to have him. No solution to this problem.
Tem was trapped, as she always had been, only now the circumstances were so much worse than she originally thought.
There was no way out. She needed a distraction.
There was only one other person who could provide one.
Surely, it wouldn’t be difficult to find him. Tem reached out with her mind, feeling for him. He wasn’t nearby. She reached farther, determined. Still nothing.
She was just about to give up when Apollo’s voice bloomed suddenly in her mind:
You called, Temperance?
Now that she had found him, she almost regretted reaching out. But Tem was no longer interested in suppressing her needs. And she certainly wasn’t interested in feeling lonely anymore. Apollo was here, and Caspen wasn’t, and Tem desperately needed to talk to someone.
Yes.
I am honored. What can I do for you?
I’m…bored.
And you thought to contact me? How flattering.
Tem rolled her eyes even though she was alone. Apollo had that effect. Don’t make me regret this.
And what is this, exactly?
It’s… Tem paused. What was this, exactly? Was she really about to do this with Apollo? Tem knew what she wanted to say, but it felt impossible to say it. She soldiered on anyway. It’s a proposition.
I am listening.
Tem took a deep breath. She was about to cross so many lines.
Some that Caspen had imposed and some that she herself would rather not violate.
But the alternative was stasis, and that was unacceptable to Tem.
She was done letting her circumstances determine her fate.
She could not have Leo, but she could have this.
I want you to teach me how to petrify.
A pause.
In it, Tem broke out in a sweat. Had she really just done that?
Was she really asking her brother-in-law to teach her the one thing her husband refused to teach her?
It was inappropriate at best. Betrayal at worst. She was a traitor, violating Caspen’s trust in an act of pure rebellion.
Yet Tem was done being the last to know.
It had never seemed right to her that everyone else knew how to petrify and she didn’t.
It was dangerous, even, for her to be missing this fundamental skillset.
Caspen had left her no choice. Surely, he knew that. Surely, he would understand.
Apollo’s response came a moment later: And when would you like me to teach you?
Right now.
I see. I am afraid I am rather occupied at the moment.
A vision suddenly flooded her mind: Apollo, in his bed, thrusting between the legs of a female basilisk. Tem recoiled in shock.
You’re sleeping with someone right now?
Sleeping sounds romantic. I would call this fucking.
Don’t be crude.
Crude is my specialty.
Why talk to me if you’re otherwise indisposed?
I am extraordinary at multitasking.
You’re disgusting.
That is a matter of opinion.
The vision intensified. She watched as Apollo flipped the woman onto her stomach and entered her from behind. The sight made Tem unbearably warm. It was an exact mirror to what she had just imagined Leo doing to her.
Do you like that, Temperance? Watching me fuck someone else?
She didn’t want to like it. But she did. No. I don’t.
You are a terrible liar.
Can you please focus? You haven’t answered my question.
I was not aware you had asked one.
I asked if you would teach me how to petrify.
You did not ask that. You told me that you wanted me to teach you. There is a difference.
Tem closed her eyes. Basilisks were simply impossible. Apollo even more so. There were moments, like the one she was experiencing currently, that made her want to throw her hands up and abandon them altogether. There’s barely a difference, and you know it.
Perhaps. But if I am to do you this favor you so desperately desire, I should like to hear you ask properly.
Now Apollo was teasing her, forcing Tem to beg the way she knew he wanted her to.
When she didn’t reply, he said, I have all night, Temperance.
Tem was well aware of that. There was no shortage of women for Apollo to fuck. He would be occupied until she presented a reason for him not to be. Normally she would never give in to such a request. But she needed this.
Will you teach me how to petrify?
Only if you say please.
Tem resisted the urge to throw up. Teach me, Apollo. Please.
There was a long silence in which Tem was subjected to the final moments of Apollo’s congress. She watched as the woman came, and Apollo did too, pulling out and releasing himself on her back, splattering the glistening drops of his cum down the sculpted ridge of her spine.
You’re a pig.
A pig who is about to teach you how to petrify. You should be thanking me.
I’ll thank you once I’ve learned something.
It is my greatest honor to educate you, Temperance.
Say one more thing I don’t like, and I’ll revoke this opportunity.
She felt his amusement even through the haze of his orgasm. Meet me outside. And do not wear any clothing.
Their connection closed.
Tem sat on the bed, frozen, processing what just happened. It wasn’t until now that she remembered that petrification could only occur when a basilisk wore their true form. Caspen himself had told her as much. Tem remembered one of their earliest conversations:
My gaze is not lethal when I wear my human form.
Tem would need to transition in order to petrify.
At the thought, a knot of anxiety twisted her stomach.
Her father had said that it would only get worse, that until she consummated the crest, her ability to transition would deteriorate.
What if she was already too far gone? What if she couldn’t petrify at all?
It didn’t matter. She had to try.
Tem was already naked, so there was nothing to remove before she made her way outside.
The freezing night air immediately raised goose bumps on her skin.
It was utterly unnatural to be naked like this outdoors.
Tem couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen if someone saw her right now.
She tapped her foot while she waited, her arms crossed in defiance.
Apollo was taking forever; perhaps he had decided to fuck that woman again.
Tem was just about to go back inside when suddenly Apollo emerged from the cave.
Even in the dark, his beauty overwhelmed her.
She stared at his sculpted shoulders, sweat still drying on his skin.
“You came,” he said as he approached.
Tem snorted. “You came. I saw it, remember?”
“Yes,” he said, his mouth twisting in a smile. “I remember.”
The last time they were face-to-face, Caspen had ordered them to kiss each other.
Tem wondered if Apollo was thinking of it now.
She studied his full lips, imagining them on hers.
Tem had been naked around Apollo before, but somehow this time was different.
Now they were alone, outdoors, and Tem was finding it hard to concentrate on anything except for how perfect his body was.
There is no need to be shy, Tem. You are welcome to look.
I don’t want to look.
Lie.
She rolled her eyes.
You are also welcome to touch.
I don’t want to touch either.
Another lie.
It was an empty protest. He was inside her mind and knew exactly how much she wanted to touch him.
To make matters worse, he wanted to touch her too.
Tem could feel the way his gaze traveled hungrily over her body, lingering on her hips, her waist, her breasts.
There was an animalistic urgency to his stare.
It felt different than when a human man looked at her—different than Leo.
Basilisks were harsher in their pursuit, more honest in their intentions.
It was something Tem should have been used to by now. But she wasn’t.
“Stop looking at me like that,” she said out loud.
Apollo smiled, flashing his brilliant teeth. “Like what, Temperance?”
“Like you want to fuck me.”
His smile widened. “I do not know how else to look at you.”
Tem stared up at the stars—anywhere but at Apollo.
“You are right in front of me,” he continued smoothly, his voice laced with amusement. “Where else would you have me look?”
“The ground. The sky. Anywhere.”
“Those are not nearly as delectable as you.”
Tem bristled, ready to insult him again. “Why do you have to be such a—”
But Apollo pressed a single finger to her lips, cutting her off.
They stood there silently, nothing but the murmur of the forest around them.
Tem wanted to pull away. She really did.
But his finger was warm and soft on her mouth, and she found herself leaning into it, pressing the plump flesh of her lips even farther into his skin. Apollo smiled wider.
What is on your mind, Temperance?
You know what’s on my mind.
Yes. But I should like to hear you say it.
Tem sighed. He wasn’t going to make this easy for her.
He was going to make her admit, to his face, that she wanted him.
It was an age-old game, and it was one she had played before.
Tem was no stranger to the power struggle, to the way the advantage could switch from one person to another in the span of a heartbeat.
He shifted closer, closing the distance between them.
He was so tall. Tem craned her neck to look up at him.
Tell me, Temperance.
His presence probed her mind, seeping between the layers of her consciousness and settling at the base of her neck. It felt as if he were holding her head up to his.