Chapter Twenty-Eight
Rowe.
The very basilisk she wished never to see again, the one who had irreparably hurt her and Caspen. The basilisk who wished her dead.
“But Rowe hates me.”
“He does not hate you, Tem,” Caspen said. “He is envious of your power, and he carries a grudge against me. Marrying you would kill two birds with one stone.”
“But he—he doesn’t even have a—”
Caspen knew where she was going and answered, “A cock is not a requirement for marriage, Tem.”
“It is for me.”
Both basilisks smiled, but their grins quickly faded.
“Rowe is not the only factor at play,” Adelaide continued. “They will present Eros as well.”
“Who’s Eros?” Tem interjected.
“Rowe’s older brother.”
“He has a brother?”
“He does.”
This was terrible news to Tem. One Rowe was bad enough. Now there were two of them?
Adelaide turned to Caspen. “Eros is known for his bloodlust,” she said, her mouth tight with worry. “Rowe would be preferable.”
“Neither would be preferable,” Tem snapped. Caspen had to win. Any other result was unacceptable to her.
“Even if Eros wins,” Adelaide continued, “knowing Rowe, he would kill his own brother to enact his first rights.”
“Is that allowed?”
Caspen sighed, repeating the line he had told her once before: “Everything is allowed here, Tem.”
Everyone processed his words in silence. All things considered, it was a disaster. “I won’t participate,” Tem said. “I refuse.”
“Your marriage has been contested, Temperance,” Adelaide said firmly. “It is not up to you. You must participate.”
“But why?” She hated the desperation in her voice.
Empathy softened Adelaide’s face. She placed a hand on Tem’s shoulder. “Nothing is certain in our society, even marriages. There is always a chance that a stronger option could present itself.”
But there was no stronger option than Caspen.
“You and Caspenon cannot touch until the tournament is complete,” Adelaide continued. “And even then, you will only be reunited if Caspenon is the victor. If Rowe wins—”
“Rowe will not win,” Caspen cut her off.
Adelaide pursed her lips with annoyance. “I said if, Caspenon. If he wins, Temperance will have to marry him. We must all prepare for that possibility.”
Tem crossed her arms. She would do no such thing. The thought of marrying Rowe was abhorrent. She’d kill herself before she let that happen.
Caspen must have read her thoughts because he shook his head and said, “Put that out of your mind, Tem. It is not an option.”
“And why not?”
A small smile tipped his lips. “I would rather not die just yet.”
Immediately, Tem understood. The blood bond tied them together. If she killed herself, it would kill Caspen too. She shook her head. “This is ridiculous. If I’m so powerful, why can’t I call off the tournament? Why can’t I make us touch again?”
“It is like Caspenon said: this is a magic greater than you. We believe the tournament is sanctioned by Kora herself.”
“It is meant to test our love, Tem,” Caspen added.
Tem couldn’t think of anything worse to test right now. She was already struggling with her feelings for Leo—feelings that were likely to get her killed. It was not an ideal time to put a strain on their relationship. The last thing she needed was for everything to be out in the open.
“Basilisks take their traditions seriously,” Adelaide continued gently. “You must adhere to the results of the tournament. We all must.”
Tem wasn’t in the mood to adhere to the results of anything. She abhorred the idea of someone else deciding her partner for her. Of all the basilisk traditions, this was the most ridiculous. Why would she ever accept any other outcome than Caspen?
Tem needed more information. She was dying to know what the tournament entailed, how exactly they would compete for her hand. If Caspen was going to beat Rowe, they needed to be prepared. She turned to Adelaide. “You said you’ve seen this before. What happened?”
“My grandmother was a Drakon, my grandfather a Seneca. The Drakons contested their marriage, and my grandfather had to fight for their love.”
“Fight?”
“Yes.”
Tem turned to Caspen. “I don’t want you fighting anyone. If there’s a chance you could get hurt, I don’t want you doing this.”
“You have already made it abundantly clear that I am not allowed to die.”
Tem almost smiled at that.
“But I am afraid it is not up to you,” he sighed. “The tournament is binding. I must participate. To do otherwise would be an insult to both our quivers and most of all an insult to you. If I do not compete, I surrender you to the Senecas.”
He sounded resolute, as if he had accepted this a long time ago. And perhaps he had. Caspen had seen the warnings—the angry group of Seneca man, the writing on the wall. This was not a surprise to him, even if it was to Tem.
“The goal of the tournament is not bloodshed, Temperance,” Adelaide explained.
Tem didn’t know whether to feel relieved at that statement or not. If it wasn’t about bloodshed, it was probably about something else—something worse. “Then what is the goal?”
“Your pleasure.”
Tem snorted. She couldn’t imagine anything centering her pleasure less.
“It is true, Temperance. By competing for your hand, the contenders honor you.”
“I don’t need Rowe or his stupid brother honoring me.”
“They…will not be the only contenders,” Adelaide said.
“Excuse me?”
She shifted, glancing at Caspen. “Rowe and his brother will not be the only ones competing for your hand in marriage.”
Tem stared at her. “What do you mean? Who else is competing?”
“We do not know yet.”
“When will we know?”
“When you choose them.”
“What?”
“The tournament is for your hand, Tem. It is you who must choose who has the privilege of competing. You will select the rest of the contenders.”
“The rest?”
“Yes.”
Dread piled up in her like snow. “How many exactly?”
Adelaide’s eyes slid to Caspen’s, who gave a stilted shrug that clearly said: Just tell her.
“There will be twelve contenders total.”
“Twelve?”
“Yes. It is a sacred number to us.”
“Sacred how?”
“It is a symbolic number, representative of Kora’s lovers.”
“I didn’t know she had twelve lovers.”
Adelaide raised an eyebrow. “Did they not teach you the legends in your human schools?”
They hadn’t taught her much of anything in school, except what to expect from the training process. And even that, nothing could have prepared her for. Tem shook her head.
Adelaide elaborated. “It is said that when Kora decided she wanted a mate, she took twelve lovers and had a child by each. Those twelve children were the first of the basilisks.”
Tem blinked. She knew the basilisks worshipped Kora, knew they shared the same gods as the humans.
But she’d never known that they believed they were descended from Kora herself, that they considered themselves offspring of the gods.
Tem thought about her freckles, how there were exactly twelve on each palm. She was beginning to feel lightheaded.
“It’s like the ritual all over again,” Tem whispered.
To her surprise, Adelaide shook her head.
“No, Temperance. The ritual required you to prove yourself to us. Now it is the opposite. The contenders will be vying for your hand. They will view it as an honor to be chosen by you.”
Tem turned to Caspen. “I’m going to choose you.”
Caspen smiled. “Yes, that is the hope. But your heart may call to someone else, Tem.”
“How would it do that?”
“The tournament demands that you be honest with yourself. When it is over, your heart will call to your true mate.”
“Then my heart will call to you.”
“You cannot predict the outcome of the tournament.”
“Of course I can.”
“No.” He shook his head. “You cannot. It is not your decision to make.”
Tem shook her head. “I don’t understand. You said I would get to choose.”
“Your heart will choose. The heart does not practice logic or reason—it cannot decide who is best for you—it will simply decide who it wants most. It is not a practical choice, but a fated one.”
Tem didn’t like the sound of that at all.
Caspen finished quietly, “If your heart calls to someone other than me, we will both be forced to abide by its choice.”
This was a terrible time for Tem to be put to a test of fate.
Her heart was in two places; it always had been.
What if her heart called to Leo? She could only hope that a human wasn’t included in the ancient magic of the tournament.
Perhaps her heart would only consider fellow basilisks.
Of course, that wasn’t good either. Tem thought about Apollo and how close they had been lately.
She couldn’t deny that there was an intimacy between them.
It certainly wasn’t love, and it was nothing compared to what she had with Caspen.
But the heart often knew things far before the mind did.
And based on what Caspen had told her, it seemed there was always the possibility of surprise.
The heart does not practice logic or reason.
That much was certainly true. And it might be the end of her.
“Temperance,” Adelaide said. “I know this must be a lot to process. But you will be partaking in a tradition that is centuries old. The tournament has a purpose—one that is bound by fate. It is how we will judge who is worthy of your hand.”
“Caspen is already worthy of it. We’re already married.”
“That may be the case. But two things can be true. You are already married, and that marriage is now in question. Those are the facts.”
Tem crossed her arms. As it turned out, she hated those facts. She opened her mouth to protest again, but Adelaide held up her hand.
“It is an honor to compete for you. Our people will be anticipating the tournament.”