Chapter Thirty-Eight #3
But then, as quickly as they began, they stopped.
The brothers stepped apart, and it wasn’t until they were fully disentangled that Tem saw Caspen holding his throat.
Blood seeped between his fingers, but it was not Apollo’s doing.
It was the wound from earlier—the one Rowe had inflicted during the first tier of the tournament.
Tem stared at it, watching as blood poured down his chest from the two distinct puncture marks on his neck.
“What’s happening?” she cried. “The bite—”
“It is Rowe’s doing,” Apollo said, his breath still coming in short bursts. “He is siphoning from Caspenon.”
Caspen clutched his neck. Without thinking, Tem ran forward, pressing her fingers over his, applying pressure in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
“When will it end?” There was so much blood.
“It will not end. The wound will open every time Rowe wishes to take his power. He can do so until there is no power left to take.”
Blood was covering Tem’s fingers, dripping down her wrists. “Caspen,” she said desperately. “Please—”
But Caspen wrenched himself away from her, steadying himself against the side of the passageway. He stared at them both. Then he turned and disappeared into the darkness.
Tem immediately stepped forward, but Apollo grabbed her arm.
“Temperance,” he said, his lips on her ear. “Do not go after him.”
“But he’s—”
“He is drunk,” Apollo said, his hand still around her arm. “And he is angry. He will not be convinced of anything right now.”
Despite herself, tears rose in her eyes. She pressed her head against Apollo’s chest in an attempt to suppress them. “Why is he acting like this?” she whispered. “How can he say those things?”
Apollo sighed. “Because he fears for you.”
She frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“That is because you have not known him as long as I have.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Caspenon is…complicated,” Apollo continued. “But he is predictable in some ways,”
“In what ways?”
“In matters of the heart.”
Here it was again: the intimation that Caspen was sentimental.
Tem had heard it before, and she was beginning to believe it.
It was hard to believe that someone so formidable could be ruled by his emotions.
But that was the case with Caspen. He was driven by his love for her, as she was in return.
But their current circumstances were pulling them apart, driving a wedge between them that Tem had no idea how to fix. It was beginning to scare her.
“I can’t lose him,” she whispered.
Apollo touched the golden chain around her neck. “You will not lose him.”
Tem hardly believed it anymore. The blood bond was supposed to keep them together. Now it was ruining everything. Without thinking, she began to cry.
Immediately, Apollo’s arms were around her.
He pulled her against him, his fingers stroking her hair, her chin nestled in the nook of his shoulder.
Apollo had once told her not to come for him for comfort.
But he comforted her now, holding Tem as she sobbed, murmuring soft words to soothe her.
She allowed herself to collapse against his body, releasing the frustration and pain that had been building inside her for far too long.
Apollo’s lips were on Tem’s neck, but he didn’t take things further. Instead, he simply held her until her sobs quieted. When she was done crying, she simply stood there, wrapped in his arms, listening to his heartbeat, which was far slower and steadier than hers.
Eventually, he asked, What do you love about him?
About Leo?
Yes.
Why are you asking me that?
Because I wish to know.
Tem heaved a sigh before settling even deeper against Apollo’s chest. She thought about his question and realized nobody had ever asked her that before.
What did she love about Leo? So many things.
She loved his long fingers. She loved his ice-blond hair.
She loved the way he closed his eyes right before kissing her, giving her an extra moment to look at him as he leaned in.
She loved other things too—things that had nothing to do with the way he looked.
She loved the way he always made sure she’d eaten enough.
She loved the way he stood up to his father even when it meant jeopardizing his privilege.
She loved his compassion and his bravery.
Leo was always striving to be better than he was the day before.
It was an admirable quality and one that Tem coveted.
She wanted to be like him: steady and loyal and true.
Leo was a better man than Tem had ever given him credit for, and it was her greatest shame that she hadn’t realized it until it was too late. Now he was that man for Evelyn.
I love everything about him.
Do you love him enough to forsake my brother?
It was an impossible question and one Tem had no answer for. Forsaking either of them was unacceptable to her. It always had been.
I can’t answer that.
Apollo sighed, his chest rising and falling against hers. Then you must be prepared to lose them both.