Chapter Forty-Two #2
You did? Why?
Caspen waited a long time before answering, and when he did, the words were even quieter still. Because I knew what was to come.
It was all he said, and Tem didn’t press him. Something about the way he said it made her worried, and she didn’t want to feel that way right now. Right now, all she wanted was to feel happy.
I’m sorry about the wedding. We shouldn’t have gone.
Caspen brushed his fingers gently up her spine. It was the right thing to do.
I don’t even know if they ended up getting married. Leo…told me to leave.
His fingers stopped. Tem expected him to say something, but he didn’t.
Maximus paid Evelyn to leave Leo. I thought he deserved to know the truth.
Still no reply.
Are you angry with me?
No, Tem. I am not.
Are you angry with him?
Silence.
Tem knew in her gut that she would get no more from him tonight. She didn’t care to anyway. All she cared about was the feel of his skin against hers. There had once been a time, not so very long ago, when she couldn’t fall asleep in her husband’s arms.
But she could do so now, so she did.
***
“I will not go tonight,” Caspen said stiffly.
They were lying in bed, intertwined, the fire roaring beside them. It was Sunday evening, and they hadn’t gotten out of bed since the funeral.
“Caspen.” Tem sat up. “We have to go.”
His hand found her hip, pulling her back down. “I do not wish to see the human prince.”
So they were back to this. Caspen only called Leo the “human prince” when he needed to create distance between them—when his name was too humanizing.
It was doubly insulting given the fact that Leo was now king.
And yet, it was also warranted. The weasel had been a step too far, even if Tem knew it wasn’t Leo’s fault.
Why should Caspen forgive the unforgivable?
“Caspen…” But Tem trailed off.
“We have sacrificed enough for him.”
“He didn’t sanction the attack, Caspen. You believe that, don’t you?”
Caspen didn’t answer. Perhaps that was answer enough.
“Leo would never approve of anything that might hurt me.”
It was a weak argument. The bloodletting hurt her, and he had approved of that. Besides, they were far past that now. The weasel had changed things for Caspen. Too many of his people were dead because of it. Leo’s sins were piling up too high, costing too much.
“What will it take for you to forgive him?” Tem whispered.
Caspen rolled his shoulders. She knew she was asking the impossible. But it was true that Leo didn’t sanction the attack. He’d been horrified when he found out it had happened. Deep down, Tem was sure Caspen knew that. But Caspen was also angry.
“I will never forgive him.”
Tem’s heart fell. She wasn’t surprised, and she wasn’t about to argue. It was well within Caspen’s right to never speak to Leo again.
“But I will also not retaliate.”
Hope pierced her. “Really?”
“On one condition.”
The hope shattered.
“He must apologize to me in person.”
Tem nodded. “He told me he wanted to do that. Just come with me to dinner and I’m sure he’d be happy to—”
“No. I will not go to the castle again. He must come to me.”
“You want him to come here?”
“Yes.”
“He could get hurt. He could be killed.”
“That is none of my concern.”
Tem remembered how adamant Caspen had been about not allowing Gabriel under the mountain—how it was too dangerous for humans. Apparently, that caution didn’t extend to Leo. “It should be your concern.”
But Caspen only looked away, as immovable as stone. Tem couldn’t stand it when he was like this. She wanted to shake him—to scream at him. They were never going to get anything resolved if he chose to act this way. But Caspen had clearly made his choice.
“He owes me an apology. He can come here to give it.”
“Why do you even care? His word means nothing to you. You said so yourself.”
“Those are my terms, Tem. He does not have to accept them.”
“Your terms?”
“Yes.”
“And what will happen if he doesn’t meet your terms?”
Caspen didn’t answer. He was staring resolutely into the fire, his eyes narrowed.
Any tenderness from their week together was gone.
This went far beyond his rivalry with Leo or the recent fatalities among Caspen’s people.
The weasel had opened a wound that had been festering for centuries—one that an apology from Leo was not likely to heal.
Tem feared they were past the point of no return. She feared it was too late.
“Caspen,” she whispered. “What will happen?”
He rolled his shoulders, finally looking at her. “There will be consequences.”
It was all he said. But Tem knew the meaning behind his words—knew that any allowances he had granted Leo in the past were far gone now.
“This is a mistake, Caspen,” Tem said it as calmly as possible. She knew they would get nowhere if she lost her temper. This was a conversation she needed to control.
“It is already decided.”
“No. It isn’t. You’re the only one who has decided, and you can still change your mind.”
“I will not change my mind.”
“Caspen.” She touched his shoulder. “If Leo comes here, he could get hurt. Please think about this.”
“I do not care to think of anything, Tem. I have already made my decision.”
“Think of me.”
A muscle in his jaw twitched. Would it be enough? Adelaide had once told her that she held more sway over Caspen than anyone else. Tem was about to find out whether that was true.
“Think of me, Caspen,” she whispered, leaning closer. “Think of how this will affect me.”
He turned to her. “Your infatuation with the human prince has gone on far too long. You should have learned your place long ago. It is right here, by my side. If you do not understand that by now, I doubt you ever will.”
A chill ran down Tem’s spine. She’d never heard him speak like that—the way powerful, entitled men spoke to women.
“If my place is by your side, that means we are equals. And I have a say.”
Caspen shook his head. “Kora decided your place long ago. Do you think it is a coincidence that you are a Hybreed? You think it mere chance? You are meant for greatness, Tem. It is not your fate to dally with the humans.”
For some reason, tears pricked her eyes. “If you hate them so much, it means you hate a part of me.”
“I could never hate any part of you, Tem. That, apparently, is my undoing.”
His words cut her. “What are you saying?”
“I am saying that you are the love of my life. But I am done accommodating the love of yours.” With that, he rose and left.
Tem stared into the fire numbly, wishing she could throw herself into the flames.
It was a disaster beyond what she could comprehend.
Things had just begun to heal. And now this.
She couldn’t let Leo come here. It was impossible.
But Tem knew Caspen well enough to know when he had reached the end of his patience.
And he was beyond it now. There was no reasoning with him, no talking him down from this.
This went beyond mere anger. This was meant to punish Leo and, by extension, punish Tem.
If anything happened to Leo, she would be devastated. And Caspen knew it.
Night fell before she was ready. Tem climbed into the carriage alone, trying not to stare at the empty seat beside her. When she knocked on the door to the castle, a butler greeted her, as always. Leo was already waiting for her in the dining room.
He was alone.
The last time they saw each other, he’d told her to leave.
They’d had no communication since then; Tem had no idea whether he had married Evelyn or sent her away.
She’d been too busy with the basilisk funeral to have any time to communicate with Leo.
Besides, she was almost too scared to know.
If she didn’t know, it meant there was still hope.
“Where is Caspen?” Leo asked as the butler began serving dinner.
Tem considered lying. She could say Caspen wasn’t feeling well or that he was tired. But that would solve nothing. “He’s not coming.”
Leo raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”
“He’s angry.”
“At…?”
“You.”
Leo frowned. Then, slowly, he said, “He holds me responsible for the weasel attack.”
Tem nodded.
Leo sighed. He looked so defeated Tem almost reached for him. “Did you pass along my condolences?”
“Yes,” Tem said. “But he didn’t accept them.”
“I do not blame him.”
The words came quietly. Tem hadn’t expected Leo to say that. Before she could react, he continued.
“Did you tell him I wish to apologize in person?”
“Yes,” she said again, dreading what came next. “And he’s willing to hear it.”
“Good.” Leo nodded. “I am glad.”
Here it came. There was no going back after this. “But he won’t come to the castle.”
Leo paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. “I see,” he said slowly. “Then perhaps I can write him a—”
“He wants you to come to him.”
Leo blinked. He put the fork down. “To him?”
“Yes.”
“In the caves?”
“Yes.”
Silence.
Leo had been to the caves once before, right before their wedding. It was where he and Caspen had agreed to share her, where they had dared to forge a new path together.
But that was a long time ago. And he hadn’t really been to the caves. Going to the cave where Tem was trained and going underneath the mountain were two wildly different things. Leo hadn’t gone where the basilisks were.
“Isn’t that…dangerous?” Leo asked finally.
“Yes,” Tem said honestly. “Very. But he won’t accept your apology otherwise.”
Leo frowned. His unspoken question hung in the air.
Tem knew he was wondering why she would ask this of him if it would put him in harm’s way.
The truth was that Tem was torn. No part of her wanted Leo to come to the caves.
It wasn’t like Gabriel, who was a willing participant.
Leo would be coming against his will, forced under the premise of apologizing, with the hope of making peace.
It felt like he was walking into a trap.
And Tem couldn’t be sure that he wasn’t.