CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Caspen
Caspen stared out over the village, his mood becoming worse by the minute.
Below him the villagers were decorating the town square for their annual festival to celebrate their victory in the war against the basilisks.
Rooster feathers were scattered, while golden flags hung from every eave, symbolizing the defeat of his people.
Caspen hated the asinine tradition, but he hated what came next even more.
At the end of the weeklong festival, the Passing of the Crown would occur.
The king would take the stage with his son and place a golden crown upon his head—a crown made from the blood of the basilisks.
For centuries, the royals had imprisoned the basilisks in order to exploit the fact that their blood could be alchemized into gold.
The captured basilisks were kept in the castle, doomed to a lifetime of servitude to the royals.
The official transfer of power would occur at the wedding, but the ceremony was a way for the current king to express his faith in his son.
Caspen watched the Passing of the Crown every year.
As far as he knew, he was the only basilisk to do so.
It was a reminder that the war had never truly ended.
Although the battle was over, the basilisks were still at the mercy of the humans.
Caspen had come here to remember that fact—to make himself angry enough to do what he knew needed to be done.
The basilisks held their own traditions in autumn, including mating season, which occurred every year.
But that was still weeks away. Until then, the sole focus would be the Ranking.
All basilisks would be in attendance, although only the top twelve contenders for the throne would participate in the actual event.
Its structure was unique: three challenges, all sexual, all designed to eliminate those who were not fit to rule.
All basilisks were especially feral during this time, desperate to secure the advantage for their quiver.
Caspen was no stranger to it himself; the Ranking was a venerated event.
It was a chance for anyone who was falling behind in the competition to regain ground.
Whoever won the Ranking was directly in line for the throne, although victory did not guarantee the title of Serpent King.
After the Ranking, a closing ceremony would occur.
On that night, Kora would choose whether or not to pass the power to the basilisk with the highest rank.
It would be a momentous occasion; the blood in the vial of the new Serpent King would turn black.
If Kora did not choose to pass the power, the current Serpent King would remain in power.
Eventually Caspen made his way back to the caves, transitioning back into his human form just before he reached the passageway.
The lake was packed; everyone was cheerful in the nights leading up to the Ranking.
Caspen spotted his brother at the edge of the shore with Harmony.
Half of him wanted to tear her away from Apollo.
The other half hated himself for caring at all.
He turned away from them only to run immediately into Agnes, whose face bore a pout.
“You went without me.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You went to watch the village without me. I saw you returning just now.”
Caspen arched his head up to the ceiling. Was there no end to his plight? “I do not need to update you on my whereabouts. And you do not need to be watching the village at all.”
Her pout deepened. “Why not?”
“It is not safe.”
“Of course it is. We always use our true forms.”
“That does not matter. You will not go anymore. I forbid it. Do you hear me?”
Tears filled Agnes’s eyes. “Is this because of Daphne? I did not tell her to come here. She is Kronos’s responsibility, and he—”
“This is not because of Daphne. This is simply common sense. I am your older brother, and it is my job to protect you. You will not watch the village anymore, and that is final.”
He did not wait to see her reaction. He simply swept away.
Caspen circled the shores aimlessly, speaking with no one. It was not until he had returned to the crowd that he heard a single word directed at him.
“Cuckold,” Rowe whispered as he passed, so quietly only Caspen heard it.
Caspen sighed. The insult was a knife in his chest. Caspen was tired of being seen as weak because of his emotional connection to Harmony. He would not tolerate it any longer; he would find someone else to satisfy him tonight. Perhaps Adelaide and her exceptional tongue were available.
Caspen set off into the passageway, opening doors at random.
It was standard practice under the mountain; doors did not truly indicate privacy here.
They were only installed because basilisks liked to be caught having sex.
More often than not, the interrupter joined the interrupted.
It was exactly such a situation that Caspen now sought, knowing that whoever he walked in on would jump at the chance to be with him.
He was the son of the Serpent King, and he could have anyone he wanted.
The first room he came across was empty. The second as well. When Caspen opened the third door, he expected it to be empty too. He was wrong. The bed was occupied by a man and a woman. The man he recognized as Rowe’s father, Solomon.
The woman was his mother.
“Caspenon,” Deltene gasped. “What are you doing here?”
Caspen stared at the Serpent Queen and Rowe’s father, betrayal coursing through him.
“Have you lost your mind, Mother?” he snapped. “Of all the people you can fuck, you choose him?”
Solomon was the highest-ranked Seneca. By choosing him to be in her bed, his mother might as well have declared war.
Caspen pointed at Solomon. “Get out. Now.”
Solomon straightened. “You cannot order me to—”
“I can do anything I please,” Caspen cried. “I am ranked higher than you. Get out. Or I shall rip your head from your shoulders.”
Silence fell. Then Solomon stood slowly, casting one last glance at Deltene before leaving the room and closing the door after him. Caspen wasted no time.
“He is a ranked Seneca, Mother. Father will be furious.”
“You cannot tell your father, Caspenon.”
“I do not need to tell him. This will get out. Do you truly think you can trust Solomon? He seeks the throne. He will betray you, and then he will hurt our family.”
“He would not do that. You do not know him.”
“I know he is a Seneca. And I know that Father will—”
“Your father cannot find out.”
Caspen took a step toward her. “He will.”
“Only if you tell him.”
“He will kill you if he finds out you are sleeping with the enemy.”
Silence fell. Caspen stared at his mother, the one person he was supposed to be able to rely on. He could not comprehend how she could have done something this stupid. Normally it would not matter who she slept with. But Solomon was the wrong choice.
“I am not sleeping with him.”
Caspen blinked. He had just walked in on them together in bed. What else could they possibly be doing?
“You are not sleeping with him,” he repeated blankly.
Deltene nodded.
“Then what in Kora’s name are you doing?”
His mother pursed her lips. She fell back on the bed. “Your father and I are bound by blood,” she said quietly.
“I am aware.”
“That bond can only be broken by one thing. And if that thing should occur, a curse is put into effect.”
Caspen blinked again. Everyone knew the details of the blood bond curse—if either party slept with someone they had fallen in love with, the other half of the couple would be forced to kill the betrayer.
It was part of the reason why such a bond was so rare.
Binding your life to someone else’s was an enormous risk unless you were positive both of you would never love another.
Most basilisks could not act with such conviction.
“Caspenon,” Deltene whispered. “Do you understand what I am telling you?”
Caspen did understand. He did not want to, but he did. “You are in love with him,” he said, his voice hoarse.
“Yes,” she whispered. “I am.”
“You cannot be.”
“But I am.”
“You say you have not slept together.”
“We have not.”
“So do not.”
Deltene shook her head. “It is not that simple, my son. You cannot understand.”
“Why not?”
“Because you have never been in love.”
Caspen frowned. What he felt for Harmony was intense and all-consuming. He would kill for her. How could that not be love?
“The curse will be triggered when I sleep with him.”
Caspen shook his head. “When you sleep with him?”
“Yes. And when it is triggered, the curse will force your father to kill me.”
“Surely, he will resist.”
“He will not be able to. Blood bonds are sacred; Kora herself sanctions them. To break one is the ultimate betrayal.”
“Then do not break it.”
His mother only shook her head. “I have no choice, Caspenon. Being in love is…” She trailed off as Caspen stared at her in disbelief.
In the span of a minute, his entire world had changed. This was unacceptable.
“Mother,” Caspen whispered. “Do not burden me with this. Please. You ask far too much of me. Such a secret…I…I cannot—”
“You do not have to keep it forever.” Deltene stood, crossing to him and placing her hands on either side of his face. “Only for a little while, my son. I promise.”
Caspen shook his head. He wanted no part of this. This was an aberration—a sin of enormous proportion. “I cannot.”
“You can,” his mother insisted. “And you must.”
Her words fell heavily on his heart. This secret was bigger than both of them.
When Bastian found out, it would place their entire family in peril.
Perhaps even their entire quiver. The Serpent King and Queen were pillars of the Drakons—they were leaders.
Such a betrayal would not be given any grace.
Lesser basilisks could hope to have their transgressions ignored by their quiver.
But not his family. Not the wife of the Serpent King.