CHAPTER ELEVEN
Vera was the last girl to arrive at the castle.
Tem watched as she flounced into the foyer with her nose turned up, snatching a glass of wine from the butler and downing half of it in one go. Her mouth was a bright circle of cherry red lipstick, and she reeked of flowery perfume. The combination was an assault on the senses.
“Are you feeling better?” Tem asked as politely as she could manage.
Vera squinted at her suspiciously.
“Why do you care?”
“Your father said you were sick. I’m just making conversation.”
Vera sighed.
“If you must know, Jonathan ended things with me.”
Tem almost laughed. It was just like Vera to be sad about Jonathan ending things while simultaneously competing for the prince’s hand in marriage. Nothing was ever enough for Vera; she always had to have it all.
“Well…I’m…sorry to hear that.”
“You should be.”
“Excuse me?”
“You should be sorry. If I had been with the Serpent King, I’m sure I would’ve known how to keep him.”
“Are you serious?”
Vera flipped her curls over her shoulder. The other half of the wine disappeared into her mouth as they were ushered into a dimly lit dining room along with the rest of the girls. A large circular table was arranged in the center of the room, surrounded by plush velvet chairs. Shiny gold name tags adorned each plate.
“You’re so ungrateful, Tem,” Vera hissed as the butler distributed more wine. “Of all people, you have the best teacher. Everyone knows that’s the reason you got your date.”
Tem had nothing to say to that. Little did Vera know that the Serpent King was hardly teaching her anything, and she’d only gotten her date because Leo wanted to make his father angry.
“The prince obviously likes you,” Vera continued. “You’re dressed like a monk and he still can’t stop staring.”
Tem glanced across the dining room to see that Leo was already there, leaning against the far wall. His eyes were on her thigh, which was exposed by the high slit in the dress. It was the only skin visible, yet somehow he’d managed to find it.
She shook her head.
“He’s only staring because he hates this dress.”
“Whatever,” Vera rolled her eyes. “Dresses don’t matter tonight anyway.”
“What do you mean?”
Vera suddenly had the same look on her face she got whenever she was about to drop a particularly scandalous piece of gossip. She leaned in, her red lips pinched with glee.
“The Frisky Sixty is tonight.”
Tem’s stomach dropped.
“How do you know?”
“My snake told me. Didn’t yours?”
Tem was too shocked to reply.
The Frisky Sixty was a notorious part of the elimination process. Each girl would have sixty seconds with the prince, behind closed doors, with nobody else present. The villagers had dubbed it the “Frisky Sixty” because sixty seconds really wasn’t enough time to do anything other than take your clothes off. And that’s exactly what the girls were expected to do. The prince was choosing a wife, after all. The Frisky Sixty gave him the opportunity to see what each girl had to offer. It was an antiquated, offensive, and abhorrent tradition. But it was also the simplest means to an end. What better way to guarantee that Leo would make an informed choice than to show him his options ahead of time?
Tem tried to dull the sharp prick of indignation that pierced her side. She couldn’t believe Caspen hadn’t informed her this was happening tonight. But then again, why would he? He hadn’t prepared her for any other part of the competition either. She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt—she wanted to believe that he hadn’t known about this. But Vera’s basilisk had known, and he had told her. Surely, the Serpent King would’ve been informed. Tem wasn’t just unprepared—she was beginning to feel like Caspen was sabotaging her.
A gentle clink clink clink filled her ears. The butler was tapping a knife on a wine glass. The room hushed as he said:
“Please be seated. Dinner is served.”
Everyone obeyed, milling around the table to look for their name tag. Tem had just found hers when Leo’s nimble fingers swiped it out from under her.
“What are you—” Tem started to say but he was already walking to the other side of the table and switching her name tag for the one next to his. He sauntered back to place the other name tag where Tem’s had been a moment ago. It was Vera’s.
“Trust me, you don’t want to do that,” Tem said.
“Trust me,” that familiar mischievous smile twisted his lips. “I do.”
Tem could only imagine the conversation she would have in the bakery tomorrow. But there was nothing for it. She couldn’t go against the prince.
With a sigh, Tem followed Leo to the other side of the table. He pulled her chair out for her and she sat reluctantly, already bracing herself for what was to come. She chanced a glance at Vera, who was staring daggers at her.
Tem turned to Leo.
“You’ve just made my life significantly more difficult.”
He arched an eyebrow.
“How so?”
“Vera will be furious.”
Leo smiled widely. “Vera will get over it.”
“I assure you, she won’t.”
He shrugged. “I want you next to me. Is that such a crime?”
Before Tem could answer, the butler served the first course, and the dinner began.
The wine flowing; Tem lost count of how many times her glass was refilled. By the time they were on the second course—a tender roast chicken—Tem was getting drunk. She wasn’t the only one. Leo was drinking whiskey like it was water, and with every glass he downed, his movements became increasingly unpredictable, as if someone had loosened his joints. Tem couldn’t imagine why he needed the liquid courage. The prince was the only person at this table who didn’t have to be vulnerable tonight. All he had to do was watch.
The girls took turns flirting with Leo, alternating between fawning over him and giving each other scathing looks. It was pathetic to watch, and Tem found herself daydreaming. She was just about to replay her orgasm from last night in her mind when she heard it:
Help.
It was the voice again—the same one she’d heard before.
An idea occurred to her suddenly. If she could talk to Caspen, maybe she could talk to the voice. She reached out with her mind, opening another corridor and sending her thoughts along it:
Where are you?
The voice was barely audible:
I am here.
Tem felt a surge of accomplishment. Now she was getting somewhere.
Tell me more—are you in the castle?
No answer. Tem tried again:
How can I find you?
Still no answer. The roast chicken was cleared away and replaced with a white layered cake. The butler refilled her wine. Between the conversations around the table and the buzz from the alcohol, it was difficult to concentrate. Tem closed her eyes, forcing herself to focus:
I want to help you. What can I do?
This time the answer came quickly:
Do not trust the king.
Tem’s eyes flicked to Leo. He was listening to the girl on his right, who was alternating between chatting vigorously and biting her lip in a way she clearly thought was seductive.
Why shouldn’t I trust him? Tem sent back.
But the corridor had closed; the voice was gone.
It was then that she realized Leo was touching her.
His gaze hadn’t wavered—he was still looking at the girl on his right. But his fingers had begun trailing their way along the slit in Tem’s dress, skimming up the exposed skin of her thigh.
She slapped his hand away.
It was as if she’d done nothing at all; Leo didn’t even blink. But a moment later, his hand returned to her leg, his long fingers gripping her knee with surprising authority.
He turned to her.
“Would you do me a favor, Tem?”
His gray eyes were awfully close. For the first time, Tem realized they were flecked with green.
“Depends on the favor.”
“Kiss me.”
“You’re drunk.”
“And you’re glorious. Kiss me.”
“In front of everyone?”
He leaned in. “Unless you’ve changed your stance on baths and champagne.”
“I haven’t.”
“Then kiss me. Right now.”
It wasn’t a request anymore. It was an order, and Tem had no idea what would happen if she didn’t obey. Her eyes flicked to Vera, who was watching their interaction like a hawk. When she looked back at Leo, he gave her a devious smile.
“Unless you’d prefer I kiss someone else,” he said quietly.
A pang of jealousy shot through Tem. She couldn’t explain it—but she didn’t want Leo kissing anyone else. Especially not Vera.
But she also couldn’t give in. Not when he was acting like she owed him this.
Tem pushed his hand away again.
“I’d prefer that this evening didn’t run late. I have an early morning on the farm tomorrow.”
Leo’s eyes narrowed.
“I see. Well, I certainly wouldn’t want to keep you.”
He snapped his fingers, and the butler appeared, leaning over his shoulder.
“Is it time, your Highness?”
“Yes.”
“Very well. Who would you like to see first?”
Without breaking eye contact with Tem, Leo pointed at Vera. The butler nodded. He rang a small bell, and the table fell silent.
“His Highness would like to begin the evening’s events.”
The butler extended his hand to Vera.
“Would you kindly follow me, miss?”
Pure triumph blossomed on Vera’s face. She shot Tem a withering look before taking the butler’s hand and allowing him to guide her to a door at the far end of the dining room.
The butler turned back to Leo.
“Your Highness?”
Leo stood, whiskey still in hand. Without a backward glance, he followed Vera into the room. The butler closed the door behind them.
The rest of the girls erupted immediately into giggles and whispers. Tem could only imagine the snide victory Vera must be experiencing now that she was finally alone with Leo. She probably couldn’t get her clothes off fast enough.
And what would Leo think of her? Would he like what he saw?
Tem’s stomach roiled at the thought.
Sixty seconds passed far slower than Tem ever imagined it would. By the time Vera emerged, it felt as if an hour had gone by. The table hushed as she threw open the door, adjusting the neck of her dress with exaggerated emphasis. She threw a pointed smirk at Tem before allowing the butler to direct her out of the dining room.
The butler approached the table and extended his hand to another girl, who blushed deeply before taking it.
And on it went.
It was clear that Leo was the one deciding the order of the girls. It was the podiums all over again. Tem had no doubt she would be last. She was an afterthought—only worthy of seeing Leo after he’d had his fill of everyone else. Tem felt suddenly hyper aware of her body—of every curve and divot—of everything that nobody but Caspen had ever seen. Was she really about to expose herself to someone who’d done nothing to earn it?
The minutes passed agonizingly slowly.
Girls emerged from the room in various states of undress. The fifth girl was still half naked—she stumbled out with her dress off her shoulders, shooting Tem a rueful grin as the butler ushered her away.
The sixth girl went in.
What would happen if Tem refused to undress? If she simply stood there, silently, and waited for time to run out? Would Leo eliminate her on the spot?
And what would happen if she did undress?
Epiphany crashed into her like a wave.
Tem realized that she had wasted far too long worrying about her body and not enough time considering the very real implications of what would happen if she got naked in that room. If she was alone with the prince—if she took off her clothes in front of him—Leo would see every part of her. Every. Single. Part.
The claw was inside her, its smooth point pressed against her clitoris. She had no way to take it out—the butler was standing five feet away. Even if she could remove it, where would she put it? On the table? The thought was impossible.
The sixth girl came out. The seventh girl went in.
Tem had only two minutes left before it was her turn. She closed her eyes, speaking into her mind:
Caspen.
A dull wave of panic threatened to overtake her as she held her breath, momentarily terrified that he wouldn’t answer. Then:
Tem.
She felt sick. He must have sensed this, because he asked:
What is the matter, Tem?
There was no other way to say it.
I’m about to spend sixty seconds with the prince. Alone.
Maybe she was imagining it, but she swore she felt a wave of displeasure from Caspen’s end of their connection. When he spoke, his voice was controlled:
Yes. And?
So he’d known the Frisky Sixty was tonight. And he’d chosen not to tell her. She made a mental note to yell at him for that later. For now, she had to make use of her limited time.
And it’s customary for the girls to undress.
In the pointed silence that followed, Tem felt a ripple of anger. Caspen had been doing this for centuries—he was familiar with the entire training process, and knew perfectly well what traditionally occurred during those sixty seconds. Why was he forcing her to explain it?
Are you going to undress?
Now Tem was floored. Given their history, the question was almost cruel. She narrowed her eyes.
I haven’t decided yet. What do you think?
There was no mistaking the anger in his voice:
What I think is irrelevant. Your duty is to impress the prince.
Don’t you dare speak to me about duty.
I beg your pardon?
The door opened. The seventh girl came out. The eighth girl went in.
You have neglected your duty since the very first day we met. Everyone else was informed about tonight but me. Everyone else has had sex but me. You’re doing me a disservice, and you know it.
Caspen bristled.
Are you questioning my methods?
I thought that was obvious.
His anger only grew.
What’s obvious is that you are impatient, insubordinate, and childish.
Tem didn’t have time to be hurt by his words.
Anyone would be impatient in my position.
Is there a reason for this conversation? Or did you only wish to argue?
Tem’s stomach twisted. He was going to make her say it.
If I undress, the prince will see what you gave me.
A pause.
I can remove it, if that is what you wish.
Tem frowned. She couldn’t read his tone.
If you remove it, would you…give me another?
The pause was longer this time. Tem could physically feel the seconds ticking by.
I would give you anything you asked for, Tem.
It was an evasive answer. She was beginning to expect those from Caspen.
There was no time to think it over properly. She had less than a minute before she would be face to face with Leo. She had no idea whether she would undress. All she knew was that Caspen hadn’t prepared her for this. He had purposefully kept vital information from her. And now she—and she alone—would suffer the consequences of his actions.
Remove it.
Caspen’s reply was made of ice.
As you wish.
Tem winced as he slammed the barrier between them back down. A moment later, a bursting pulse shot through the claw. Rather than growing in strength, this one blazed brightly and then diminished, and by the time it was over, Tem felt achingly empty, as if nothing was ever there in the first place.
The eighth girl came out.
“Good luck,” she said when she passed Tem. “He’s in a mood.”
Tem didn’t have time to wonder what that meant. The butler was already beckoning her forward. Tem stood slowly, noticing every beat of her stammering heart. The butler opened the door for her, revealing a darkly carpeted room with books on the walls. A library.
Tem stepped inside. The butler closed the door.
Only eight minutes had passed since she’d seen Leo, but it was clear that he’d had several more whiskeys during that time. He was reclined in an armchair, his hair mussed, his shirt unbuttoned. His trousers were undone; Tem could see the white linen of his undergarments. A smear of red lipstick pulled the corner of his mouth into a gruesome shape, continuing in a blotchy streak down his neck. Vera’s handiwork.
Despite herself, Tem felt a rush of heat at the sight of him. She’d never seen the parts of Leo that were exposed right now—the sharp angles of his clavicles, the dip of muscle just below his hip. His cock was hard, straining against the fabric of his trousers. Tem wondered dimly whether he’d had it out a moment ago.
Leo sat up straight when he saw her.
“Tem,” he rasped.
She stood in absolute silence.
An elaborate metal hourglass rested on an end table. Its glass body was filled with gold flakes, all of which had settled to the bottom. No doubt it was perfectly measured to last sixty seconds. Leo’s long fingers grasped the hourglass, but didn’t turn it yet. Tem spoke before she lost her nerve:
“If you expect me to take my clothes off for you—”
“I expect nothing of the sort,” he cut her off.
Tem scoffed. Leo’s mouth twisted in a smile.
“Do you not believe me?”
“Why would I?”
Leo’s eyes traveled over her body. Even when she was covered from neck to toe, it felt like he was looking straight through her.
“What I expect and what I want are two different things, Tem.”
“And what, exactly, do you expect?”
“I expect you to be difficult. Like you always are.”
Tem crossed her arms.
“And what do you want?”
Leo took a long swallow of whiskey.
“Whatever you’re willing to give me.”
But Tem knew better. She knew the nature of men, and the way they coveted. She knew Leo wanted what he couldn’t have. How long until he took it?
“And what did Vera give you?”
He rubbed the back of his hand over his mouth, smearing the lipstick even more.
“Nothing worth having.”
“Oh, please.”
“Sixty seconds with you is worth an hour with Vera,” he said quietly.
Tem shrugged with an indifference she did not feel.
Leo stood unsteadily, grasping the table for balance. Tem had never seen him drunk like this before, and she hated the sight.
Tem jerked her head at the hourglass. “Are you going to turn that over?”
Leo tapped a single finger on the sculpted metal.
“If I turn it over, will you take off that dress?”
Maybe it was her anger at Vera. Maybe it was the way Caspen had cut off their connection without consulting her. Or maybe it was the realization that Tem couldn’t control even the smallest thing in her life right now. Either way, Tem had had enough.
“You can’t just have whatever you want,” she snapped.
Leo’s face slid into a smile as he saw that he had finally forced a reaction from her.
“Maybe not,” he said quietly, “But I can certainly imagine whatever I want,” his eyes traveled slowly down her body as he stepped toward her. “Whenever I want it.”
By the look on Leo’s face, Tem knew exactly what he was imagining. She felt herself blushing, and forced herself to suppress it. Why shouldn’t he picture what he’d never have?
“Imagine all you want,” she said. “I’m not taking off this dress.”
The corner of his mouth twitched.
“Yet,” he whispered.
He was standing so close Tem could count his eyelashes. He had a tiny scar on the bottom of his chin—probably from a bad fall as a child. She could smell his cologne, which was rich and musky, like cigars smoked outside during the summer.
She expected him to try to kiss her, but he didn’t. Instead he just stood there, far too close, watching her.
“You know,” he said, his voice barely a murmur. “You can imagine whatever you want, too.”
She should punch him in the face. But Tem was finding it hard to think straight—finding it hard to remember why she was resisting him in the first place.
“I don’t want anything from you,” she said.
Leo smiled, as if he knew it was not quite the truth.
“So, so difficult.”
“You like it.”
Leo looked her straight in the eye.
“I do. But that doesn’t mean I’ll tolerate it forever.”
“Excuse me?”
“I have to eliminate two girls tonight, Tem. Why shouldn’t I eliminate you?”
“Because you’d never see me again.”
He shrugged.
“Maybe that’s not such a bad thing. I’m getting a little tired of my cock being permanently hard whenever you’re around.”
Tem’s mouth fell open. Leo chuckled softly.
“Don’t tell me that surprises you.”
Tem didn’t know what to say. Leo placed one hand on the door behind her head. He leaned in, whispering his next words right into her ear:
“The real question is whether you’re wet whenever I’m around.”
Tem’s heart felt like it was about to leap from her chest. Leo’s lips were just brushing her skin, the sensation impossible to ignore. His teeth nipped her earlobe.
“Are you wet, Tem?” he whispered.
Tem was.
She couldn’t help it. She knew it was the last thing that Leo deserved from her. But his mouth was near her neck. And he smelled good. And the way his body looked under his shirt was making her want things she had absolutely no business wanting. So she said:
“You tell me.”
At her words, Leo’s entire demeanor changed. Where before he’d been pointedly detached, now his eyes narrowed with determined focus. Without a moment’s hesitation, Leo slid his hand through the slit of her dress. She hadn’t worn any underclothing—the tight fabric of the dress hadn’t allowed for it. Leo’s jaw clenched when he realized this.
“Fuck, Tem.”
Tem’s lungs seemed to contract as his hand dove between her legs to feel exactly how wet she was for him. She gasped as he slipped one, then two, then three fingers inside her. When he went for the fourth, Tem pushed his hand away.
Leo smirked.
“That’s all I get?”
“We only have sixty seconds.”
His smirk deepened. “I never turned the hourglass.”
He had a point there.
“Besides,” he continued, “I’m in charge. If I want to keep you longer, I will.”
“Could you get any more entitled?”
“Yes. I could. I could argue that I’m entitled to your cunt, whether you want to give it to me or not.”
Tem raised her chin in defiance.
“You’re not entitled to any part of me.”
Her response seemed to amuse Leo.
“Always such a fucking tease, Tem.”
Tem grit her teeth.
“If I’m such a tease, why bother keeping me around?”
To her surprise, Leo laughed.
“If you think being a tease would turn me off, you don’t know me at all.”
He always wants what he can’t have.
Tem looked up at Leo, who held her gaze calmly. It was unnerving how nothing seemed to phase him, especially considering how many whiskeys he’d had since the start of the evening. Tem felt like she could say anything at all and he wouldn’t even blink. She decided to test that theory:
“What if I never let you fuck me?”
He tilted his head, considering her.
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s a question. A simple one, actually.”
He laughed again.
“Actually, it’s not simple at all. The entire point of this process is for me to find a wife I want to fuck. If you’re not willing to fuck me, then I don’t see the point of keeping you here.”
“Don’t you?” Tem said. She felt nothing but power in that moment.
“No,” Leo glanced lazily over to the hourglass. “I don’t.”
Now Tem was the one to move closer. She sidled up to him, draping her body against his in the same way she’d seen Vera do to Jonathan—in the same way that any woman could do to a man. Despite Leo’s best efforts to remain indifferent, she felt his breath hitch when her hips pressed against his cock. He made it so easy.
“I don’t need to fuck you,” she said softly, her lips grazing his throat. “I don’t even need to take my clothes off. You want me so badly you’d marry me just for the chance to see me naked. Am I wrong?”
Tem didn’t know where her courage came from. She was risking everything on this—the farm, her mother’s reputation, her reputation. She was banking on Leo’s predictability, assuming that what his sister had carelessly said about him in the bathroom was not only completely correct, but a surefire indicator of his future behavior. It was the biggest gamble she’d ever taken, and if she was wrong, it would cost her everything.
A vein was twitching in Leo’s neck. Tem wanted to lick it.
Instead, she waited. When he finally spoke, his voice was a raw groan:
“You’re never wrong, Tem,” his eyes were hooded, the greed in them unmistakable. “I hate that about you.”
His lips were on hers before her heart could take another beat.
Leo’s hands grabbed her waist, nearly lifting her off the floor as his body curled down to intertwine with hers. She could taste every ounce of whiskey he’d consumed—along with something sweet, like honey.
They didn’t bother going slow.
His tongue was in her mouth; her chest was pressed against his. Tem matched Leo’s energy, giving him exactly what he was giving her, kissing him as hard as she wanted with no regard for consequences. It was liberating to be with him here—completely alone—where no one could see what they were doing. Tem felt irrefutably free, like she was flying over open water. She wondered if Leo felt the same.
When she ran her tongue over his gold teeth, she felt him smile.
“Do you like those?” he murmured against her lips.
“No,” she murmured back.
“Liar.”
Leo bit her bottom lip, pulling it toward him—not enough to cause her pain—just enough to make her want to bite him back. So she did.
The next thing Tem knew, her spine was slammed against the door. Leo’s hands, which until now had been wrapped around her waist, were hiking her dress up to her hips. His cock was hard between her legs, the fabric of his trousers the only barrier between them. Tem imagined for a moment what it would feel like if she ripped that last barrier away. She knew it was exactly what Leo wanted. But she also knew he had just seen Vera—and seven other girls—naked. He’d gotten enough of what he wanted tonight. Tem wasn’t about to give him any more.
She gave him a sharp shove backward, breaking them apart.
“I’m still not taking my clothes off for you,” she said.
Leo leaned in so his arms formed a cage around her head.
“You assume I wouldn’t fuck you with your clothes on.”
Tem rolled her eyes.
“Don’t push it. You should be happy I let you kiss me.”
He raised his hands in mock surrender.
“I am,” he lowered them slowly, and the smirk faded. “I am very happy.”
There was a pause, and Tem wondered if she was happy too.
For a minute, they simply looked at each other. In the silence, Tem allowed herself to truly see Leo. He was breathing hard, just like her. His hair was a mess of chaotic spikes, and his lipstick-smeared shirt was surely ruined. He looked perfectly, incandescently human. In that moment, despite herself, Tem felt her heart bend in his direction.
“You never turned the hourglass,” she whispered.
Leo smiled.
“You’re right.”
He crossed to the table and flipped the hourglass on its head. Tem watched as the sparkling gold flakes began to fall. When Leo returned to her, he kissed her again. It was a proper kiss this time—one that built slowly, warming Tem from the inside out. His tongue traced along hers, his arms pulling her closer with unprecedented tenderness. He held her as if she were something precious to him—something sacred. In the sanctuary of his embrace, Tem forgot about the evening. She forgot about Vera, about Caspen, about the voice in the castle. There was only this kiss, right now, with Leo. When they finally pulled apart, the hourglass had run out.
“So,” Tem whispered, her lips still an inch from his. “Will you keep me around?”
Leo smiled, his gold teeth flashing in the dim light.
“For as long as you’ll let me.”