Page 144 of Kneel Before Me

“In a moment, Father.”

Augustus gave Daphne a scathing glance from head to toe. She blushed furiously and looked at the ground.

“You will come now.”

Maximus straightened immediately. Without thinking, he wrapped his arm around Daphne’s waist, pulling her against him. By the grace of Kora, she didn’t pull away. “Unless someone is dying or being born, there is nothing urgent enough to require my presence right this moment,” he said, surprising himself by how steady his voice was. “So I will come shortly.”

His father’s eyes widened, then narrowed.

A testy silence followed. Maximus knew when his father was close to losing his temper, and he was close to doing so now. It would not do for Daphne to see Augustus explode. Maximus didn’t want her to be scared, and he certainly didn’t want her to see him lose his temper at his father in return. Instead of retaliating, his father merely clenched his jaw, gave Daphne another lingering glance, and turned to leave. The moment he was gone, Maximus turned to Daphne.

“I’ll see you to a carriage,” he said.

Daphne nodded, her lips pursed.

Maximus walked her to the nearest carriage, holding her hand and helping her inside. “Thank you for a lovely date,” he said as soon as she was seated. “I look forward to the next one.”

She raised her eyebrows. “The next one?”

“Yes,” he said. “If you’ll have me.”

Daphne gave him a small smile. That alone was enough to sustain him. Maximus closed the carriage door, watching until it was out of sight.

His father was waiting in the foyer.

“Follow me,” Augustus said immediately.

“Where are we going?”

“Do not ask questions, Son. I have had enough of your insolence today.”

Maximus sighed. Tonight, of all nights, he wanted to be alone. He wanted to think about what he’d just done with Daphne—how he had made her body seize with pleasure. He wanted to touch himself to the memory of it. But Maximus knew if he did not follow his father willingly, a pair of guards would force him to. He followed his father into the castle and down the steep, dark staircase that led to the dungeon. The staircase was freezing—somehow even colder than the air outside—and every breath pierced his lungs like a knife. By the time they reached the bottom, Maximus was shivering. His father stopped. They turned to face each other.

“You are aware that we are wealthy,” his father said.

Maximus blinked.

Of course he was aware of that. They were royals, after all. It was a given that they had access to more resources than the average villager. Perhaps times were tougher than they used to be, but they were certainly not wanting for food.

“Yes.”

“Are you aware of how we maintain that wealth?”

Maximus blinked again, trying to understand where this conversation was leading. “From…shipping?”

He’d sat in on enough meetings with merchants to know that his family was heavily involved in importing and exporting. To his surprise, his father shook his head.

“No.”

“Then how do we maintain it?”

In reply, Augustus opened the dungeon door, disappearing inside it. Maximus stared at the looming darkness, completely baffled. He thought of his warm fire upstairs and how much he’d rather be in front of it. He half contemplated actually turning around and leaving.

Before he could do so, he heard “Maximus. Follow me.”

With a sigh, Maximus followed him.

The dungeon was even colder than the staircase and just as dark. A long row of cells disappeared into the distance, each sealed by a wrought iron door. Nothing could have prepared Maximus for what was inside the cells.