Page 148 of Kneel Before Me

“Unless his cock was in your pussy, I do not wish to know.”

There was a brief silence in which he was clearly waiting for her to say that was the case. Daphne had never been so glad not to say something.

“You once asked what we are,” he continued slowly. “Perhaps it is time to decide.”

Daphne sat up and looked him in the eye. Was she really about to have this discussion with a basilisk?

“What do you want us to be?” she whispered, suddenly terrified of his answer.

Kronos sat up too, brushing a curl from her face. “Whatever you want us to be.”

She shook her head. She wouldn’t be seduced by his beautiful words—not tonight. If they were really going to discuss this, it needed to be an equal conversation. “Don’t do that.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Do what?”

“Don’t just say what I want to hear.”

Kronos gave her a small smile. “I do not know what you want to hear. I cannot read your mind.”

But she couldn’t say it. Despite the gravity of the moment, Daphne wasn’t ready to be vulnerable with him. It was too difficult for her—too terrifying. She decided to ask him a question she desperately needed the answer to. “Did you mean it when you said you would be loyal to me?”

“I did.”

For some reason, that made her want to cry. She thought about Penelope—about the life Kronos lived underneath the mountain. Daphne knew being loyal to her was a sacrifice.

“But…why?”

Kronos tucked the strand of hair behind her ear. “You are worth being loyal to.”

They were kind, beautiful, foreign words to her. Daphne couldn’t even think of how to respond. She could only shake her head. “But…how are we supposed to be together?”

“We will find a way.”

“But how? Your quiver will never accept me.”

“My quiver does not determine our future.”

“But it’s a part of you, and you’re a part of it. You can’t just turn your back on them—”

“If I am crowned king, my quiver will have no choice but to respect me.”

“If, Kronos.”

He sighed, and Daphne did too. There were too many variables here, and none of them were within their control.

“This is not about my quiver,” he said quietly. “This is about us. It is not possible to extract your soul from mine. It cannot be done. We are intertwined. As deep as the roots of a tree or the current of a stream. We are one, Daphne. How can you not see that? How can you not know?”

She stared into his eyes, seeing the sincerity in them. It scared her. “I’m not good at this, Kronos,” she whispered. “I’m just…not. I’ve never been with anyone who actually wanted to be with me.”

“That is a shame,” he said. “And it is not your fault.”

“Kronos,” she breathed. “You don’t understand. I think I might be…unlovable.”

Daphne said the last word so quietly she wasn’t sure if he even heard it. But from the way his face fell, she knew he had. He shook his head.

“How can you think such a thing?”

She shrugged. It was too painful to put into words. She didn’t want to tell him that it felt as if there were something wrong with her—something missing. Everyone else seemed to be capable of this seemingly basic thing. Everyone except for her.