Page 151 of Kneel Before Me

“Yes.”

“How do you know if it’s time?”

“Only Kora knows.”

“But how does she decide?”

“Kora sees all. She sees the future, and she understands the past. She chooses who rules at what time because she weaves the threads of life. Basilisks believe in fate. We believe everything is predetermined. If she does not pass the power, then that is the way it is meant to be.”

“Do you think she’ll pass it on this year?”

Kronos shrugged. “I do not know. Bastian has been Serpent King for several competition cycles. His own son has retained the highest rank, and she has not passed it on.”

“Isn’t there some other way for Caspenon to be Serpent King?”

“The only other way would be to kill his own father.”

Daphne winced. That was unlikely to happen.

“Anyone able to kill the king is powerful enough to earn his title,” Kronos continued. “The Serpent King holds extraordinary power—few are willing to try to take it. Fewer still are able to.”

She nodded. It was all very strange to her.

“Regardless,” Kronos said, “it is essential that I do well in the Ranking. I must put myself in the best position possible should Kora decide it is time for a new king.”

“How do you do well in the Ranking?”

Now Kronos paused. Daphne could tell he didn’t want to say whatever came next.

“I must prove that I am worthy of the throne.”

It was vague. Yet also indicative. Daphne had a sinking feeling in her stomach—a hot thread of dread. She was dying to know the details, but she was afraid. “Would it require you to be with…someone else?”

Kronos paused before whispering, “It…might.”

“What does that mean?”

“Each basilisk who participates in the Ranking must choose a guest to participate with them. Host and guest will participate in a series of challenges together.”

“What sort of challenges?”

Kronos pursed his lips. “Difficult ones.”

Daphne didn’t bother asking anything further. She thought of what she’d seen in the courtyard before Agnes found her. If the challenges were anything like that, they would be beyond her wildest imagination.

She stared numbly into the fire. When she said nothing, Kronos continued quietly. “If I could abstain from the Ranking, I would. But I must participate, Daphne. I have no choice.”

“Then participate with me.”

The words were out before she could stop them, and the moment she said them, a low hiss filled Kronos’s chambers. He stared her with a mix of awe and caution. “Are you…certain?”

Daphne felt both wildly out of control and simultaneously completely calm. What was she thinking? She didn’t know a single detail of the Ranking. Still, she said, “Yes.”

“I am honored you would offer yourself as my guest,” Kronos said quietly. “But you may wish to take some time to think about it.”

Daphne looked up at him. “Why?”

He sighed, and she saw the weight of the world on his shoulders. “Daphne,” he said slowly. “If you do this with me, you will see and experience things you cannot imagine. It is not something I would expect of any human, much less you.”