Page 158 of Kneel Before Me

Daphne,

You looked so perfect in what I made you. I want to see you wear it again.

—K

Daphne,

I know last night must have been overwhelming. I appreciate your patience with me. More than you know.

—K

Daphne,

There is no reason to be afraid. I am right there with you.

—K

Horrible realization slipped deep into his stomach. They were love letters. Not overtly. Not obviously. But they were laced with a tenderness and emotion that Maximus knew quite well. It was the way he and Lilibet had written to each other. The letters were meaningful. And they were written by a snake. K was obviously Kronos. Rage crept up his spine. With every letter he read, his anger only grew. He could not stop. Maximus read another letter. And then another. And another.

Daphne,

It was unbelievable how good you looked tonight. I thought the gods themselves might strike you down. Only Kora could compete with your beauty, and even she pales in comparison.

—K

Daphne,

I would die upon the curve of your neck. I would suffocate in the hollows of your hips. I would drown in the depth of your eyes. I would do anything—even if it is nothing—in order to be near you.

—K

Daphne,

To touch a single one of your curls would be a privilege beyond compare.

—K

Daphne,

It is a singular honor to be in your presence. Every moment you are beside me is a moment that makes my exceptionally long life worth living. I wish for you to understand how I feel about you, yet I routinely fail to find the words. If I could carve them in the sky using stars, I would. I fear even that would not be enough. Nothing would be enough for me to express the way I feel about you.

—K

Daphne,

Nothing in nature could possibly compare to your beauty. I do not think you understand how enchanting you are. I am bereft without you. I am nothing.

—K

Daphne,

You have no idea the things I would do to you if you would only let me. If you would let me, I would kiss your neck. I would kiss your lips. I would kiss between your breasts and down your waist until I reached your cunt and then I would never stop kissing it. If you would only let me.

—K

Rage filled Maximus. How dare that creature talk to her this way? Did she feel the same? Maximus dispelled the notion immediately. It wasn’t possible that someone as perceptive and intelligent as Daphne could fall for a disgusting creature like Kronos. Then again, she’d saved these letters, had she not? She’d exchanged meaningful glances with Kronos right in front of Maximus’s face, had she not?

There was just one more letter, and he read it quickly.