Page 188 of Kneel Before Me

“Naughty,” he said.

Daphne pouted but didn’t bother to argue. She was quite sure she couldn’t handle the elixir right now anyway; she simply enjoyed giving Kronos a hard time.

As they passed the fountain, they also passed a particularly large group of basilisks. Even compared to Kronos, they were exceptionally tall. Their skin was uncommonly smooth, their movements languid and slow, as if they were used to moving underwater.

“They seem…different,” she whispered to Kronos.

“They are from the sea,” Kronos said just as quietly. “They came in for the Ranking.”

“Why are they looking at me like that?”

Every basilisk in the group was watching her pass, their heads moving in identical motion. It was eerie.

“Basilisks from the sea live in isolation,” Kronos said. “They have had little to no interaction with humans. You are an anomaly to them.”

Daphne nodded, unable to tear her eyes away from the stunning basilisks before her. Kronos and the other basilisks under the mountain exuded warmth and heat. But the basilisks from the sea appeared cold. Instead of golden eyes, theirs were silver. And instead of the smoke that engulfed Kronos, the basilisks from the sea were sheathed in mist. It dappled Daphne’s skin as she walked by, coating her in a thin layer of water that quickly evaporated in the warm air.

“They’re so beautiful,” she whispered.

“They are cunning,” Kronos said. “Do not let one get you alone.”

Daphne shot him a glance. “Isn’t it your job to protect me?”

He smiled. “It is. But you are unpredictable, mén zeseré.”

Daphne smiled back. She still hadn’t asked him what those words meant, and for some reason she still didn’t want to know. She liked to pretend it was a term of affection, and if it wasn’t, she knew she would be disappointed.

“They are a particularly brutal people,” Kronos continued. “Historically they have not gotten along with those of us who live under the mountain.”

“Why not?”

“It is said that they are descended from our greatest enemy.”

Daphne frowned. She thought the only enemy the basilisks had was the humans. What other creature could possibly incite fear in someone as powerful as Kronos? “What enemy?”

“We call them ‘the tailed ones.’”

Daphne frowned. “But…what are they?”

Kronos tilted his head. “In your language I believe they are called salamanders.”

Daphne raised her eyebrows. “Your greatest enemy is a lizard?”

Kronos looked down at her. “Do not say it like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like they are not a threat.”

“But aren’t they…tiny?”

“Do they look tiny to you?”

Daphne fell silent. They looked anything but. She hadn’t meant to sound incredulous—it just wasn’t anything she’d ever heard of. She’d seen plenty of salamanders, and they were ultimately adorable.

“They are more dangerous than you can possibly imagine,” Kronos continued. “Do not underestimate them.”

Daphne was smart enough to know when Kronos was being serious. She understood that there were things here that were far beyond her control. The basilisks had enemies she did not understand—there were legends and stories that Daphne had no knowledge of—an entire history she was not privy to. She hoped one day to learn more.