Page 195 of Kneel Before Me

Beside Kronos, Daphne looked horrified. Caspen could not understand her expression. Kronos was the one who should be horrified—forfeiting this challenge all but guaranteed he would lose the Ranking. He would need to achieve an extraordinary win in the third challenge, which was impossible to predict. If anything, Daphne should be honored that Kronos was willing to do this for her. There was only one reason why a basilisk would abstain in such a way: They did not wish to have sex with anyone other than their guest. Kronos was choosing to be faithful to Daphne.

It was unheard of. No one—not even blood-bound couples—were exclusive in basilisk society. As far as Caspen knew, monogamy was a singularly human custom, and one that could not benefit Kronos in any way.

Everyone, including Caspen, watched this interaction in stunned silence.

Beside him, Apollo whispered, “Can he even do that?”

“He can do whatever he likes,” Caspenon said. “But it is unwise.”

Unwise was the bare minimum it was. Caspen could not comprehend why Kronos would do such a thing. Was he truly so faithful to the human woman beside him? It was not something Caspen—nor, he doubted, any basilisk—could understand.

“Very well,” Bastian said slowly, his brow furrowed. “That is your choice.”

A moment of silence passed as someone ran forward and removed the extra chair. Daphne buried her face in Kronos’s shoulder. He held her, his thumb drawing circles on her waist. Again, Caspen was struck by a strange sense of jealousy. Harmony would never want to be held that way. Harmony would never need to be held that way. It was he who needed her.

Adelaide approached Apollo while Harmony approached Caspen. He wished his brother had sat anywhere else in the circle—he had no desire to listen to Apollo’s grunts of passion during this particular challenge, especially if there was an opportunity for Harmony to ride him.

“It is time to begin,” Bastian said. “Guests, prepare your hosts.”

Harmony needed no further instruction. She barely had to do anything—just her proximity made Caspen hard. Her hand wrapped around his stiffening cock, pulling and stroking it into rigidity. As soon as all the hosts were hard, Bastian clapped his hands and the challenge began.

Immediately, the crowd began to cheer. Harmony gave Caspen one last look before beginning to walk with the rest of the guests. They circled the chairs slowly, interacting with the rowdy crowd as they rotated. Daphne and Kronos stood on the sidelines, watching silently. Caspen could not imagine how Kronos felt. Was he regretting his decision? From the expression on his face, it did not seem like it. He looked far calmer than Daphne, who was nervously biting her lip. A few seconds later, Bastian clapped his hands.

Harmony was on the opposite side of the circle—nowhere near Caspen. Before he could wonder who would mount his cock, someone did. Adelaide. She slid down onto it with a smirk, giving Apollo a pointed smile as she did so.

“Jealous?” she purred.

Apollo scoffed. There was already a different woman on his cock. “Hardly.”

Adelaide laughed. Unlike Harmony, who teased them with a cruelty she could barely contain, Adelaide did so with humor. She was not mocking them nor trying to play them against each other. She was merely having fun. And she was not the only one. The crowd went wild as the first guest was shut out of the circle. Caspen did not turn around to see who his mother had mounted.

Instead he watched as the eliminated guest left the circle, their host leaving with them. As soon as the empty chair was removed, Bastian clapped his hands once more.

Adelaide slid herself off Caspen’s cock with a moan. He was sad to see her go; her pussy felt amazing. The guests rotated again, walking in a circle around the hosts. This time when Bastian clapped his hands, a woman Caspen did not know settled herself on his cock.

“Everyone thank your queen,” Bastian called over the cheers of the crowd.

At his words, relief swept through Caspen. His mother must have been eliminated. Sure enough, Deltene returned to Bastian’s side with a good-natured smile, waving as the crowd cheered for her. No one would think anything of what had just happened—the queen was hardly expected to last the entire challenge.

Bastian turned to Deltene. “Choose which host will leave.”

Deltene pointed at Solomon.

Caspen’s throat tightened. Was she a fool? She could have chosen anyone to leave the circle—any Seneca—and she chose her lover? Caspen glanced at his father, who frowned. Was it his imagination, or did he seem suspicious of her choice? There was no time to wonder further. Solomon was already standing, pulling his chair along with him. The circle tightened even more.

Time passed.

Woman after woman rode Caspen’s cock, moaning as they did so. But never Harmony—never his own guest. She withheld herself on purpose, although she did not refrain from fucking anyone else. She was one of the more ruthless guests, elbowing other basilisks out of the way in order to gain a seat on a cock. That was nothing surprising to Caspen; he was quite familiar with her antics.

Host after host left the circle, taking their chairs with them. The rounds were getting noticeably longer. In the beginning, Bastian had clapped quickly. Now he waited, allowing the crowd to get rowdier and rowdier as the rounds went on. Caspen became numb to the noise. He concentrated only on the guests who rode him, participating in the challenge in the only way he could. His job was to remain present—to have a hard and willing cock, to provide himself to be ridden. He lost himself in a blur of breasts and hips and cocks and moans, using it all to shut out the dread.

At last, only three guests remained: Adelaide, Harmony, and another man who Caspen was fairly sure was Eros’s guest. Apollo and Caspen were the only hosts left. Bastian clapped his hands once more. The guests had just began to circle again when he cried, “The final round will be different. There will be just one guest.”

The crowd went wild. It was an unexpected change, although not an unprecedented one. Bastian was the Serpent King; he was at liberty to amend the rules at any time.

“You”—he pointed at Harmony, his eyes narrowed into menacing slits—“will choose the winner.”

Indignation crept up Caspen’s spine. In that moment he saw this challenge for what it really was: a tool—a way to force Harmony to publicly choose between them. Equal parts resentment and anger swept through him. What kind of man had raised him? What father would do this to his own sons?