Page 202 of Kneel Before Me

Daphne nodded. She watched as the men began to finish one by one. They remained in the circle until the woman finished too, arching her back and coming with a joyful cry. A moment later, every man bowed to her as she left the circle. Daphne’s heart beat faster.

“Daphne.” Kronos’s voice dropped even lower. “You do not need to do this.”

She knew that already. But part of her—an inexplicably brave part—wanted to try it. “I know,” she said sharply.

Kronos raised an eyebrow at her tone. Then he nodded, relinquishing his grip on her hand. Daphne wondered suddenly whether he might be worried for her. There was unmistakable pride in his eyes, but behind that—deep in his gaze—was fear.

“If at any point you wish to leave,” Kronos said, “I will pull you out. Do you understand?”

Daphne nodded. Then she stepped forward, entering the circle.

The moment she knelt, excitement flowed through her. Then fear set in. On the surface, she was not afraid to bare herself in front of Kronos. But the thought of touching herself in front of so many other basilisks, as well as him, was downright terrifying. Yet it was also thrilling.

The male basilisks closed the circle around her, Kronos joining them. He was directly in front of Daphne, although she knew he would soon rotate. She liked the fact that he would be able to see her from all angles, and she was sure he liked it too. There was a pause as everyone in the circle looked at her. Daphne wasn’t sure how to start. Before she could ask, Kronos extended his hand and wrapped it around the cock of the man beside him. That man did the same, and so on down the line. Once everyone was linked together, the basilisks began to stroke.

Daphne was in no hurry to touch herself; she would wait until she was suitably turned on. She was well on her way there already—wetness dripped down her thighs, and she knew everyone could see it. But she wanted to draw out this process. Up until tonight, everything about the Ranking had been out of her control. Daphne was just nothing but a guest. Now she felt as if she were the star of the show—her own person—in control at last. The men were all hard for her. It was just as Kronos had said: She was the one who held the power. She chose how things progressed.

Slowly, looking only at Kronos, Daphne began to touch herself. As soon as she did so, the men began to move. Daphne watched Kronos until she could not watch him anymore, and even once he was behind her, she thought only of how he must feel watching her. She touched herself at a leisurely pace, going as slowly as she liked, arching her back and breathing in the sweltering air. Sweat dripped between her breasts. Everything was so wet under the mountain. Saliva, sweat, cum, blood. Even tears. It had overwhelmed her at first, but Daphne did not mind it anymore. If this was the basilisk way, she decided that she liked it.

A moment later Kronos was before her once more. It was an incredible thing to see him pleasure someone else while being pleasured himself. He touched the other basilisk’s cock the same way she’d seen him touch his own—with long, confident strokes. Daphne had yet to see a basilisk who was not well-endowed, but now that she had spent time under the mountain she knew that Kronos’s cock was bigger than most. It was a point of pride for Daphne. She was surrounded by men, but she looked only at Kronos. And Kronos looked only at her. They held eye contact for as long as they could, and even when he was behind her, she could still feel his presence. Daphne rocked her hips, working herself toward her climax. She was close, and some of the men were too.

Suddenly she felt another set of eyes on her. Daphne looked beyond the men to see a single basilisk, motionless in the crowd, staring at her. Caspenon. He was watching her with a strange expression on his face—almost curious, as if he could not believe what was happening. Yet there was something else in his gaze that surprised Daphne. Envy. She knew how men looked when they were jealous—knew exactly the way their jaws clenched when they wanted something they could not have. Daphne did not think he wanted her. She suspected he wanted something else—something he could not hope to have with the woman he shared with his brother. It was a trace of the same longing she had seen in him when he’d delivered her to Kronos after protecting her from Rowe. Caspenon wanted what they had. Daphne hoped he would find it someday.

For now, she was only interested in what she wanted.

Daphne drove her fingers deeper, allowing herself to moan as loud as she liked. The basilisks surrounding her made noise too—grunts and gasps and whispered words. Daphne absorbed it all, savoring the communal sounds of pleasure, honored that she was a part of it. The cause of it. Finally, face-to-face with Kronos once more, Daphne was ready to come.

She kept her eyes open until the last possible second, working a furious rhythm against her clitoris as her hips hitched and bucked. Kronos’s eyes were completely black, a fearsome hiss emanating from him that engulfed the sounds everyone else made.

As she came, Daphne closed her eyes and cried out, “Kronos.”

She opened her eyes to see him coming too, his essence coating the hand of the basilisk next to him. It only took two more strokes for Kronos to finish off the man he was touching too. Then he stepped forward, his hand taking his own cock, offering it to her. Daphne opened her mouth willingly, licking his cum from the tip.

Pride radiated from Kronos; he looked every inch the king she imagined he could be. He extended his other hand, helping her stand. As soon as she was upright, Kronos pulled her from the circle. The other basilisks bowed their heads to her the same way they’d bowed to the first woman. Unsure of the proper protocol, Daphne gave them a little wave on her way out.

Kronos swept her immediately into a kiss.

Daphne kissed him back, allowing her hands to run all over him. Kronos allowed the same. He grabbed her waist, her breasts, her ass. She could feel the strength in his body—the force. She felt completely engulfed by him. Daphne did not mind. She was exactly where she wanted to be.

They stood there, touching and kissing each other, until finally Kronos drew away.

“Do you wish to sleep?”

Daphne wished to do a lot more than that. But it had been an extremely long couple of days. And in the wake of her orgasm, she was utterly exhausted. So she nodded.

Without another word, Kronos steered her away from the courtyard. It was a relief to enter the quiet of the passageway and put some distance between her and the endless expanses of skin. When they reached his chambers, Kronos asked, “What can I do for you, Daphne?”

She shrugged. She needed nothing.

Kronos crossed to the dresser, opened a drawer, and pulled out a cloth. He dipped it in a small basin of water before joining her on the bed and pulling her legs open before him. He wiped her down, first her pussy and then the cleft of her ass, doing it so gently that she sighed with relief. Then he cleaned his own cock, lay down beside her, and drew her into his arms.

“Tomorrow is the final day,” he murmured. The final day of the Ranking.

“What will happen?”

“The third challenge is the most important,” Kronos said “It is meant to give the quivers a chance to cast their vote. Every basilisk under the mountain will participate.”

Dread filled Daphne. Just because she’d participated in the circle did not mean she was ready for an orgy. “And how exactly are they participating?”