Page 204 of Kneel Before Me

He pointed at the mats. “Each host will share a mat with their guest. The host will enter the guest. After that, neither host nor guest may move. It is up to you”—he threw his arms wide, encapsulating the crowd—“the people, to create enough motion to bring the host to climax.”

Daphne’s heart stopped.

The host will enter the guest.

“The first host to climax wins the challenge,” Bastian concluded.

Daphne turned immediately to Kronos. “What are we supposed to do?”

He didn’t answer. He was looking at the mats, his jaw tight.

“Kronos.” Her voice dropped to a strangled whisper. “I’m—I’m not ready to—to have—”

Kronos turned to her, placing his hands on her shoulders. “I am not asking that of you,” he said firmly.

“But…you—”

Daphne couldn’t even finish her thought, which was that he was suffering because of her. It was unbearable. She couldn’t let it happen any more than she could prevent it from happening. She was stuck between her desire and her fear, and neither of them was allowing her to move.

“Kronos,” she gasped. “I want to—I…wish that I could—”

His grip on her tightened. “I am not asking that of you,” he said again, sharply this time. “We will find another way.”

“There is no other way.”

“Of course there is. How many times must I tell you that? I can enter you in a hundred ways. You need only say which way you prefer.”

His words hung between them, and Daphne felt the full gravity of their meaning. He was ceding his power, giving her complete control. It was an unimaginable gesture, especially when the stakes were so high.

“I…” she whispered, “don’t know what to say.”

Agency constituted power—that’s what Kronos had told her. Daphne was still learning how to speak for herself—how to choose what was best for her. She was far better at it now than she had been before meeting Kronos, but that did not mean it came naturally to her.

In response, Kronos raised his hands, placing them gently on either side of her chin. He cupped her jaw, raising her face to his. “Daphne,” he whispered. “It does not matter what it is. We do not have to have sex. If you let me do anything at all, it will be enough.”

Daphne nodded, barely registering his words. She had already caused him to forfeit the second challenge, and now this? “Kronos…”

The pressure was unimaginable; she knew better than anyone that if Kronos did not win this final challenge, he stood no chance at winning the Ranking. She couldn’t believe this was happening. She couldn’t believe she was underneath the mountain, surrounded by basilisks, having this discussion. It would be so much easier if she were willing to have penetrative sex.

Yet somehow, the more it became necessary to do so, the less she was willing to do it.

Benjamin’s words ran through her head: I was promised free pussy.

Why should she give anyone her pussy? Why should she compromise this last, vulnerable piece of herself? She’d already given plenty. To Benjamin, to Maximus, to every boy who had taken her under the bridge. It was enough. Daphne was tired of splitting herself open for others. She was no longer willing to compromise her goals in order to achieve someone else’s. It was Daphne’s turn to hold the power. She could not do much, but she could control whether she opened her legs. She could control when and where a cock entered her.

They were running out of time. The hosts were approaching the mats.

Kronos stepped forward, and Daphne followed. Their mats were placed in the same order as the vials, with Kronos’s directly in the middle. On the far end were Caspenon and his guest.

“Your quiver will guide you into the lake,” said Bastian, his voice rising over the excited chatter of the crowd. “When you reach the center, the challenge will begin.”

Wordlessly, Daphne stepped into the water before climbing onto the mat. Kronos climbed on behind her, the mat rocking with his weight. Daphne could see how the challenge would work; the mat was highly responsive to motion. Anything the crowd did to it would have an immediate effect. She looked out over the lake, at the smooth black water. What would Kora do? Mother to all, goddess of fertility. Surely, she would have sex. Kora would relish it. But Daphne was no god.

She was just Daphne.

Behind them, basilisks from both quivers were entering the water. Several hands touched the edge of the mat, pushing it out into the lake. Caspenon had the most support—no surprise there. The rest of the basilisks were fairly evenly split among the hosts, including their mat, which surprised Daphne. The basilisks began to swim as the mats floated farther out onto the lake. Only one group lingered on the shore: the strange, cold basilisks from the sea.

Eventually, the mats stopped.