Page 207 of Kneel Before Me

“How will we know who won?”

“The vials will tell us.” Kronos continued to support her as they left the shore and entered the passageway. All around them, basilisks stared at her.

“Why are they looking at me?” Daphne whispered.

“They are impressed,” Kronos whispered back.

He was right, Daphne realized. Instead of the looks of mild curiosity and borderline disdain that Daphne had received for the last three days, now the basilisks looked upon her with something akin to awe. Everyone would have seen what just happened—what she endured. Apparently she had finally earned their respect.

By the time they reached the vial room, the mood was tense. Murmurs and whispers swept through the crowd as everyone gathered in front of the vials.

“Will the hosts please step forward,” Bastian said, “and stand before your vial.”

Without hesitation, Kronos pulled Daphne forward with him. She was the only guest standing in line; all the other hosts were alone. Bastian cast a lingering glance over them but did not say anything. From the way Kronos was holding her hand, she knew he would not let her go even if told to do so.

“We gather now to see the results of the Ranking,” Bastian continued, addressing the crowd. “As you know, the winner is not guaranteed the position of Serpent King. No matter who wins today, we will still gather for the closing ceremony, where Kora will choose whether a new king ascends or the current king remains.”

It was not lost on Daphne that Bastian was referring to himself in the third person.

Bastian turned to face the vials, and the hosts turned with him.

Everyone fell silent as the blood bubbled, rising and falling in chaotic spurts. Daphne stared at the blood in Kronos’s vial, watching as it rose higher and higher, surpassing the levels on either side of it. Then it stopped. Only one vial kept rising, filling almost all the way to the top.

Caspenon’s.

For a long moment, silence lingered. Then a deafening cheer broke out as the crowd mobbed Caspenon. His quiver embraced him; hands reached out to touch his face, his chest, his cock. His guest ran forward and kissed him on the mouth before taking his cock and beginning to stroke it.

Daphne turned away, uninterested in seeing any more of that. Instead she looked up at the vials. Shame twisted Daphne’s stomach. Kronos had barely lost. If they had participated in the second challenge, there was no doubt in her mind he would have overtaken Caspenon.

She turned to him. “I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head, taking her face in his hands. “Daphne,” he said quietly. “I do not ever want to hear that from you again. You have done more for me than you could ever know.”

“I just don’t understand,” she whispered, “what you see in me.”

Kronos looked down at her, his thumbs brushing tenderly over her cheeks. “What can you possibly mean?”

“I just…” Daphne trailed off, staring at his gorgeously sculpted shoulders, his golden hair, his stunning body. He was an angel incarnate. “I don’t understand why you’re with me.”

The words were barely a whisper. Daphne was ashamed to even say them. But if they were to be honest with one another, they might as well start here.

“Daphne,” Kronos said quietly, his eyes raking over her. “I do not understand you.”

So they didn’t understand each other. That much was obvious.

“You’re flawless,” Daphne said. “And you’re practically a god.”

Kronos raised his eyebrows, but she soldiered on.

“You’re perfect in every way. I’ve never seen a more beautiful man. I just… I don’t understand. You can’t blame me for feeling like this.”

Despite everything she had just achieved, Daphne still felt small. She still felt lost.

“I do not blame you,” Kronos said quietly. “But you are wrong on every count. I am no god; I am hardly flawless. You are the flawless one.”

Daphne just shook her head.

“Daphne,” Kronos leaned closer. “I cannot lie. You know this.”