Page 235 of Kneel Before Me

Daphne felt a debilitating rush of affection for him. He was always protecting her, even from himself. She sat up slowly, pressing her lips to his shoulders, then his neck, his cheeks. Daphne took his face in her hands, watching as his pupils slowly shrank to a normal size. She wanted to kiss him again. Instead she simply looked at him, memorizing the face of the man she loved. It had not been easy or simple for them to come together, but now that they were, she never wanted them to be apart. Perhaps all roads had led them here.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Caspen

Caspen stared at the blood on the vial room floor.

He had returned here for reasons he himself did not understand, drawn by some force beyond his control. He had won the Ranking, yet he did not feel victorious. Harmony certainly considered him the victor—she had fucked him until he could barely feel his cock. Caspen had been the one to finally get out of bed, claiming he needed to go hunting. Instead his feet had led him here. Caspen stared up at the vials, deep in thought.

“It should not have been so close,” a voice came from behind him. Caspen turned to see his father emerging from the darkness.

“You should have won the Ranking by a landslide,” Bastian continued. “Instead you are barely ahead of someone who did not participate in one of the challenges.”

“What is done is done, Father. I won. That should be enough.”

Bastian shook his head. Caspen knew he did not agree. For his father, nothing would ever be enough.

“The Senecas from the sea supported Kronos. They gave him an advantage. Already, they gather against us. If we are not careful, they will seek to—”

“Father.” Caspen cut him off. “Look.”

Bastian followed Caspen’s gaze. He frowned. The blood in Kronos’s vial was rising. They both stood in stunned silence as it rose higher and higher, surpassing the blood in Caspen’s and stopping just short of Bastian’s.

“That cannot be,” Bastian whispered.

The blood in the vials should not be moving; the results of the Ranking were supposed to be final. The only change would occur when the prince chose his wife and the blood of the corresponding basilisk turned black. That was the final step in the process—the last thing that would solidify who would be first in line for the throne should Kora choose to pass on the power.

“How can his rank rise?” Caspen asked in disbelief.

“He has done something to garner power.”

“But what?”

Bastian shook his head. “I do not know. I have never seen such a thing before.”

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Caspen’s heart hammered in his chest.

“Caspenon,” his father said quietly. “It is time you understood something about our family.”

Caspen blinked. The segue made no sense to him. “What is it, Father?”

Bastian drew a deep breath before turning to face him. “You know your mother and I are bound by blood.”

Horrible dread filled Caspen’s stomach. “I do.”

A weighted silence followed. Was his father about to ask him whether Deltene had been unfaithful? Caspen did not know how to respond. He could not lie, yet he had to protect his mother. Before he could come up with a plan, his father said, “Our bond is about to be broken.”

Caspen allowed his shock to show on his face. “How can you know that?”

Bastian let out a harsh, pained laugh. “Anyone in my position would know. The woman I love is in love with someone else.”

Caspen shook his head. “Why are you telling me this?”

“I am telling you this because when your mother inevitably sleeps with Solomon and breaks our bond, I will lose the thing that has guaranteed my position.”

The blood bond had kept his father strong—it earned him the privilege of being Serpent King, and it had helped him retain the throne for decades.

“Kora will pass the power when it breaks.” Bastian pointed at the vials. “And I will not see it go to a Seneca.”