Page 246 of Kneel Before Me

She pursed her lips.

“Say it, Daphne. Tell me who has stolen your heart.”

He wanted to finish the sentence with from me. But it was pointless to do so. Deep in his soul he knew he never had her heart to begin with.

“You have become hollow inside,” she said quietly. “It is a shame to see.”

Maximus stared at her. He could feel a vein pulsing in his temple. No one had ever spoken to him like that before. It was so extraordinarily painful he almost enjoyed it. Then cold rage darkened his vision.

“How dare you say that to me?” he hissed.

She crossed her arms. “You need to hear it.”

“And what makes you think I need to hear it from you?”

“You care what I think of you.”

Finally, Maximus fell silent. They both knew it was true. He had feelings for her, yes. But his favor extended further than that. He hadn’t cared what anyone thought since Lilibet. After this experience, he was unlikely to ever care again.

“Leave me, Max.”

Unbridled rage filled him.

“Oh, what are you going to do, Daphne? Free the snakes yourself? They would not be so gracious to you if the situation were reversed, I guarantee you.”

Maximus couldn’t have predicted Daphne’s reaction to his words.

“Just leave me!” she screamed, her eyes ablaze with fury.

Maximus stared at her. He had used the wrong tactic—pushed her too hard. He should know by now that she didn’t work that way, that it was impossible to force Daphne Verus to do anything she didn’t want to do. Despair settled in his chest. What had he just done?

“As you wish, Daphne,” he whispered.

Then he left her.

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

Daphne

Weeks ago, Daphne would have been unsure where her loyalty lay.

But now, standing in front of Kronos’s people, she was unsure no longer. She hardly noticed when Maximus left her. All she noticed were the basilisks. As much as she wanted to, Daphne couldn’t free them herself. Maximus had taken the key, and even if he hadn’t, this wasn’t the time to make such a move. Daphne had no way of getting dozens of dying basilisks out of the castle and back to the caves unscathed. For now, she just needed to speak from the heart. Without thinking, she stepped forward, approaching the closest cell and kneeling so that she was eye level with the male basilisk inside it.

“I’m so sorry they did this to you.”

At first, she wasn’t sure whether the basilisk heard her. He was staring so intently at her stomach that she experienced a sudden jolt of realization.

“You can sense it, can’t you?” she whispered. “The baby?”

The basilisk nodded. “We all can.”

His voice was beautiful. It might as well have been Kronos talking. Daphne had a sudden, horrible vision of him here in this basilisk’s place. She placed her hands on the bars.

“Kronos Seneca is the father. Do you know him?”

The basilisk blinked slowly. Even that motion looked painful. “He is…a…”

But she didn’t get to hear what Kronos was. The basilisk was fading, the light in his eyes rapidly dimming. Sadness was all Daphne felt when she looked at the stooped man before her. A cluster of silver wires were fused to his fingertips, disappearing up into a hole in his cell. Daphne knew nothing about the bloodletting process, but she knew from the grimace on his face that whatever was happening with the wires was painful. She felt first sympathy, then rage. Maximus was smart; he knew this was cruel. And if he did not, he was willfully ignorant because it benefited him.