Page 247 of Kneel Before Me

Daphne clung to the bars, leaning closer. “I will do everything I can to get you out. I promise.”

The basilisk hung his regal head. Daphne barely heard him say “Do not make promises you cannot keep.”

“I don’t,” she whispered fiercely. “That’s the prince’s job.”

Then she left too.

She thought about her circumstances the entire way back to the village, turning over the events of the morning in her mind. Two men, two confessions of love. Daphne should be flattered. But it was not their feelings for her that mattered. It was her feelings for them. Kronos was the one who pulled her out of the depths, who shook her to life, who made her feel. A future with him was unpredictable. But it was the future she wanted. He was a worthy partner in every way, and he pushed her to be worthy in return. He fought for her, defended her, protected her. And he did so without expectation, without any hope that she would ever reciprocate. He was something Maximus was not: patient.

Maximus was always dangling his affection and then taking it away when it most benefited him. He kept score; his love was conditional. And conditional love was not what Daphne was looking for. There would come a day, no matter how far in the future it might be, when she no longer met the conditions that qualified her to receive such love. With Kronos, there were no conditions. And that patience was exactly what Daphne needed. She needed someone who could handle her in all her indecisive glory, who could handle her overthinking, who could wait while she made her decision and trust she would make the right one. Kronos supported her emotionally; Kronos gave her time to grow. And it was that, if nothing else, that was worth fighting for.

And then there was the pregnancy.

It should be impossible on every single level. Daphne took the infertility herb just like everyone else her age. Even if she hadn’t, basilisks weren’t supposed to be able to impregnate humans. And certainly not so quickly. Hardly an hour had passed between the time Kronos came inside her and the time Agnes had told her she was with child. If the basilisk in the dungeon hadn’t just confirmed it, she might not have believed it at all. Clearly there was magic at work that she did not understand. There had always been rumors, of course. Rumors that, in rare cases, it was possible to carry the child of a basilisk. But Daphne had never thought it would happen to her.

Before she knew it, she’d arrived at Ella’s. Her best friend lived only a few houses over from her. When they were younger, it made their sleepovers easy. Now that Ella was a mother, it made babysitting Gabriel easy too. When she knocked on her door, Ella answered immediately.

“Daph? What are you doing here?”

“Can I come in?”

“Of course. I just put Gabe down. Is something wrong?”

Daphne couldn’t begin to answer that. She sat at the kitchen table as Ella rummaged through the cabinets.

“Do you want a glass of wine?” Ella said. “I’m almost out of that last batch from the prince, but I’m sure I have a bottle here somewhere.”

“I can’t have a glass of wine.”

Ella turned to her and frowned. “You…can’t have wine?”

It felt like the same interaction she’d just had with Maximus. Daphne took a deep breath, looking her best friend straight in the eye and saying with unreserved finality, “No. I can’t.”

The significance of her words sat between them. Daphne watched as confusion, then concern, then slow realization passed over Ella’s face. Surely she, of all people, would understand.

Her eyes dropped to Daphne’s stomach. “Are you…?”

Ella didn’t say the word, and Daphne was grateful for it. She doubted she could say it herself. “Yes.”

“Daph.”

“I know.”

“Is it the prince’s?”

“No. It isn’t.”

Ella’s mouth fell open as she came to the inevitable conclusion. “It’s his?”

“Yes.”

“But that’s not even possible.”

“Believe me. It is.”

Ella grabbed the last bottle of wine, opened it, and drank straight from the mouth. Daphne rather wished she could do the same. “I don’t understand. You said you hadn’t even had sex yet.”

“Well…” Daphne said. “Now we have.”