Page 254 of Kneel Before Me

Maximus stared at the empty doorway, unable to shake away the chill. You will make a good king. Bastian had said it as if it were a compliment. So why did it feel like an insult? Perhaps he didn’t want to be a good king. Not if being a good king meant sacrificing his morals. But what morals was he sacrificing? There was nothing left that was sacred to him. Daphne was gone. He could not claim her; she would never be his. So what reason did he have to try to be a better person?

Maximus understood on a fundamental level that life as he knew it was over. There had been before Daphne, and after Daphne. He existed only in the after.

When he left the study, his father was nowhere to be found. Maximus traipsed up to his room alone, returning to the wine he’d abandoned in front of his fireplace. Something was changing within him—something deep and terrible.

You have become hollow. It is a shame to see.

He knew he could not win Daphne back. She had never been his in the first place. But he could make her as miserable as he was. If Maximus had to face a future without the love of his life, so would Daphne. He stared into the flames, his jaw tight. His fingers undid the clasp of his trousers, relieving the sudden pressure on his cock. The more he thought about inflicting pain on whoever held Daphne’s heart, the harder he became. Rage mixed with arousal. He slid his hand between his legs and began to stroke.

Daphne.

Another stroke.

Daphne.

His strokes reached a feverish pace.

Daphne.

Cum pooled in his palm, seeping between his fingers. Maximus had never finished so quickly before. He stared into the fire, his fist clenched, his entire body numb. The only woman he cared to see had just walked out of his life forever, and the future was dark without her. He would have to marry Constance now. There was no other option. Then again, perhaps there never had been. His father would be overjoyed at this turn of events.

If he was going to do this, he would commit to it without remorse. He’d once told Kronos to kiss the ground Daphne walked on or else he would bury him in it. It was time to hold up his end of the bargain. Maximus would be a man of his word. The basilisk had not kept her safe; he had impregnated her and torn her away from Maximus. He would pay for that.

There would be no mercy in his strike. Only precision in its execution.

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

Daphne

Daphne lingered at Ella’s house until her best friend calmed her down. Only when she could think clearly once more did she decide what to do next.

There was no point in going home. Daphne needed to see Kronos, and she needed to do it right now. She had no idea how much he knew—whether or not Agnes had told him she was pregnant, whether the prince proposing to her was enough to turn his vial black. Did it still count as Maximus choosing her if Daphne hadn’t chosen him back? There was only one way to know. She ran to the caves as fast as she could, ignoring the whipping wind. This autumn had been unseasonably cold, and it was not a surprise to Daphne when she saw snow begin to fall.

When she reached Kronos’s chambers, they were empty. Daphne paused, unsure where to go next. It wasn’t safe to wander the passageways alone. Yet she had no idea when Kronos would return, and she could not wait to see him. She decided to go to the vial room. To her surprise, it was full of basilisks. Daphne spotted Kronos immediately; he was right in front of the vials, standing half a head above the rest. She pushed through the crowd until she reached him. Everyone stared at her as she passed; she was still in her dress, the only one clothed.

“Kronos,” she said. “I need to talk to you.”

“Daphne,” he breathed, his hands immediately finding hers. “Is everything in order?”

Daphne opened her mouth but was cut off immediately.

“Brethren,” called Bastian, raising his voice over the eager clamor of the crowd, “welcome to the closing ceremony.”

Silence fell as the crowd turned to face the vials. On one side of the room stood Caspenon, on the other Rowe. Farther back in the crowd, Agnes gave her a little wave. Daphne waved back.

“What happens now?” she whispered to Kronos.

“First the current Serpent King will conduct the closing ceremony,” Kronos whispered back. “After that, we will see whether Kora chooses to pass the power.”

“How will we know?”

Kronos pointed. “My vial will drain.”

It was then that Daphne realized Kronos’s vial was black.

So Maximus’s proposal had had an impact after all. It did not matter that Daphne had not accepted it, only that he had chosen her. Why was it that somehow, in all this, it was still only his choice that mattered?

“You will be king,” she whispered.