Page 262 of Kneel Before Me

“I remember.”

“You promised.”

“I know.”

The tears fell.

They were out of time. Perhaps they always had been. Perhaps, despite the magnitude of their love for each other, they were not supposed to spend their lives together. All this time, Daphne had wished for love and now that she had it, she could not imagine a crueler fate. Kronos’s words came back to her suddenly: Love is not pain. The absence of the person you love is.

This was pain indeed.

“Kronos,” she gasped. “You can’t leave me. I’m—I’m—”

But the words wouldn’t come. She could not tell him like this—not here, in front of Maximus. She would not give the prince the privilege of witnessing such a private moment. It may even be dangerous to tell him. Kronos was a protector—a provider. He would try to fight the guards for her; he would probably get himself killed. Her child was going to grow up without a father either way—Daphne would not allow him to die for it.

“Daphne,” Kronos said calmly, his fierce eyes holding hers. “I wish to thank you.”

“For what?”

“For bringing me back to life. I was alone before you. My quiver was my only home. Now you are my home.”

Daphne pulled him closer, pressing her forehead against his. Snow fell around them, flakes catching in their eyelashes.

“I should be thanking you,” she whispered. “You gave me everything I have.”

Somehow it was true—he had given her so much: confidence, security, even a child of her own. Kronos had shown her she was worthy of true love. He’d given her everything she’d ever wanted. And now it was being taken away.

“It is you who gave me everything,” he said. “You have made my very long life worth living. You taught me to be selfless—to place someone’s happiness above mine. And it was a pleasure to do so, Daphne. Every single moment with you has been an extraordinary pleasure.”

She brushed her fingertips over his cheeks, tracing down to his lips.

“Hope had no name before you,” Kronos continued. “I will love you until I am deep in the ground. Until my body decays. And even then, I will still love you. Death could not keep me from you. Nothing could keep me from you.”

Yet they were not to be together. Despite their best intentions, fate had intervened.

At the look on her face, Kronos said, “I have no regrets, Daphne.”

But Daphne had many regrets. She regretted not telling him how she felt sooner, she regretting not letting him in while she had the chance. She’d always expected they would have more time. Now they had none.

“Kronos,” she began, “I’m so sorry…”

He shook his head. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

“But I must. I—”

“You have nothing,” he said again firmly, “to apologize for. I already told you. You were worth it.”

“How can you say that? How was any of this worth it?”

Kronos let out a soft laugh. “I have experienced quite a lot more than you have, Daphne Verus. And you”—he leaned in, his eyes holding hers—“your love was far and away the best thing I have ever known.”

“You shouldn’t have to sacrifice yourself for me.”

“What else could possibly be worth sacrificing myself for?”

Daphne shook her head, yet she could no longer argue. She was losing something too—she was losing him. They were losing each other, yet somehow they had gained still more. Their love was a miracle, a beautiful thing that had changed them both for the better. Daphne knew she would be forever changed because of it.

“It is my choice, Daphne. And I make it gladly.”