Page 70 of Kneel Before Me

His phrasing was an evasion. She could see it in his eyes, in the way they avoided hers. “Then it weakens you. There is a consequence, and you hid it from me.”

Kronos shrugged. “I would rather bear that consequence than go against your wishes.”

Daphne stared at the man before her, understanding for the first time what her obstinance was costing him. “But why don’t you just…make me?”

To her surprise, he laughed. “No one could make you do anything, Daphne. Least of all me.”

“But you could have—”

“No,” he cut her off firmly. “I could not have.”

There was such conviction in his tone that Daphne fell silent. She thought about how they had spent their hours together: talking, bonding, sometimes doing nothing. All that time, Kronos had been hurting. All that time, she could have done something to help him, and she didn’t.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

He shook his head. “Do not be sorry. I made a choice, Daphne. It was mine to make.”

She stared at him in the firelight. Kronos looked strained—as if this conversation was difficult for him. It wasn’t exactly easy for Daphne.

“Perhaps you should go,” he said.

Her stomach dropped. “Are you angry with me?”

“No.” He shook his head. “But you should still go.”

Daphne knew him well enough by now to know that there was no point in arguing. Kronos had revealed something important to her tonight—something she would need to think deeply about. The fact that the training affected him personally changed everything; Daphne would not only be doing Maximus a favor by winning—she would be doing Kronos a favor as well. And in the process, what was she doing to herself?

Adrenaline pumped through her as she walked the trail back home.

Daphne spent the rest of the evening in bed, trying not to overthink. Every time she found herself getting angry at Kronos for withholding information from her, she also thought about their kiss. She remembered how Kronos had lifted her from the ground, supporting her weight with just one arm. She remembered the heat of his body as it pressed against hers. She remembered the unyielding rigidity of his cock. He was a basilisk, yet his body behaved the same way a human’s did.

Daphne longed to experience everything he was capable of. She longed to do what she hadn’t had the courage to do when he’d kissed her—to slide her hand down his trousers and hold him in her palm. If she dropped out of the competition, she would never be able to do any of that. She would be breaking her word to Maximus, and she would be condemning Kronos to a lower rank. Nothing felt within her control right now; nothing felt easy.

The next day passed agonizingly slowly.

By the time the sun set Daphne was eager for a distraction, so she went to the Horseman in hopes of finding one in Ella. They sat in their favorite booth, sipping beers, going over the latest village gossip, and according to Ella, Daphne was the topic.

“Everyone thought he was going to pick Veronica. She had her tits out, after all.”

The memory of the Showing was still fresh in Daphne’s mind. Less than a week had passed since the prince had given her his coat. It only made her more curious about how the Frisky Sixty would go.

“Speaking of tits,” Ella said. “Are you going to get naked tomorrow?”

Daphne shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said honestly. Part of her wanted to do so simply to see if it would make Kronos jealous. But it would also give Maximus a look at her nude, which he didn’t deserve.

“If it were me, I’d make him get naked,” Ella said cheerfully. “Why should he be the only one who knows what you’re working with?”

Daphne smiled. It was a typical Ella suggestion. “I doubt he would do that.”

“For you, he might.”

Ella didn’t know the extent of what the prince had already done for Daphne. Daphne hadn’t told her about their arrangement, nor had she told her what had happened in his bathroom nor the gifts he sent her. For some reason, those things felt private.

“What if he has a tiny cock?”

“He doesn’t,” Daphne said.

Ella raised an eyebrow. “How do you know?”