Kneel Before Me (Split or Swallow #3)

CHAPTER ONE

Caspen

Caspen stared at the plethora of breasts before him, finding himself utterly bored.

The litany of bodies was becoming tiresome, the endless barrage of fucking nothing more than a tedious distraction.

Nudity was nothing new to him; he was not swayed by cunts nor cocks.

Caspen had been with nearly everyone under the mountain, and he was not impressed by any of them.

The only woman who drew his eye was not even here.

The only breasts he wanted to see belonged to Harmony, and she was otherwise occupied. As she always was.

To make matters worse, Rowe was staring at him from across the courtyard, his face drawn into a sneer. Caspen held his gaze and matched his expression exactly.

Where is your woman tonight, Caspenon?

Of course Rowe would taunt him when he knew perfectly well where Harmony was.

She is not my woman, as you are well aware.

Is she not? Then whose is she?

Caspen rolled his shoulders. Harmony was not his. She had made that abundantly clear.

She belongs to no one.

Shame. A woman like that is dangerous when not tied down.

Caspen knew he did not mean figuratively. A vision of Harmony in bed came to him, her wrists secured with ribbons. The thought alone made him harder than any of the women around him did.

Is there a purpose to this conversation? Or do you only wish to tell me things I already know?

He felt Rowe’s cruel amusement even from across the room.

The training begins tonight.

Another thing I already know.

Are you sufficiently prepared?

Caspen snorted. There was no need for him to prepare. My girls always win.

Perhaps not this year.

That did not warrant a response. Caspen cast his gaze elsewhere, searching for something to interest him. Nothing did.

Rowe continued: Good thing your brother is here to push you.

Caspen sighed. I do not need to compete with my brother to perform at my best.

Your entanglement says otherwise.

My entanglement is none of your fucking concern.

It is everyone’s concern. You and your brother make fools of yourselves for her. In turn, you make fools of the Drakons.

My quiver has nothing to do with this.

You are a representation of your quiver.

Then my quiver must be perfect.

You would do well to check your ego, Caspenon. The tide of fate is ever changing.

The tide of fate favors me. It always will.

You speak as if Kora herself has blessed you.

Perhaps she has.

And yet Kora has not deemed you worthy of becoming Serpent King. How many years has your father held the position now?

Caspen rolled his shoulders. His father had been Serpent King for decades.

It was an unusual situation; Bastian’s blood bond with Caspen’s mother made him extraordinarily strong.

Still, Caspen should have succeeded his father by now.

But it was not up to him. It was Kora’s choice that ultimately determined whether or not a new Serpent King came into power.

Despite the fact that Caspen’s girls always won the competition—a pattern that afforded him significant power—his rank never rose high enough to surpass his father.

It had become a point of contention for them; his father believed Kora did not find Caspen worthy of the throne. Caspen was beginning to believe it too.

Perhaps Kora has gotten lazy.

Anger flowed from Rowe to him.

It is not wise to mock the gods, Caspenon.

Caspen slammed the door between their minds shut. A moment later someone appeared at his shoulder.

“Are you taking me to the hill tonight?” Agnes chirped.

He looked down at his little sister.

There was a hill where it was possible to watch the town square.

As soon as Caspen had found out Agnes liked to spend time there, he had forbidden her from doing so.

When she had not ceased her outings, he had started to come along.

At least he knew he could protect her if something were to happen.

Better she have a chaperone than be near the humans alone.

“Not tonight, Agnes.”

“Caspy,” she whined. “You promised.”

“And you promised to stop calling me that,” he said. At his reprimand, a mischievous grin tilted her lips.

“But it is your nickname. You should like it.”

“You know perfectly well I do not like it.”

Agnes stuck her lip out in a pout.

Before she could tease him further, Caspen continued, “The training begins tonight.”

Agnes sighed. “Fine. In that case, maybe Apollo will take me.”

Caspen stopped and turned to her. “Remember your promise to me, Sister. No one can know we do this. It is too dangerous.”

“But why? No one ever sees us.”

He shook his head. “No one has seen us yet.”

“You are so pessimistic.”

“I am realistic. There is a difference.”

She rolled her eyes, still pouting.

“Agnes.” He placed his hands on her shoulders. “No one else can know. And you cannot go without me. Do you understand?”

Her mouth formed a tiny, unhappy line.

“Agnes. Answer me.”

“Yes, I understand. But you owe me.”

He sighed. “Fine.”

“Fine.”

Caspen dropped his hands. He worried about his sister.

She was the youngest Drakon sibling, and since he was the oldest, he felt a responsibility for her that he did not feel for the others.

Agnes had always harbored a strange fascination with the humans.

She did not view them as prey as everyone else did.

Instead, she was constantly asking questions about them, wanting to know more about the way they lived and how they did things.

Caspen could not understand her interest. There was nothing duller than a human.

But Agnes was naturally curious, even if that curiosity often got her into trouble.

“Your fascination with the humans is a waste of time,” he said.

Agnes shrugged. “They are interesting to me. I like the way they interact with one other.”

“Nothing they do is interesting.”

“Perhaps not to you.”

“You should let them be.”

“And you should get a haircut.”

With that, she skipped off. Caspen ran a hand through his hair, which was admittedly rather long. Why did everyone in his family have to be such a fucking pain in his ass?

“Preening ourselves, are we, Caspenon?”

Finally, someone he wished to speak to.

“Harmony,” he said without turning around. He did not need to see her; he would know that voice anywhere.

“Caspenon.” He felt her fingers brush over his back before she appeared in front of him. “Why were you not in my bed last night?”

He looked down into her light gold eyes. Most basilisks had dark golden eyes, but not Harmony. Hers shone brightly in the dim cave lighting. They were a peculiar color—almost yellow. He had always been able to pick her out of a crowd by nothing but her eyes.

“Because my brother was there with you.”

Her fingers trailed over his biceps before resting in the middle of his chest. The feel of her skin against his made his cock harden instantly.

“Why not kick him out?”

“I did not want to interfere.”

“How noble of you.”

It was hardly noble. Caspen could not stand to see his brother with Harmony, and if given the opportunity, he knew he would do a hell of a lot more than kick him out. He would probably kill him. Harmony knew this, and she savored it.

“Perhaps you should get there first next time,” she continued, her hand brushing down his torso before wrapping around his aching cock. “Or is speed not one of your many specialties?”

“You already know my specialties.”

“True. But I would like to know them better.”

Caspen closed his eyes. She was standing too close, and she was so beautiful he could not keep a thought straight in his brain. Harmony had always had this effect on him.

He shook his head to clear it. “I cannot linger. The training begins tonight.”

“You could linger here with me.”

Harmony looked up at him through her lashes. It was a look that usually made him weak. But tonight there was too much on his mind. Rowe’s taunts were swirling through his head, distracting him: Whose is she? Not his.

“Your father is staring at us,” Harmony said.

Caspen followed her gaze. She was right; his father was staring.

Bastian’s brow was drawn, his eyes hollow.

His father had been in foul spirits for weeks now, ever since the council had declared that the Drakons were becoming too powerful.

They did not respect the Serpent King; they thought he had been in power too long.

The Senecas were no longer interested in answering to a quiver that was not theirs.

It was an absurd stance, one that did not matter to Caspen in the slightest. But his father had taken it to heart and had been in a paranoid conniption ever since.

“He bears the burden of leadership,” Caspen said. “It weighs on him.”

“Do you really believe he is thinking about leadership right now?”

Caspen sighed. He did not believe that. He knew exactly what his father was thinking about. Bastian did not approve of Harmony. He hated that she had driven a wedge between his sons, and he had ordered Caspen on numerous occasions to end his involvement with her.

But even if Caspen wanted to, he could not sever his relationship with Harmony.

Caspen had been a virgin once, although by now it seemed hard to believe.

Losing his virginity had been the first step in his long climb to the throne.

A virgin basilisk could not become a proper member of society, could not ascend in rank.

And in basilisk culture, the person who took your virginity held power over you—Harmony had taken both his and Apollo’s.

It was a strange arrangement, even among basilisks, and it had left them both at her mercy.

She had a hold on the Drakon brothers that neither of them could break. They were both indebted to her.

Bastian knew this, and he resented it.

“Why?” Caspen had asked Harmony once. “Why did you insist on having us both?”

She had smiled, her yellow eyes gleaming in the darkness. “Because I knew I could.”