CHAPTER THREE #2
“I love…” He paused, and she saw him considering his response. “The stars.”
It was an interesting answer.
“Why?”
“Because they are older than me.”
Daphne had no idea how old Kronos was. But she could imagine that for someone who had lived as long as he had, having something older than him was no small feat.
“I love them too,” she said quietly. It was true; she’d gazed at Alpha Serpentis just yesterday. It was always visible during autumn, and it was her favorite constellation.
“Why?” Kronos asked.
Daphne considered her answer. There were plenty of stars in the sky, but the winding tail of the Alpha Serpentis reminded her of a woodland path.
She imagined herself following it, walking among the heavens.
It was said that Kora herself—the goddess of fertility and the deity the villagers worshipped—hung the stars in the sky.
“They’re peaceful,” she said.
“That they are.”
Her eyes dropped to his hands. The unique pattern of freckles reminded her of the stars. Before she could lose her nerve, she said, “Your palms.” She pointed. “They have constellations on them.”
Kronos glanced down at his hands. He frowned, and Daphne was momentarily afraid she had offended him. Then he held them out to her.
“Would you care to take a closer look?”
It was all Daphne cared to do. Instead of saying so, she reached forward, taking his hands so that they were cradled in hers. His skin was so hot it nearly seared her. She stared at his long fingers, which extended halfway up her forearms.
“You hold the stars in your hands,” she whispered.
Gently, she brushed her thumbs over his palms. The motion was far more sensual than she meant it to be, and by the end of it, Kronos’s cock had hardened even more.
Daphne tried not to look at it, but it was impossible.
She tried desperately to distract herself: “Do all basilisks have these freckles?”
“They do not.”
“So why do you have them?”
“I do not know.”
Daphne looked into his eyes. It seemed unfathomable to her that there could be something this ancient being did not know. “Are you the only one?”
“As far as I know.”
“Your parents don’t have them?”
For some reason he went still. His answer was quiet. “My parents are dead.”
“Oh,” said Daphne. “I’m sorry.”
Kronos didn’t reply.
She wanted to ask more, but she was afraid she’d gone too far already. To her relief, he spoke.
“Do you like them?”
“Your…freckles?”
“Yes.” The question felt oddly intimate. He was asking her if she liked a feature of his body—one that was rare among basilisks.
Daphne nodded. “I do.”
In reply, Kronos turned his hands over so that they were holding hers. He held her gently, as if he was hoping to keep her near him.
“I am glad.”
“Why?”
He didn’t answer. Instead he looked her in the eyes, and she looked back.
The moment seemed to lengthen, time dragging to half its normal pace.
Daphne was hyperaware of the temperature in the cave, which was rising steadily.
A single drop of sweat slid between her breasts.
She wondered if Kronos could sense it. His grip on her tightened, pulling her toward him.
She knew she should resist. But she couldn’t.
Something was keeping her here. There was no escape from his eyes—deep and golden and knowing.
His pupils were widening, turning his eyes black.
They were getting closer…ever closer. Daphne could look nowhere else, see nothing else.
He mesmerized her so much she could barely manage to say “Stop.”
Kronos stopped. Only then did she realize just how close they had truly become. Their faces were an inch apart, his lips so near she could have touched them with her tongue.
“Is this some sort of basilisk trick?” she gasped. “Are you compelling me to do this?”
“It is no trick. I would not do that to you.”
“Why should I believe you?”
She tried to pull away, but Kronos would not release her, holding her in place. “I will never force you, Daphne,” he whispered. “I would rather wait.”
“For what?”
“Until you come to me, on your knees, begging for it.”
Daphne’s blush deepened. She was about to beg for it right now. But that would mean ceding her power, letting him win. And she was unwilling to let him do that. She wasn’t used to losing and certainly not to someone who clearly expected victory.
“Who says you’re worth begging for?”
A slow, knowing smile spread over his lips. “You already know I am.”
Daphne did know that. She felt it in her bones—a truth so absolute it would be blasphemy to deny it. Of course Kronos was worth begging for. But that didn’t mean she would do it. Instead she held his gaze as she whispered, “I am worth begging for too.”
His smile only widened. “That, I know,” he whispered back.
A pause followed, and Daphne tried not to focus on how warm the air was around them. Kronos retained his hold on her hands.
“Shouldn’t you be giving me advice?”
He frowned. “Advice on what?”
“On how to make a good impression on the prince.”
“You said you did not want him.”
“And you said I had to compete for him anyway.”
His eyes narrowed. Finally, he dropped her hands, and they both leaned back.
Kronos appraised her, a coldness falling over his face.
“The key to the prince is to get him alone early and often. Find a common interest. Make yourself available when he wants you. And if you can, fuck him on the first night.”
He was giving her advice, yet somehow it felt like he was reprimanding her.
“I’m not going to fuck him.”
“You will if he wants to fuck you.”
“No, I won’t. I don’t want to have sex.”
They were the first words she’d ever said to Kronos, and she repeated them again now. The parallel was not lost on him because he said, “I did not realize your boundary extended to the prince. That is unacceptable. You must fuck him.”
“Why?”
He opened his mouth, then closed it again. There was something he wasn’t telling her. She was sure of it.
“Why, Kronos?”
He sat up straight, his eyes boring into hers. He still didn’t speak.
Daphne crossed her arms. “What happens if I don’t fuck him?”
Kronos leaned in. “If you are not willing to fuck him, you must find another way to win.”
It made no sense to her; basilisks weren’t supposed to care about the competition. It was her future that would be on the line, not his. “And if I can’t win?”
Kronos leaned in even closer. They were nearly touching again. Only this time, his eyes were blazing with anger. “I already told you,” he said deliberately. “There will be consequences.”
At his tone, Daphne’s blood ran cold. There were only so many emotions she could take in one evening.
In just the past hour alone, she’d oscillated from anxiety to arousal to anger.
Now she felt nothing but fear. She was alone in a cave with a monster who was far more powerful than her.
If Kronos decided to hurt her, she would be at his mercy.
Without another word, Daphne stood. She expected Kronos to protest, to call after her, but he didn’t. Instead he remained in place as she left the cave. He did not follow her; he did not escort her to the foot of the trail like he did last time.
By the time she reached the wall, she was running.
And by the time she reached her home, she was in tears.