CHAPTER ELEVEN #4
Kronos let out a soft laugh. “You are the beautiful one.”
Daphne knew she was beautiful. But it was hard to believe he would consider her so.
At her silence, Kronos said, “Do you not believe me?”
She thought of Agnes—of every single woman she’d seen in the courtyard. They were all stunning, and any of them would look better with Kronos than she did.
Daphne shrugged. “I’ve seen basilisk women.”
Kronos raised his hand, brushing it gently along her cheek.
It was the first time he’d touched her since he held her neck by the fire, and somehow it felt even better than it did before.
He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
For some reason, the motion made Daphne weak.
He’d barely touched her, yet she felt heat rise in her chest that threatened to consume her.
Daphne was wet—there was no denying it. She didn’t care to deny it anyway.
What she really wanted was to lean in, take his head in her hands, and kiss him.
She noticed his throat, which looked as if it were sculpted from marble.
She noticed his hair, which was gorgeously thick and fell over his shoulders in waves. It was the color of acorns.
Kronos leaned in. “Basilisk women are nothing compared to you.”
Kronos couldn’t lie, so what he was saying must be true—to him at least. She’d once thought his complimenting her, teasing her, was all some sort of twisted game to Kronos—a ploy to have sex with her.
She didn’t think that anymore. Eventually, they’d been talking for hours.
It was getting late; the fire was burning down.
Daphne glanced at the door, and Kronos saw her do it.
“Daphne,” he whispered. “You could stay.”
Could. Not should. Leaving the choice up to her.
Daphne swallowed. “Overnight?”
“Preferably.”
Daphne heard the hope in his voice. Truth be told, she was hopeful too. But she also wasn’t ready. Daphne didn’t trust herself with him yet.
Kronos leaned closer. He placed his hand on her knee. “Stay.”
Daphne stared at his hand. Somehow it was easier than looking him in the eye. She knew she couldn’t stay. Part of her knew that if she stayed, she would cross a line with him.
“I can’t,” she whispered.
He didn’t relinquish his grip. “Why not?”
“Because…” Daphne grasped desperately for a reason, finding there was none. So she made one up. “My mother will worry if I don’t come home.”
Kronos gave her a knowing look. “Do not lie.”
It was barely a lie—her mother would certainly worry if she didn’t come home. But her mother was also surely asleep. She hadn’t been awake the last three times Daphne had returned from the caves, and there was no reason to believe she was waiting up for her this time.
“Daphne,” Kronos said quietly, his face right in front of hers. “Please.”
But Daphne only shook her head. She could gain nothing from staying here. If she stayed, it would be for his benefit, not hers. And she was done making choices for men.
“I’m not staying,” she said as sharply as she could. “And don’t ask me again.”
Kronos pressed his lips together but didn’t argue. He leaned back. “I am sorry,” he said quietly. “I should not have pushed you.”
It was the first time he’d ever apologized to her. The words sounded strange coming from someone so powerful. For some reason, she wanted to hear them again.
Instead Daphne waited, and Kronos filled the silence. “If you will not stay, will you allow me to escort you home?”
She hadn’t expected him to ask that. In all her years of dalliances underneath the bridge, no one had ever offered to walk her home, let alone asked her permission to.
She’d spent many nights walking home alone, convincing herself she was proud of what she’d just done, hugging herself against the cold.
“You…want to…walk me home?”
Kronos didn’t even blink. “I do.”
“Why?”
“Because you came here all alone. I would prefer you do not leave the same way.”
Daphne stared at him. His eyes glowed brighter than the fire, their deep burnished gold boring straight into her soul. There were worse people to be walked home by. Finally, she nodded. “In that case you’d better put on some trousers.”
Kronos cracked a small smile. Up until now, he’d been sitting with his hand respectfully in his lap, covering his cock with his palm. He’d kept it there for hours. But for as large as his hands were, his cock was larger still, and Daphne had seen undeniable glimpses throughout their conversation.
“Give me one moment,” he said, still smiling. “And I shall return in trousers.”
Daphne nodded. Kronos stood, casting one last lingering glance at her before turning to a chest of drawers.
Daphne didn’t even pretend not to look at him from behind.
His back was just as beautiful as his front.
Not for the first time tonight, she wished she were naked too.
Instead she could do nothing but watch as Kronos pulled on a pair of low-slung linen trousers that somehow made him even more attractive than he was when he was completely naked.
When he turned back to her, Daphne allowed her gaze to slide over his body—taking in his hard torso, the ridges of his abs.
It hardly seemed fair that anyone could have a body like that.
Daphne wondered if he had to work for it or if all basilisks were born looking like statues of gods.
Kronos gestured elegantly at the door, and Daphne followed him out into the passageway.
They walked in silence through the darkness, out through the cave, and toward the forest. Daphne hadn’t realized just how much she wanted his company until it was offered to her.
Now that she had it, she never wanted to let it go.
She knew she should be afraid out here alone with a basilisk—they were no longer within the bounds of student-teacher rules.
Instead she felt nothing but a smooth sense of peace as they walked together in the moon-dappled night.
Daphne realized they’d never been anywhere outside the mountain together.
It was strange seeing Kronos in a different environment.
He moved with unquestionable ease, navigating the rough terrain of the forest as if it were second instinct.
They walked slowly, and she knew that despite his significant stride, he was matching his pace to hers.
His body was as graceful as an animal’s—he reminded her of a deer: majestic and powerful. Otherworldly.
Kronos did not speak, and neither did Daphne.
She concentrated instead on trying not to trip in the darkness.
Kronos moved with such effortlessness that she wondered whether his eyes were accustomed to the night.
It would make sense, considering how dark the caves were.
He’d probably spent many years underground, and when he was not underground, the time he spent outside was during the night, in order to avoid detection.
It was not lost on Daphne that he was risking his life to walk her home—if he were caught in the village, it would mean death.
She hardly felt worthy of such a risk, and she found herself wishing there was a way to repay him in kind.
They were nearing the mirrored wall that surrounded the village. Kronos reached it first, pushing it open and holding it for Daphne. She frowned.
“How can you look upon it?”
“Look upon what?”
“The mirrors.”
“My reflection is not fatal when I wear my human form,” he said as they passed through the wall.
“Oh. In that case, why don’t you come into the village more?”
To her surprise, Kronos let out disbelieving laugh. “Why would I want to do that?”
“Because the door is unlocked. You have free rein.”
“I am hardly free,” he said, an undercurrent of tension in his voice.
A pause. They walked a few more yards before Daphne dared to say, “I didn’t mean to offend you.”
Kronos softened immediately. He looked down at her. “You did not offend me,” he said, dipping beneath a branch and holding it up so that she could dip beneath it too. “I should not have spoken so harshly.”
Now it was Daphne’s turn to laugh. “I’m not a delicate flower. You can speak to me harshly. I won’t break.”
In reply, Kronos simply shook his head, making it clear he did not agree. For some reason, it made Daphne angry.
“I won’t,” she insisted. “I’m stronger than you think.”
“That I know.”
“You couldn’t break me if you tried.”
A chill shot down her spine as his eyes met hers. It was difficult to tell what he was thinking. But Daphne knew he didn’t believe her. Only Daphne knew the truth. Her heart was guarded; she was incapable of love. Kronos could not break her because she was already broken.
Eventually, her cottage was before them. When they reached the garden gate, Daphne turned to him.