CHAPTER TWENTY
Daphne
The package arrived right before she had to leave for the castle.
It was one of many that day; Maximus had been sending them since noon: wine and flowers and a box of chocolates.
But this one was different, as Kronos’s always were.
Daphne looked at the familiar black paper and ribbon, brushing her fingers over them gently.
Without further ado, she opened it. There were two items inside, one of which she’d expected: a long velvet dress, cinched at the waist. Daphne had no idea what the other was.
She lifted it delicately, holding it up in the dim light of her bedroom.
It was clearly a garment, but she’d never seen anything like it.
It was made up of what looked like tiny pearls, although they were unlike any pearl Daphne had ever seen.
The pearls she’d seen on the necks of royalty were dingy white and irregularly shaped.
These pearls were minuscule and perfectly round—tiny shimmery beads that glittered and shone, creating a mesmerizing ripple effect.
The garment had two distinct sections—a structured bra and a bottom, connected by strings of pearls.
Was it…lingerie? The piece had an undeniably sexual energy—it felt like a proposition in and of itself.
Was Kronos suggesting that she wear it tonight, for the prince? Or did he want her to wear it for him?
Daphne stared at it in bewilderment. She did not know what to make of it at all.
The fact that it had some sort of meaning was undeniable—she just wasn’t sure what it could possibly be.
Regardless, she was late. She decided she would wear this…
thing…tonight whether the prince was the intended audience or not.
Daphne stripped naked before stepping into the garment.
Immediately, she felt warm. The pearls were warm.
Somehow they felt like the exact temperature of Kronos’s skin.
She pulled it up her body slowly, savoring it.
By the time the straps were on her shoulders, she was already turned on.
The garment was exactly her size, cradling her breasts in a way that almost imitated hands.
How had Kronos known the exact size to make this stunning piece?
He’d only seen her naked twice. It must be some secret basilisk magic.
The cut and fit of it implied knowledge—and ownership—of her body; it implied possession.
She knew that by wearing this garment, she was his.
A blush rose on her cheeks as she looked down at the bottom half of the garment, which was shaped like underwear.
Only this underwear had no coverage over her center.
There were only two strings of pearls on either side of her pussy, acting as an attachment to the rest of the garment.
If she’d been turned on before, she was practically feral now.
Daphne imagined what it would be like walking into the ballroom knowing that despite the dress everyone would see her in, underneath it, her center was exposed.
The thought was too much; she had to touch herself.
She couldn’t help it. Daphne ran her hands over the pearls, gasping as they moved beneath her fingers, rippling in response to her touch. She squeezed her breasts and cried out.
Then she slowly slid her fingers into her center.
It was incredible to watch them disappear without adjusting the garment; anything Kronos could ever want to do to her would be possible while wearing such an item.
There was undeniable sensation on her skin—a vibration meant only for her.
Daphne closed her eyes, savoring it, feeling it spreading from her core to the rest of her body.
It was almost as if the garment were helping her.
Her lips parted, open and wanting. Was Kronos responsible for this?
Was he the one making her feel this way?
She slid her fingers deeper, finding that she was completely wet already. Had Kronos anticipated that she would do this while wearing the garment? She hoped he had. She hoped he could tell, somehow, that she was touching herself right now. If only she could touch herself in front of him.
“Daphne,” her mother called. “Your carriage is here.”
But Daphne could not stop; it was impossible.
There was no way to prevent what was building inside her—no way to delay the inevitable.
Instead she gripped the edge of the sink, trying to stay upright as her climax built.
She gasped for air; stars crowded her vision.
Every inch of her skin was warm and soft and sensitive to the touch.
Daphne was no longer herself; she was only a vessel for pleasure.
Three fingers were inside her. The garment tightened, pushing her breasts together and pinching her nipples.
“Daphne,” her mother called again. “Hurry up.”
“I’m coming, Mother.”
It was all too true.
Her climax hit her with seismic force, crashing through her core before billowing through the rest of her body in effervescent waves.
Daphne felt it in her fingers, in her stomach, in her skull.
She’d never had an orgasm like that before.
When she finally opened her eyes, it felt as if she’d run a marathon.
Her thighs were dripping with wetness; it trailed nearly down to her knees.
She wiped herself off quickly, knowing that as soon as she walked, more would surely spill out.
She wished Kronos was here to see her like this—wet and dripping, utterly spent.
She wished it was his cum dripping out of her instead.
With one final glance at herself in the mirror, Daphne pulled the velvet dress on over the garment and ran out to the carriage.
She sat impatiently for the entire ride to the castle.
She wanted to ask Kronos about the garment—about the nature of its magical properties.
Even now, she could have sworn it was still making her warm.
It reminded her of the way Kronos’s skin warmed her—how his body always felt like a furnace against hers.
By the time she was pulling up to the castle, she was dying to see him.
A butler greeted her in the foyer before ushering her into the ballroom.
The basilisks hadn’t arrived yet; Daphne knew immediately from the way the energy in the room felt light and upbeat.
The other girls were milling around, along with a significant number of royals. She did not see Maximus, but that was to be expected. He would be sequestered somewhere for the entirety of the evening, speaking with the teachers.
Daphne grabbed the closest glass of white wine and downed it in one gulp.
It only accentuated the heat already coursing through her veins.
Behind her, she heard a gasp. She turned to see the crowd parting like water for five tall, gorgeous men.
The basilisks. Daphne searched them for Kronos, spotting his long, wavy hair immediately.
He was already looking at her. His eyes raked over her body hungrily—much the same way hers raked over his. She savored it. She had never seen a man look at her that way before—like she was something worth having. Kronos abandoned the other basilisks, heading for her.
“Daphne,” he breathed when he reached her. “You are so beautiful.”
She noticed his phrasing immediately: She was beautiful, not that she looked beautiful. As if she herself was the source of the beauty. She thought of Benjamin, who had complimented her so differently: You’re pretty in the dark.
“Thank you,” she said back. “You…are beautiful too.”
Kronos smiled, which only reinforced her statement.
He wasn’t just beautiful. He was stunning.
He was dressed in a dark suit similar to the ones the other basilisks were wearing.
On them, it looked like formal wear. On Kronos, it made him look like a king.
His hair was pushed back over his shoulders in a dark wave, and he smelled like smoke, as he always did.
Daphne realized suddenly that this was the first time she’d seen him outside of the dim lighting of the cave.
Even when he’d walked her home, it had been dark.
Now she noticed every angle of his face, every inch of his skin.
She wished she could see him naked in this lighting.
“May I get you something to drink?” he asked.
Daphne nodded. A moment later a footman appeared, and Kronos plucked two glasses of red wine from the tray, holding one out to her.
“I don’t like red wine,” she said before she could help it.
Kronos raised an eyebrow. “I see. Then I shall get you something else.”
“No, it’s fine—” She reached for him, but he was already setting the glasses aside and waving down another footman, this one bearing a tray of white wine. Kronos looked at Daphne expectantly, and she nodded.
He grabbed two glasses of white wine and handed one to her. They sipped them at the same time, turning to look out over the ballroom. Daphne was halfway through hers when Kronos turned to her and said, “Would you care to dance?”
The question shocked Daphne. She had danced before, at various village gatherings. But never at an event this fancy, and certainly never with someone like Kronos. Formal ballroom dancing was not something she’d been taught as a child. She doubted anyone but royalty really knew how to do it.
“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” she said.
Kronos raised an eyebrow. “Why would it not be?”
“We’d be the only ones.”
He nodded at the dance floor, where several couples were already dancing. “We would hardly be alone.”
“I meant that we’d be the only people…like us.”
He raised his other eyebrow. “Like us?”
Daphne didn’t know how else to put it. So to explain, she gestured around the ballroom. Of all the couples dancing, she did not see one of them from the village. They were all royals. And none were a basilisk and their student.
Kronos turned to her. “I did not realize you cared so much what other people think.”