CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Maximus
Maximus knew he shouldn’t read them.
This was Daphne’s private space; he had no right to invade it. But some animal instinct within him compelled him to act, and sharp anticipation pierced him as he picked up the slim stack of paper. They reminded him of the letters he kept in his own bedroom—the ones between him and Lilibet.
Before he could stop himself, Maximus began to read.
Daphne,
I hope the dress was to your liking. I thought the color would be beautiful on you. Then again, any color would be beautiful on you.
—K
Daphne,
I cannot stop thinking about what we did last night.
—K
Daphne,
You looked so perfect in what I made you. I want to see you wear it again.
—K
Daphne,
I know last night must have been overwhelming. I appreciate your patience with me. More than you know.
—K
Daphne,
There is no reason to be afraid. I am right there with you.
—K
Horrible realization slipped deep into his stomach.
They were love letters. Not overtly. Not obviously.
But they were laced with a tenderness and emotion that Maximus knew quite well.
It was the way he and Lilibet had written to each other.
The letters were meaningful. And they were written by a snake.
K was obviously Kronos. Rage crept up his spine.
With every letter he read, his anger only grew.
He could not stop. Maximus read another letter. And then another. And another.
Daphne,
It was unbelievable how good you looked tonight. I thought the gods themselves might strike you down. Only Kora could compete with your beauty, and even she pales in comparison.
—K
Daphne,
I would die upon the curve of your neck. I would suffocate in the hollows of your hips. I would drown in the depth of your eyes. I would do anything—even if it is nothing—in order to be near you.
—K
Daphne,
To touch a single one of your curls would be a privilege beyond compare.
—K
Daphne,
It is a singular honor to be in your presence.
Every moment you are beside me is a moment that makes my exceptionally long life worth living.
I wish for you to understand how I feel about you, yet I routinely fail to find the words.
If I could carve them in the sky using stars, I would.
I fear even that would not be enough. Nothing would be enough for me to express the way I feel about you.
—K
Daphne,
Nothing in nature could possibly compare to your beauty. I do not think you understand how enchanting you are. I am bereft without you. I am nothing.
—K
Daphne,
You have no idea the things I would do to you if you would only let me. If you would let me, I would kiss your neck. I would kiss your lips. I would kiss between your breasts and down your waist until I reached your cunt and then I would never stop kissing it. If you would only let me.
—K
Rage filled Maximus. How dare that creature talk to her this way?
Did she feel the same? Maximus dispelled the notion immediately.
It wasn’t possible that someone as perceptive and intelligent as Daphne could fall for a disgusting creature like Kronos.
Then again, she’d saved these letters, had she not?
She’d exchanged meaningful glances with Kronos right in front of Maximus’s face, had she not?
There was just one more letter, and he read it quickly.
Daphne,
I await your decision. Please know that whatever you decide, it would be an honor to do this with you.
—K
What the hell was that supposed to mean? Do what with her? The longer he thought about what the snake could mean by that, the more capable he became of murder. Maximus was so distracted he barely heard the commotion just outside the door. There were voices in the kitchen, one of them Daphne’s.
“What do you mean the prince is here?”
“I mean the prince is here,” her mother said with insistent urgency. “He’s in your bedroom.”
“Why would you let him in there?”
“He could hardly wait in the kitchen, could he? He’s royalty, Daphne.”
“I know perfectly well what he is, Mother.”
“Well, do you know why he’s here? Is something wrong? Has he eliminated you? Are you going to—”
“Mother you must be calm,” Daphne hissed. “I don’t know why he’s here. And I’m not going to find out talking to you about him in the kitchen.”
Her mother did not reply. Maximus barely managed to return the letters to their place before the bedroom door opened and Daphne stepped through it.
“Max,” she said. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold.
“Daphne.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I needed to speak with you.”
A pause. Daphne’s eyes flicked to her dresser, where the spray bottle sat. Then to the letters. Maximus had put them away in a haste—he wondered if she could tell.
“So, speak,” she said cautiously.
They might as well start at the beginning. “Are you hurt?”
Daphne shook her head.
“Good.”
Maximus didn’t mention the letters. For some reason, he knew to save that information for a later time—a more opportune moment.
Daphne was clearly under some sort of spell; if she had feelings for a snake, the basilisk had bewitched her.
Besides, he did not know all the details.
Perhaps she was writing him letters in return, telling him to fuck off.
The thought cheered him. He decided to test the waters.
“Have you thought about what I told you?”
Daphne turned, pulling off her scarf and hanging it by the door. “What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean.”
There was only one thing he could be referring to: the terms of their arrangement. Maximus had laid his heart bare to her—he’d told her how he felt, and now he was waiting for her to do the same. After what he’d just read, he needed her to clarify where she stood.
“I want to marry you, Daphne. Am I wasting my time?”
Her mouth fell open. She did not respond.
“Well?”
She shook her head as if to clear it. Then she reached for an open bottle of wine on her dresser and took a long swig. As soon as she swallowed, she said, “We haven’t even had sex, Max.”
Maximus took the wine from her and took a swig of his own. Clearly this was a conversation that required alcohol. “So?”
“So.” Daphne took the wine back. “How can you want to marry someone you’ve never even fucked?”
“Because I don’t need to fuck you to know that I want to be with you.”
“Max,” Daphne whispered.
He shook his head. “Don’t,” he said quietly. “I don’t want to hear it.”
She stared up at him. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to throw her on the bed and fuck her just so she could no longer use that against him. Instead he waited for her to respond, and when she did, the words were a whisper.
“Do you love me, Max?”
A pause stretched between them. “I could.”
“That’s not enough.”
“Of course it is.”
“No,” she whispered. “It isn’t.”
Maximus shook his head. She was so fucking impossible.
Of course he could love her. And she could love him, regardless of what she told herself.
Humans were not so complicated. The heart was not some mysterious thing.
You either felt something or you didn’t.
And Maximus felt something—he felt so much.
He hadn’t cared for a single woman since Lilibet died.
Daphne had been a surprise to him—the way she’d grown on him slowly.
Now he didn’t care to live his life without her.
Maximus remembered what Kronos had said about Daphne: She is irreplaceable.
They agreed on that, at least. No one could possibly take her place.
Not Constance nor Veronica nor any other woman whom his father considered a better match. Daphne was the only option.
“What is it about me that you find so loathsome, Daphne? Am I truly such a horrible match?”
Daphne shook her head. “Of course not,” she whispered.
He stepped closer. “Then why won’t you be with me?”
She pursed her lips.
He wanted to shake her. “We would be good together,” he whispered. “We…work.”
“I know we work,” Daphne whispered. “But I don’t want you the way you want me.”
“But you do want me in some way.”
Now the truth of the matter sat between them. Maximus knew he wasn’t wrong. They were a good match. A right match.
“Yes,” she whispered. “I want you in some way.”
“Then that should be enough.”
She shook her head. “It’s not.”
“Why not?”
“How is that enough for you, Max? You deserve someone who wants you in the same way you want them. You deserve someone who is your equal.”
“You are my equal, Daphne. We could rule together. We could—”
“Constance is your equal. Your father said so himself.”
He snatched the wine from her hands, taking another swig. “I do not care about Constance.”
She snatched it right back, matching his swig with her own. “You should.”
“I’d rather die than marry her.”
“Max.” She put her hand on his shoulder. He stiffened immediately at the contact. “I don’t want you to die. Now, or anytime soon. But this wasn’t part of our arrangement.”
“Then tell me why all I want to do right now is kiss you.”
“You can’t.”
“Why not?”
She opened her mouth, then closed it. Her eyes shifted to the dresser again. A horrible feeling twisted his gut.
“Daphne,” he said quietly, her name barely a whisper. “It’s someone else, isn’t it?” He couldn’t bear to say the basilisk’s name.
Her eyes flicked back to his. They narrowed. “Just because I don’t want you means there has to be someone else?”
“So you’re saying I’m right.”
“I’m not saying anything.”
“Yes, you are. Even if you aren’t being straightforward about it. You’re saying fucking plenty, Daphne.” Maximus stepped even closer. “Who is it? Tell me.”
He was going to make her say it. He was going to make her name the thing she probably wasn’t ready to admit even to herself. Maximus was going to win.
When she remained silent, he said, “If you’re going to break my heart, I have a right to know why. It’s him, isn’t it? That snake.”
Rage was rapidly filling him. The horror he’d felt when his father showed him the bloodletting seeped steadily away. Why shouldn’t the snakes suffer? Look what Kronos had done to Daphne: manipulated her, ensnared her with his charms.
Daphne closed her eyes.
Maximus didn’t relent. “You’ll fuck him but not me? A monster?”
“He’s not a—”
“He is a monster,” Maximus nearly screamed it. “And he will hurt you if you let him.”
Daphne opened her eyes. “And what will you do?” she whispered, her tone deathly quiet in comparison to his. “If I let you?”
They stared at each other, silence thickening around them.
Daphne’s face was flushed; the wine was taking effect. She raised a single finger, pointing it at his chest. “You just want to fuck me.”
“Of course I want to fuck you,” Maximus snapped. “I’ve wanted to fuck you since the moment I met you. And you want to fuck me too. But you’re not ready to admit that, are you? You may never be ready.”
“Max,” she began. “You don’t—”
“I don’t what, Daphne? You do not get to tell me how I feel. And you certainly don’t get to pretend you don’t feel the same. I’m tired of this. Aren’t you?”
Daphne shook her head before taking another sizable pull of wine.
He couldn’t read her; he never could. But he refused to believe that he was alone in this.
She had to feel something—anything—for him.
She had to think of him the way he thought of her, as his future. The alternative was unacceptable.
“I told you I couldn’t give you what you seek.”
Maximus remembered it well. Yet he could not believe it. “You didn’t mean that.”
“Yes I did.”
“No,” he insisted. “You didn’t.”
Daphne stepped back. His entire world went with her. “We had an arrangement, Maximus. You’re the one who wanted this.”
Maximus couldn’t comprehend what he was hearing. How dare she do this to him? How dare she string him along, make him fall for her, then deny she felt the same?
“I know perfectly well what I wanted. But perhaps our arrangement is no longer valid.”
Daphne frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means why would I want a wife like you anyway?”
Daphne stepped closer, forcing him to hold eye contact. Maximus stared down his nose at her. They were barely six inches apart.
“Be very careful what you say next, Maximus.”
She used his full name on purpose. It was always Max with them, but not tonight.
He knew what Daphne was doing—forcing him to remember that she was doing him a favor, not the other way around.
She did not want to be queen. She did not covet the position, and she’d made that clear from the very start.
Daphne wanted to fall in love naturally—not under forced conditions.
She’d told him that herself. Maximus was the one who needed something from her, not the other way around.
Everything was at stake for him; every move he made mattered.
He could not let his father control him, but he could not let Daphne control him either.
He leaned in even closer and said, “Perhaps I no longer require your services.”
“My services?”
A terrifying silence fell. Daphne’s eyes narrowed. “Are you eliminating me?”
Maximus shook his head. “I didn’t say that.”
“Oh,” Daphne whispered. “But you did.”
Before he could reply, she turned on her heel and left him.