CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE #3
Daphne was so turned on he could have looked at her a certain way and she would come. “You choose.”
Despite giving him permission, Kronos shook his head. “I cannot do anything without your consent.”
“You have my consent.”
Kronos shook his head again. “You are under the influence of the elixir. Anything I do would be taking advantage of you.”
Daphne was rather in the mood to be taken advantage of.
But she understood what Kronos was saying.
Later, when the elixir had left her system, she might regret what they’d done.
He did not want that for her. Truth be told, she did not want it either.
Before she could say anything else, Kronos stiffened, all traces of intimacy disappearing in an instant as he straightened, pulling her firmly against his side.
Daphne looked up to see a basilisk with dark hair and even darker eyes.
Something about him looked familiar, but she was positive she’d never seen him before.
He appraised her with clinical intelligence, looking her up and down for a long moment before finally looking her in the eye.
Daphne got the distinct sense he was analyzing her, although to what end she could not guess.
Beside her, Kronos’s grip tightened. Daphne knew him well enough to know he was being protective. This basilisk was not a friend.
“Daphne,” said Kronos, “this is Bastian, our Serpent King.”
Now his familiarity made sense; Daphne saw the resemblance to Caspenon immediately.
Every feature on his father was harsher: the sharp jawline, the chiseled muscles, the wide shoulders.
His cock was extraordinarily thick at the base—so thick Daphne could not imagine it actually fitting inside someone.
Somehow he looked exactly how she imagined the Serpent King would look.
“Kronos,” Bastian said, directing the question at her. “Who is your guest?”
Daphne did not do any of the things she would normally do when being introduced to someone.
She did not extend her hand or say hello or even look Bastian in the eye.
Instead she stayed silent, staring at a spot somewhere above his shoulder, trying to ignore the warning bells that were screaming inside her.
There was something about the way he looked at her—like he was hungry—that made her skin crawl.
Even Kronos’s presence couldn’t soothe the fear creeping slowly up her spine.
She did not have to wait long before he spoke for her.
“This is Daphne.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Daphne,” Bastian purred.
Still, Daphne didn’t answer. She didn’t trust herself to speak.
“She is human,” the Serpent King continued as if he were commenting on the weather.
“She is.”
“And yet she dares to come here?”
Kronos’s grip was becoming painful. Daphne tried not to wince.
“She is under my care.”
A slow, cruel smile spread over Bastian’s face. “Of course she is,” he said quietly. “You must protect what’s yours. Otherwise someone may take it from you.”
Daphne had never seen Kronos so stiff before. But now, with his arm firmly around her waist, holding her body against his, she felt his rage. “Nobody will take what is mine.”
Daphne wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but she was sure she never wanted to find out.
Kronos was always calm—he had become a stabilizing force in her life.
But now smoke was coiling over his shoulders, and his voice had dropped to a growl.
It hardly seemed like an appropriate way to speak to the Serpent King.
Daphne felt a sliver of fear for Kronos.
“In that case, I shall leave you two alone,” Bastian said with one last smirk. He looked once more at Daphne. “Good luck in the Ranking.”
Then he was gone.
They stood in silence, watching him walk away. Kronos didn’t drop his arm, and Daphne found she didn’t want him to. She felt safe standing here with him, pressed against his body, his skin warming hers.
“Kronos?” she whispered. “What was that all about?”
“He is threatened by me.”
“Why? I thought you said human guests were rare, that we would face scrutiny.”
“They are, and we will. But he also knows you make me strong.”
Daphne turned to face him and took his face in her hands. “And I shall continue to do so.”
He looked down at her. He did not smile.
Daphne felt the stakes of their situation—how, if they did not do well in the Ranking, Kronos would be in danger.
The entire village would be in danger. Kronos opened his mouth, but before he could reply, another basilisk appeared beside them. This one was a familiar face.
“Daphne,” Agnes said, her eyes flicking first to Kronos before landing on Daphne. “What are you doing here?”
“She is my guest,” Kronos replied before Daphne could. “Is that a problem, Drakon?”
“Kronos.” Daphne placed a gentle hand on his arm. “Agnes is my friend.”
Agnes beamed. “I just wanted to thank you for what you did at the Passing of the Crown.”
Kronos frowned. Daphne spoke before he could. “It was nothing.”
“It was not nothing. You saved my life.”
Daphne shook her head. “I shouldn’t have had to, Agnes. It’s not safe for you to come into the village.”
Agnes sighed. “You sound like my brother. He nearly ripped my head off the moment he got me out of there.”
“Can you blame him?”
She gave a small shrug. “I suppose not.”
“Promise me you won’t go past the wall again,” Daphne insisted.
Agnes rolled her eyes. Without answering, she leaned in, kissed Daphne gently on the cheek, then swept away.
Kronos turned to her. “What happened at the Passing of the Crown?”
Daphne sighed. “Agnes came to the village to watch the ceremony. When the guards spotted her, they attacked. Caspenon showed up and defended her. I was afraid he might hurt someone, so I asked Maximus to call the guards off.”
Kronos’s frown deepened. “And did he?”
“He did.”
Kronos shook his head. “How could you not tell me?”
“It didn’t exactly come up,” Daphne said. “I was more concerned about everything else that’s been happening the last couple days.”
“I am more concerned about your safety.”
“I wasn’t in danger.”
“You said Caspenon was there. He could have—”
“He didn’t do anything to me. He was just protecting his sister. You would have done the same in his position.”
Daphne knew Kronos had no siblings, but it did not matter. The sentiment was the same. He would understand the instinct to protect those he cared about.
Finally, he nodded.
“I would prefer if you told me the next time something like that happens,” he said. “Immediately.”
“I will.”
He pursed his lips, seemingly satisfied. Then his expression softened, and he drew her into his arms. “Do you wish to sleep?” he murmured in her ear. “Tomorrow will be a long day.”
Daphne nodded. She had seen quite enough for one night.
Together they left the courtyard and traversed the passageway to his chambers.
As soon as they were inside, Kronos lifted her into the bed.
Her head was still swimming with elixir, but she was now too tired to do anything about it.
Some part of Daphne knew there would be plenty of time for that in the future.
Kronos pressed his lips to her temple, and they fell asleep together, drunk off elixir, collapsed in each other’s arms.