CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Daphne
You shouldn’t have done that.”
Daphne was still recovering from the fact that Kronos had forfeited the second challenge.
“It was my choice,” said Kronos calmly.
“A choice you only made because of me,” insisted Daphne. “You didn’t win.”
He looked down at her. “But I did.”
Daphne didn’t have the wherewithal to process his statement. She wasn’t able to process anything right now. Just watching the second challenge had exhausted her. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Kronos shook his head. “There is no need to be sorry. It was my choice to make.” He said it in a way that felt final.
Daphne’s emotions were all over the place.
On the one hand, she was grateful that Kronos hadn’t participated.
She understood that the challenge would have been impossible for her—that he did not expect her to fuck another basilisk when she wasn’t even willing to fuck him.
On the other hand, she was quite sure he’d just destroyed their chances of winning the Ranking.
When they’d left the vial room, the blood in his vial was the lowest.
Before Daphne could bring it up again, they reached the courtyard.
“The gatherings will become more intense as the Ranking goes on,” Kronos said as they entered. “You may encounter things tonight that are…unusual.”
Daphne nodded. She couldn’t imagine anything more unusual than the game of musical chairs she’d just watched.
“Some of the things you see may be concerning. I know our customs are unfamiliar to you, but to us, they are normal.”
“I can handle it, Kronos. Just don’t leave me alone again.”
“Never.”
This time, Daphne believed him.
They circled the courtyard slowly, taking in the revelry. To their right, a man was on his hands and knees. A shimmering leash was around his neck, made of the same material as the lingerie Kronos had made her. The woman holding the leash was walking him like a dog.
“Do not pity him,” Kronos said in her ear. “He is exactly where he wishes to be.”
Somehow Daphne had no doubt of that.
It wasn’t until they were halfway around the courtyard again when Daphne saw something she could not understand. At first she had no idea what she was even looking at. She stopped in her tracks, tilting her head.
“What…?” Daphne began. But there were no words.
In front of her was something that looked like a creature from another dimension—undulating flesh, multiple sets of legs.
It took a protracted moment of standing there and staring at it for Daphne to fully understand what she was looking at.
A group of women basilisks had arranged themselves into what could only be described as something resembling a tower.
The woman at the bottom was on her hands and knees, her center fully exposed.
Another woman was in the same position on top of her, her legs at a slightly wider angle.
Daphne watched as a third woman joined them, slotting herself on top of the second woman so that her chest was pressed flat against her back, her center perched directly above the two below her.
They fit together the same way a stack of cups would.
Behind them, a man trailed his fingers over their centers, touching one before switching to another.
The women were clearly having the time of their lives, giggling and swaying, nearly toppling the entire tower over whenever he touched one of them.
Eventually the man slid his cock into the middle woman’s center before pulling out and sliding into the woman directly above her.
Daphne watched with her mouth open, not bothering to hide her amazement.
Beside her, Kronos’s hand tightened on her waist, gently steering her onward.
No sooner had they turned away than Daphne saw something else she had never seen before.
A woman was lying on the ground, her mouth open.
Daphne watched as the man positioned himself in a squat over the woman’s mouth.
His cock was not hard; he wasn’t even stroking it.
Kronos followed her gaze. The moment he saw what she was looking at, he grabbed her shoulders and turned her away.
But he was not quick enough. Daphne saw a golden stream begin to descend from the head of the man’s cock just as Kronos blocked it from view.
She looked up at him in shock. “Was he about to—”
“Yes.”
“In her mouth?”
“Yes.”
Daphne had no words. She doubted anyone would. She was quite sure she was the only human alive who had seen all the things she’d seen tonight, in the exact order she’d seen them.
There had to be a limit, even for her. “Don’t ever ask me to do that for you.”
Kronos chuckled softly. “I will not.”
“Because I won’t do it.”
“I would not expect you to.”
“If you enjoy anything even remotely like that you need to tell me right this moment.”
“I do not enjoy anything even remotely like that.”
She squinted up at him suspiciously. “Do you promise?”
Kronos smiled down at her. His grip was firm on her shoulders, holding her in place as he said, “I promise, Daphne.”
Daphne nodded, feeling marginally relieved. Even the thought of what she’d just seen was enough to make her want to run away from here and never come back.
“That is a rare act, even among basilisks. I myself have never done it.”
Daphne could do nothing but shake her head in shock.
“I told you the gatherings would become more intense,” Kronos said quietly.
“You did,” she admitted. But his warning had hardly been adequate. Nothing could have prepared her for this.
“Daphne,” Kronos said firmly, staring down at her in concern. “Are you feeling well?”
She didn’t know what she was feeling, but it certainly wasn’t well. It was too much information to process—too much, too soon.
When she didn’t answer, Kronos said, “If you wish to leave, you can tell me.” His eyes held hers. “We will retire to my chambers.”
Daphne was tempted to take him up on it. Part of her wanted nothing more than to collapse into bed and stay there. But the other part of her was tougher than that.
“I’m fine,” she said. “Really. I just…didn’t expect that.”
Kronos was watching her carefully. “You are overwhelmed.”
“I’m fine.”
“I did not say you were not fine. Only overwhelmed.”
Daphne was certainly overwhelmed, although that was the least of her worries.
She was also so wet that it was beginning to drip down her leg.
It wasn’t caused by anything specific she had seen—and certainly not the last thing she had seen—but being surrounded by so much sex was overwhelming for her.
“Just… Talk to me,” she said.
“Talk to you?”
“Yes. Distract me.”
Kronos sighed. “I am not very skilled at small talk, Daphne.”
“Believe it or not, I knew that already.”
He actually smiled at that.
“I don’t need you to make small talk,” she continued. “Just…talk.”
Kronos was still watching her closely, his brows drawn. But eventually, he nodded. “Very well. What shall I talk about?”
Daphne gestured at the chaos around her. “Help me understand this. Tell me about…basilisk society.”
“What do you wish to know?”
Daphne glanced back at the women in the tower. The man was thrusting so hard that they were rapidly losing formation. “Who’s more important—men or women?”
“They are of equal value.”
Daphne raised an eyebrow.
“Do you not believe me?”
She shrugged. “It’s just…different from the way it is for humans.”
“And how is it for humans?”
“Men hold all the power.”
“I doubt that is true.”
“Of course it’s true. We’re all competing for the prince, aren’t we? He isn’t competing for us.”
“Ah,” said Kronos quietly. “But he is.”
Daphne frowned. “How?”
“If every girl in the competition decided not to compete, the prince would be wifeless. They hold the power. Not him.”
Daphne stared up at him. She’d never thought about it that way before. Kronos turned away from her, scanning the crowd. When he found what he was looking for, he pointed.
“Look at them,” he said. “Who would you say holds the power?”
Daphne followed his gaze to a couple on the edge of the courtyard. Both were male. One of them was on their knees, performing fellatio on the other. She blushed at the sight.
“The one who is standing,” she said immediately.
“Why would you say that?”
“Because he’s…” Daphne trailed off, searching for the right word. It seemed stupid to say taller. Now that she had to put it into words, she wasn’t sure how to say it.
“He’s standing. That puts him above the other.”
“Physically, perhaps. But height or stature do not constitute power.”
“Then what does?”
“Agency.”
“I don’t understand.”
Kronos turned to face her. “The man on his knees is the one who chooses how things progress. Without him, nothing happens. The man who is standing is only being pleasured because the man who is kneeling chose to open his mouth. He is the one who holds the power.”
Daphne frowned, considering this. There was nothing powerful about being on your knees.
All her life, she’d been taught that men were in charge—that they were superior in every way.
Every time she’d been on her knees, she certainly hadn’t felt powerful.
Exactly the opposite. Whenever she performed fellatio, she felt… small. It wasn’t a good feeling.
“You do not agree,” said Kronos simply. It wasn’t a question.
“I just…haven’t found that to be true.”
He nodded but didn’t press her.
Daphne looked back at the couple, watching as the man who was standing finished into the mouth of the man who was kneeling.
“Daphne,” Kronos said quietly. “Shall I continue to make small talk?”
Despite herself, Daphne smiled. “Yes,” she said. “Please do.”
Her request was working; already she felt more at ease. But she was still under the mountain, still surrounded by a plethora of bodies. This was not easy for her.
Kronos pointed again, this time to the opposite side of the courtyard. “Do you see them?”
Daphne followed his gaze, her eyes landing on a group of male basilisks who appeared to be gathering in a circle. Daphne squinted, trying to see what they were gathered around, but she couldn’t tell from this far away.
“Shall we watch?” Kronos asked.