CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Daphne
Kronos was already awake when Daphne opened her eyes.
“Were you watching me sleep?” she murmured.
“Perhaps.”
“Stalker.”
He let out a soft laugh. “If that is my only sin, I gladly accept it.”
Daphne nestled deeper into his chest. There was such peace in this moment. Such beauty. She was completely relaxed against him, his body warm and hard.
“Are you ready for today?” he murmured.
It was impossible to be ready for something Daphne knew nothing about. She said as much. “Barely.”
Kronos shifted her in his arms, pulling her face up to his. “I can make you calm, if you wish.”
“What do you mean?”
“It is the same thing I did when I took your anxiety. I can give you calmness.”
That was certainly tempting. But Daphne didn’t need to be calm; she needed to be brave. Deltene’s words rang in her head: By being here, you are already brave.
“I don’t need it,” she said. “I just need you.”
Kronos pressed a long, lingering kiss to her forehead. “You have me. Always.”
They walked to the lake hand in hand. Daphne’s eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting by now, and she no longer needed to watch her step on the rough stone floor. She was even used to the oppressive heat, welcoming the way the air cradled her. She felt sensual and alive.
When they arrived at the lake, many basilisks were already there.
She marveled at the sheer number of them.
The surface of the lake was glassy and smooth not a single ripple to be seen.
Daphne was once again struck by the energy that emanated from the water.
There was something undoubtedly magical in the air.
Floating in the shallows was a line of mats. Daphne stared at them apprehensively.
Bastian’s voice rang out over the water. “Welcome to the final challenge.”
Everyone turned to face the Serpent King. Deltene was by his side.
“Now is the time for your quiver to cast their vote,” he continued.
“The first challenge was for the hosts. The second for the guests. This challenge is for the people. They will lend their support only to the host who they think deserves to be king. This challenge requires your quiver to work together as a team. It is indicative of how they will behave under your rule.”
He pointed at the mats. “Each host will share a mat with their guest. The host will enter the guest. After that, neither host nor guest may move. It is up to you”—he threw his arms wide, encapsulating the crowd—“the people, to create enough motion to bring the host to climax.”
Daphne’s heart stopped.
The host will enter the guest.
“The first host to climax wins the challenge,” Bastian concluded.
Daphne turned immediately to Kronos. “What are we supposed to do?”
He didn’t answer. He was looking at the mats, his jaw tight.
“Kronos.” Her voice dropped to a strangled whisper. “I’m—I’m not ready to—to have—”
Kronos turned to her, placing his hands on her shoulders. “I am not asking that of you,” he said firmly.
“But…you—”
Daphne couldn’t even finish her thought, which was that he was suffering because of her. It was unbearable. She couldn’t let it happen any more than she could prevent it from happening. She was stuck between her desire and her fear, and neither of them was allowing her to move.
“Kronos,” she gasped. “I want to—I…wish that I could—”
His grip on her tightened. “I am not asking that of you,” he said again, sharply this time. “We will find another way.”
“There is no other way.”
“Of course there is. How many times must I tell you that? I can enter you in a hundred ways. You need only say which way you prefer.”
His words hung between them, and Daphne felt the full gravity of their meaning. He was ceding his power, giving her complete control. It was an unimaginable gesture, especially when the stakes were so high.
“I…” she whispered, “don’t know what to say.”
Agency constituted power—that’s what Kronos had told her. Daphne was still learning how to speak for herself—how to choose what was best for her. She was far better at it now than she had been before meeting Kronos, but that did not mean it came naturally to her.
In response, Kronos raised his hands, placing them gently on either side of her chin. He cupped her jaw, raising her face to his. “Daphne,” he whispered. “It does not matter what it is. We do not have to have sex. If you let me do anything at all, it will be enough.”
Daphne nodded, barely registering his words. She had already caused him to forfeit the second challenge, and now this? “Kronos…”
The pressure was unimaginable; she knew better than anyone that if Kronos did not win this final challenge, he stood no chance at winning the Ranking.
She couldn’t believe this was happening.
She couldn’t believe she was underneath the mountain, surrounded by basilisks, having this discussion.
It would be so much easier if she were willing to have penetrative sex.
Yet somehow, the more it became necessary to do so, the less she was willing to do it.
Benjamin’s words ran through her head: I was promised free pussy.
Why should she give anyone her pussy? Why should she compromise this last, vulnerable piece of herself?
She’d already given plenty. To Benjamin, to Maximus, to every boy who had taken her under the bridge.
It was enough. Daphne was tired of splitting herself open for others.
She was no longer willing to compromise her goals in order to achieve someone else’s.
It was Daphne’s turn to hold the power. She could not do much, but she could control whether she opened her legs.
She could control when and where a cock entered her.
They were running out of time. The hosts were approaching the mats.
Kronos stepped forward, and Daphne followed. Their mats were placed in the same order as the vials, with Kronos’s directly in the middle. On the far end were Caspenon and his guest.
“Your quiver will guide you into the lake,” said Bastian, his voice rising over the excited chatter of the crowd. “When you reach the center, the challenge will begin.”
Wordlessly, Daphne stepped into the water before climbing onto the mat.
Kronos climbed on behind her, the mat rocking with his weight.
Daphne could see how the challenge would work; the mat was highly responsive to motion.
Anything the crowd did to it would have an immediate effect.
She looked out over the lake, at the smooth black water.
What would Kora do? Mother to all, goddess of fertility.
Surely, she would have sex. Kora would relish it. But Daphne was no god.
She was just Daphne.
Behind them, basilisks from both quivers were entering the water.
Several hands touched the edge of the mat, pushing it out into the lake.
Caspenon had the most support—no surprise there.
The rest of the basilisks were fairly evenly split among the hosts, including their mat, which surprised Daphne.
The basilisks began to swim as the mats floated farther out onto the lake.
Only one group lingered on the shore: the strange, cold basilisks from the sea.
Eventually, the mats stopped.
The basilisks had pushed them into the middle of the lake; the shore was barely visible from here.
Silence fell as the hosts readied themselves for the challenge.
Daphne watched as all of them—every single one—slid their cocks inside their guests.
There was no variance in position; all the women were on their backs, with the men between their legs.
It was the only thing that made sense considering the way the mats could be moved.
Already, the basilisks around Caspenon had begun to move his mat.
As soon as they did so, his guest began to moan.
He was not thrusting of his own accord; the motion of his cock was caused entirely by the basilisks manipulating the mat.
“Daphne,” Kronos whispered. She looked at him. “Where do you want me?”
Daphne had already decided. She pointed to her mouth. “Here.”
To her surprise, Kronos made no move to touch her. Unlike the arousal she expected to see in his eyes, there was only one emotion: fear. Fear for her.
“I do not want to hurt you, Daphne,” he whispered. “I will not survive it.”
He would not survive it. What about her? “You won’t hurt me.”
He shook his head. “I will not be in control.” He glanced at the basilisks around them, who were watching their conversation. “They will. They will not show you mercy. If I begin to transition—”
“You won’t,” she said again. He had never done that with her.
Kronos shook his head again. “You do not understand what it is like for a basilisk. Here, at the lake”—he spread his arms wide to encompass it—“we are connected to Kora. I cannot resist as I normally would.”
“Just try.”
“I cannot—”
“You can.”
“Daphne.” He took her face in his hands. “This is your last chance. If you do not wish to participate you must say so now.”
“But then you’ll be eliminated.”
His eyes bored into hers. “I do not care if I am eliminated.”
But Daphne could not believe him.
She knew that the future of his quiver rested on this—that his future rested on this.
What was she supposed to do in the face of that?
She wanted Kronos to win. She wanted him to be king so that the basilisks would be ruled by someone fair and kind and calm.
Anyone else was a danger to her, a danger to the villagers, a danger to the people she loved.
Daphne placed her hand on his face. “I trust you, Kronos.”
Finally, he nodded. Without waiting for his permission, Daphne lay back on the mat. Despite the fact that time was greatly of the essence, Kronos approached her slowly, placing his knees on either side of her shoulders and slipping his hand gently behind her head. He lifted it.
“Daphne,” he whispered. “May I give you an order?”
She nodded. There was no time for anything else. As soon as he had her consent, Kronos looked straight in her eye and said, “Lie still.”