CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Daphne
Daphne did not go to sleep.
Instead she stood in her room for several moments, listening hard at the door until she heard Maximus leave.
Then she crossed to the window, threw it open, and climbed down the trellis.
She was so lightheaded that she barely made it to the ground.
Something was wrong—the same thing she’d felt after Maximus had taken her horseback riding was happening again now.
Every time Daphne touched him, it drained her.
She was weak and lightheaded and quite sure it had nothing to do with the wine.
At first she’d thought nothing of it. Now it scared her.
Daphne made her way toward the caves as fast as she dared. She did not care that Kronos hadn’t sent for her yet. She needed him. Daphne stumbled through the passageway. As soon as Kronos’s door was before her, she banged on it. It opened immediately.
“Daphne?” His eyes traveled over her, his brow furrowing in concern. “What are you doing here?”
She couldn’t seem to speak. She swayed on the spot, leaning against the doorframe.
Kronos caught her waist with his hand, holding her upright. “Daphne,” he said urgently. “Are you well?”
She was not well.
“I…just need to sit down,” she managed to say.
Immediately, Kronos pulled her toward the bed, keeping his hand on her waist. “Is this better?” she heard Kronos ask as soon as she was seated, clear concern written all over his face.
“Yes,” Daphne whispered. She could tell the word did nothing to convince Kronos.
“Are you hungry? You should eat. I will find you something—”
“No,” she said, grabbing his arm. “Please. Just stay here with me.”
His body was hard next to hers, overwhelmingly warm, undeniably alive. “What is the matter, Daphne?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I feel…weak. There’s something wrong. I can feel it. I’m…”
His brows furrowed in concern. Then his gaze dropped to her neck. “What is that?” Kronos whispered.
Suddenly Daphne remembered what she had done with Maximus—how his teeth had broken her skin, no doubt leaving a mark.
“It’s nothing,” she whispered, covering the mark with her hand. “It’s just—”
“I do not mean that, Daphne,” Kronos said harshly. “I mean your necklace.”
Daphne frowned. She was still wearing the emerald. “The prince gave it to me.”
Kronos’s eyes went hard. He stood, leaving her on the bed and crossing to stare into the fire. In his absence, Daphne felt weak once more.
“Kronos?” she whispered. “What’s wrong?”
Daphne couldn’t understand his behavior. It was just a necklace—how could it possibly matter more than a hickey? Was he jealous? Or worse, angry with her?
“It doesn’t mean anything,” Daphne said slowly. “We just…have an arrangement, remember?”
“It does mean something,” he said. “But of course he would not tell you that.”
“It’s just a necklace, Kronos.”
“That necklace is made from the blood of my people,” he cried.
Daphne flinched. She knew Kronos only raised his voice when the situation absolutely warranted it.
“I don’t understand,” she whispered tentatively, touching the necklace. “It’s made of gold.”
“Basilisk blood can be alchemized into gold.”
Daphne was too shocked to react.
“For years the royals have captured us,” Kronos continued, still staring into the fire. “For years they have taken us from our families and tortured us in the dungeon. My people suffer while the humans prosper.” He turned to face her.
She flinched at the fury in his eyes.
“The humans do not care about us, Daphne.”
It was a difficult thing to hear. Daphne was human, and she cared very much. “I care,” she whispered.
“You are not like the others.”
It was something Daphne had often thought about Kronos.
“When did it start? The…?”
“Bloodletting.”
The word sent a chill down her spine. “When did the bloodletting start?”
“Some time after the truce.”
“But why haven’t I heard about this? Why hasn’t anyone tried to stop it?”
“Our blood provides wealth for the royals. Why would they stop it?”
“I understand why they would want to continue. Why don’t the basilisks stop it?”
“If we storm the castle, it would violate the truce. War would immediately follow.”
Daphne didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t imagine such cruelty—such atrocity.
Would Maximus truly allow something like this to happen?
Daphne knew there were a great many things she did not understand about the basilisks and the humans.
But this seemed too horrible to accept. She reached under her hair, unclasping the necklace.
Then she stood, crossed to the fire, and held it out to Kronos, who tossed it into the flames.
They both watched as it gleamed brightly in the ashes.
But even that small gesture was too much for Daphne. The room was spinning; she needed to sit down.
“Kronos,” she whispered. “I…really don’t feel well.”
He looked down at her with obvious concern. “Are you sick?”
“I don’t know.”
“When did it begin?”
Daphne thought back to when she’d begun to feel weak. She’d gotten dizzy just after the horseback ride. “On my date with the prince.”
A brief flash of jealousy appeared in Kronos’s eyes.
“But it’s been getting worse lately,” she whispered. “Doing…anything is difficult.”
He slipped his arm around her waist, holding her against him. “It will get better, Daphne.”
Daphne didn’t believe him. Something was wrong. It felt as if she were sliding toward something inevitable, as if her body was giving up. She was decaying from the inside out.
“It’s getting worse,” Daphne said again.
She didn’t know how else to convey it to him.
Kronos brushed his fingers under her chin before pressing his lips to her forehead the way he had done so many times before.
Daphne leaned into his touch. “That’s better,” she whispered.
“What is?”
“When you touch me.”
Kronos lifted his hand and pressed it against her sternum. Immediately, warmth filled her.
“Mmm,” Daphne murmured. “Yes. Better.”
His hand went lower, cupping her breast. She looked up at him. “Kiss me.”
“Daphne, I—”
“Just kiss me, Kronos.”
He leaned down and kissed her. “Better?” he whispered against her lips.
“Yes.”
His other hand dipped between her legs. “And now?”
“Yes,” she gasped.
It felt incredible. Every moment Kronos touched her was a moment of light in the darkness. Too soon, he drew away. He turned toward the door.
“What are you doing?” Daphne said.
“I am taking you to Deltene.”
“The queen?”
“Yes. She will know what to do.”
“But I—”
Kronos was already picking her up, clutching her close to his chest as he traversed the passageway.
“How will she know what to do?” Daphne asked.
“The queen has seen many centuries of life. She is versed in matters of the body and heart. She understands the blood bond, and she may understand this too.” His eyes slid to hers. “And I would rather ask the queen than the king.”
Daphne certainly couldn’t blame him for that. She’d rather not ask Bastian anything.
When they reached a wooden doorway, Kronos set her down and knocked. After a moment, Deltene opened the door. The queen raised her eyebrows. No doubt it was strange that they were showing up this way.
“Kronos?” Her eyes slid to Daphne. “To what do I owe this…pleasure?”
Kronos slipped his arm around Daphne’s waist. “Daphne is…ill. If you could lend us your time, we would be eternally grateful.”
Deltene hesitated for only a moment before saying, “Come in.”
They entered the queen’s chambers. Daphne peered around just to make sure Bastian wasn’t lurking in a corner somewhere as Kronos guided her to the bed, where she sat gratefully. He sat beside her.
Deltene stood before them, her hands clasped. “Tell me what ails you, Daphne.”
She shrugged. “I…don’t know exactly. I feel weak, and I’m not sure why. When we touch”—she looked at Kronos—“it gets better.”
Deltene tilted her head thoughtfully. “When did it begin?”
The same question Kronos had asked her. Only this time, Daphne had a different answer.
The horseback ride was not the first time she had felt weak—it was the morning after Kronos had shown up in her bedroom bleeding.
Her chores had exhausted her that day; even throwing out her bloody sheets had been an exertion.
“It was the morning after Kronos crested me.”
Deltene raised her eyebrows She looked at Kronos. Something passed between them—an understanding. For a moment, there was silence. Then Deltene said, “You love her.”
Kronos blinked. “Yes.”
The queen nodded as if this explained everything. But Daphne was still in the dark.
“What does that matter?”
Instead of answering, the queen settled herself in a chair, clasping her hands in her lap. “Daphne,” she began softly, “I do not wish for you to be alarmed.”
That statement alone was alarming.
“The crest is a powerful magic,” Deltene said. “It…has a mind of its own.”
“How so?”
“When a basilisk crests a human, it creates a bond. Not one of love, like the blood bond. But one of obedience.”
Daphne nodded. She knew that much already.
“Bonds of any kind are sacred to basilisks. It is said that Kora herself must bless them. When love is involved, such bonds are…especially significant.”
A pause. The queen looked at Kronos, then back at Daphne.
“I cannot know for sure,” she continued, “because I have never seen this myself. But I believe when Kronos crested you, it had a specific effect.”
Daphne blinked. “What effect?”
The queen leaned forward. Her next words were a whisper. “Have you felt a pull to one another?”
Kronos looked at Daphne. She looked at him.
Of course she’d felt a pull to Kronos. She’d been drawn to him since the moment she met him, and that draw was even stronger now. They were dealing with something far beyond her knowledge—something magical. It scared her.
“Yes,” Daphne whispered. She looked at Kronos. “Have you?”
“You have always been hard to resist,” he said with a small smile. Then his smile faded. “But I must admit it has been…especially difficult lately.”
Deltene nodded. “Bonds between lovers must be honored fully,” the queen continued. “You must seal this in the only way Kora respects.”