Kneel Before Me

Lindsay Straube

Book 3 of Split or Swallow

This is a prequel within the Split or Swallow world, centered on Daphne Verus, the mother of the original trilogy's heroine. Forced to compete for a prince's favor, Daphne is instead sent to train under Kronos, a basilisk who could easily kill her but who honors the boundaries she sets instead. The book traces how her guarded heart slowly opens to him even as political stakes around the crown intensify. Told as a stand-alone origin story, it fills in backstory that reframes events readers already know from the earlier books.