It’s literally a glorified pot.

She continues to creepily stroke its skin. “Selene, you are not to defend yourself against it.”

I’m not to—what? My gaze sharpens, moving between the two figures.

“Creature, hurt her.”

The fuck?

The massive monster strides toward me, and I stumble back, calling on my magic.

To my shock, it comes to me. But the moment I try to direct it at the monster, my magic halts, bound by Lia’s command.

Shit.

The creature grabs me by the throat and throws me across the room. I crash into a stack of cardboard boxes shoved near one of the walls, and I grunt at the impact, the boxes rattling as whatever’s inside them is shaken.

I can’t defend myself, I think as I scramble off the boxes as the monster heads toward me once more. That was the command. But it’s not immutable. There are always workarounds. I should know—I spent years figuring out my own when it came to functioning with memory loss.

Lia’s orders have holes I can exploit. She commanded me not to defend myself, but leading an attack isn’t the same thing.

I gather my magic in my palms.

I might only have one chance at this. I better make it count. I level my gaze on the approaching monster.

“Annihilate.” I shove my power out at the creature.

It hits it square in the chest⁠—

BOOM!

The spell shatters the monster and launches sharp sherds in every direction. I barely have time to throw up a hasty ward before bits of the creature blow back at me.

Across from me, Lia shrieks as hundreds of the sharpened fragments drive themselves into her with unnatural force.

This is my opening.

I dash for the exit.

“Stop!” she shouts.

My feet pause midstride, and I want to shriek in frustration. The door out is mere feet from me.

“I forbid you from using your magic again tonight,” Lia says hoarsely.

My power dries up, receding back into my body.

“Creature,” Lia continues as she heals her various wounds, “repair yourself, then attack the witch.”

My stomach hollows out, and I try not to panic as I stand there immobilized. I blew the monster into a thousand pieces. Surely it can’t come back and hurt me?

But even as I think it, I hear broken bits of pottery scrape across the ground behind me. They clatter as they fit themselves together.

The thing is going to reanimate. Then it will hurt me, and I still cannot defend myself, and I cannot use magic. I might still be able to attack it, but I cannot move my legs.

I hear the thing behind me drag itself to its feet. Its heavy steps have me bracing. Once I see it, I’ll try to smash its arms.

Only, it never comes within my line of vision. It stops somewhere close to my back, and the momentary stillness is hellish.

The hit comes seconds later, the monster’s heavy fist driving into the side of my skull with so much force I go sprawling.

I can’t see through the pain, but then the creature is there, kicking my side.

I grunt as the air is forced out of me.

Another kick, this one sliding me into nearby debris.

It lifts its foot, the bottom of its boot aimed at my head.

“You’re not to kill her,” Lia instructs calmly from the other side of the room. “Just hurt her—badly.”

The monster crouches and takes one of my forearms into its hands, and⁠—

Snap. I scream as bones break. Almost mechanically, the monster moves its touch to my upper arm and⁠—

“No, please, no⁠—”

Snap.

I scream.

So much pain!

Selene, I am right here. Memnon sounds heartbroken. Breathe through it, my fierce queen. I am with you.

I feel anguish a split second before I realize it’s coming through the bond.

“This is just the beginning of the nightmare, Selene,” Lia says. Her clothing is still bloody and shredded from the sherds that tore through it, and that provides me some cold comfort.

The monster releases my arm and moves down to my leg.

Goddess, no…

I lock my jaw as I feel those unforgiving hands take hold of my calf. I’m not going to beg Lia to stop. Not when my pleas will only stoke her perverse enjoyment of this moment. I won’t give her that.

She must sense my resolve.

I hear the ominous click of her heels getting closer and closer.

“You think a few broken bones are torture?” she says, stopping next to me. She crouches and threads her fingers through my hair, forcing my head to face hers. “I will have you do things that will make your blood curdle in your veins. Who you sleep with is now my choice, and I will make your sex life a horror show. I will make a list of people whom you love, and I will force you to ruin their lives until they curse your name. I will learn your dreams, and I will break them. Through it all, I will make you worship me.”

Her words are punctuated by another snap, and I scream and scream, my limbs trembling and worsening the pain.

Take my power! Memnon is openly begging.

Cannot…use it.

The monster’s hands move up to my thigh, and I feel his grip tighten. I swallow my plea, though I can’t stop the tears that leak from my eyes or the way my body is shaking from fear and pain. No, no⁠—

Snap.

The agony is indescribable. I’m not a person anymore. Just raw pain shaped into a woman.

“Enough, Creature.”

The monster releases me and backs away from where I lie. I’m struggling to stay conscious through the agony. It feels like every breath is a challenge.

The chilling clicks of heels draw near. They stop right next to my face.

“Now, Selene, kiss my feet, and thank me for the pain.”

I can’t. It isn’t possible with so many broken bones.

But my body isn’t listening. I grind my teeth together so my whimpers don’t slip out as I turn my head and brush my lips against the top of Lia’s shoe.

Memnon’s voice drifts to me across epochs of time. Sarmatians are the fiercest people in the world. They are trained from birth to ride horses and wield weapons. They must fight in at least one battle before they are allowed to marry. And you are to be their queen… You will wear the riches of my empire, and you will ride astride my horse… and you will show these people that you were made to rule my horde of warriors.

I cling to the memory. I was once a queen.

“Thank…you,” I rasp out.

I fought in battles and ruled a kingdom.

“Good,” Lia says.

I gasp out several breaths, my chest heaving.

I will not let this break me.

I will not let this break me.

Spoken like a true queen of warriors, Memnon says.

I don’t know if he heard my earlier memory, but I sob now, clinging to his words like they can keep out the evil happening in this room.

The gods gave me the fiercest woman. The fiercest one. I am right here, est amage. Right here.

“Listen closely. This is important,” Lia says, as though I’m in any state to remember anything.

Tears track down my cheeks, and my jaw aches from how tightly I’m tensing it.

Stay with me, Memnon, I beg, even though he’s repeatedly promised as much. I’m afraid of what’s coming next.

I’m not leaving you, he says. I will never leave you, est vexava.

My love.

I close my eyes and swallow, trying to wrap Memnon’s words around me like a blanket.

“You will tell no one that you are bonded to me, nor will you give any hints that you work for me,” Lia says. “Even when you are with your family and friends, you will keep my interests in the forefront of your mind. You will do my work discreetly and absolutely.”

She continues, “You will find me other witches to bond with. You will look for lonely ones and ones who do not have good family relations. Those who seem promising you will befriend. You will be subtle about this, and you will not let them know about me or my intentions.”