As soon as the officers catch sight of Memnon, they tense and adjust their stances.

“Set the civilian down, and come out with your hands up,” someone on a loudspeaker announces.

What’s going on? I ask.

I came for you as fast as I could, he says apologetically.

It’s obviously a bit more complicated than that. There’s a whole squadron of armed officers waiting for him, each one ready to violently stop him. He must’ve badly broken the law to get to me.

Emotion knots in my throat, and I fight back another sob.

I begged the sorcerer to come faster. I wondered what was taking him so long. And now guns are being pointed at him because he did his best.

Memnon’s grip tightens on me as he stares out at the cops.

Rather than setting me down, his magic rolls out of him like a wave, rushing toward the officers until they are all swallowed up by it. Memnon’s power lingers outside for several minutes, but I hear car doors slam shut and the roar of engines as they move away. When it clears, the street outside the building is empty. In the sky above, a helicopter I didn’t notice before hangs around, but as I watch, it slowly drifts away.

Memnon’s boots crunch on the glass as we cross the room, then pass through his ward.

He gazes down at me, and I sense, behind those glowing eyes, that he’s mostly magic and instinct.

You were brave tonight, he says down our bond. His hand moves to cradle my head, But now rest.

The world goes dark.

I jerk awake at the sound of a door slamming.

“Easy, little witch, you’re safe,” Memnon says from slightly above me.

I blink, taking in the sorcerer still holding me. His hair has settled, and his eyes are now their usual smoky brown color. They shimmer too brightly, like he might be fighting back tears.

That look has my own heart racing, and my emotions feel too big for my body—or maybe they’re his? The bond between us seems extra loud at the moment.

I reach a hand up, cupping his face and lightly tracing the edges of his scar.

Safe…

It all comes roaring back to me then. The party, the spiked drink, the terrifying broom ride, and my abduction. Then the torture, the endless torture. There had been revelations after that and a harrowing escape, but my mind keeps taking me back to that room and the pain⁠—

“You’re safe, my queen.” Memnon speaks softly to me in Sarmatian, using the same tone he reserved for skittish horses. “You’re not there anymore.”

A choked sob escapes my lips as Memnon continues carrying me deeper into the building⁠—

“You’re here in our home,” He reassures me before my panic can spike. “There are over a hundred wards guarding this house and the land around it. This is not Henbane. No one can get in here. You are safe.”

I hadn’t realized how much I had tensed up until right then, when I relax.

It’s strange on the one hand to be completely uninjured yet to still bear the visceral memory of the pain. My mind is unconvinced I’m healed.

Memnon carries me into the kitchen, setting me down on the island countertop in the center of the space.

I reach for him, but he catches my hands and clasps them together. “I’m getting you water. I won’t leave your sight.”

I draw in a deep breath, then, licking my dry lips, I nod, maybe too quickly. Water. I’d like water.

Giving me one last meaningful look, Memnon releases my hands and moves toward a cupboard.

While he’s grabbing a glass, I hear the scrabble of claws in the next room over. A split second later, Nero bounds into the kitchen, presumably coming in from outside. As soon as he sees me, his pupils dilate. The big cat only pauses a moment before leaping onto the island, nearly bowling me over in the process.

“Nero,” Memnon says sharply.

But my familiar has already crawled halfway onto my lap. He lifts his head and presses his snout against the juncture where my jaw meets my neck. If he were a dog, I’m sure I’d now get lavished with licks. Nero being a panther, he nips at my jaw, growling a little.

“Hey—” I say.

“Nero.” Memnon’s tone has darkened into something dangerous as he comes over with a glass of water.

The panther gives my jaw an abrasive lick, then bumps me with his head.

I slip into my familiar’s mind long enough to sense a restless irritation and an edge of relief. At least I think those are the emotions. I do recognize the love beneath it all as he looks at me.

Returning to my own mind, I pet the big cat.

“I’m not going to apologize to you for leaving you here,” I say. “You would’ve gotten hurt had I taken you along.”

Just like that, I’m sucked back into that room.

Your first true task once I release you tonight will be to sever each of those bonds.

If Nero had been there…a shudder works its way through me, and my body is trembling all over again.

Memnon steps in close and takes my hand, pressing the glass of water into it.

“You’re not in that room. You’re here, in our kitchen, with your soul mate and your familiar,” he says, and again, his eyes glisten as he gazes at me. “We both love you, and we would happily kill and die for you. Now, please, est amage, drink the water. You’ll feel better.”

Again, his words have me relaxing, and I do drink the water in several long gulps. I feel faintly queasy.

Goddess, but this night needs to end. All I want is to pass out pressed against my familiar and my soul mate.

“Then that’s what you’ll get,” Memnon says softly. “Nero, you’re sleeping in the bedroom with Selene.”

My panther rises up, looking more than a little pleased at that. He hops off the counter and slinks out of the kitchen toward the main bedroom.

Once my familiar is gone, Memnon scoops me back up and begins carrying me once more.

I lean my head against his shoulder. You can put me down, I say tiredly.

You’ll have to command it of me, he says. Otherwise,that’s not happening.

I’d have to command it of him...

I turn my face into his chest as my face crumbles.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “So sorry.”

He rubs my back. “For what, little witch?” he says, perplexed.

“The bond.” My voice breaks. “It’s awful, so awful. I’m sorry.” I begin to sob. “I never should’ve agreed to it.”

My mate’s grip tightens on me. “I offered you the bond,” he reminds me as we head down his hallway. “I did so willingly, to repay the debt I owed you. If you hadn’t accepted it, I would’ve never gotten the chance to atone for my mistakes.”

His answer doesn’t placate me. I felt what it was like to have another’s will imposed on me.

“I command you to never take another command from me,” I say.

Memnon stares at me steadily for a few seconds.

“No,” he eventually says.

I raise my eyebrows. “What do you mean no?”

Memnon clasps me by the back of my neck and forces me to look at him. “I gave you my power because I did unforgiveable things to the only person I have ever truly loved. And I like our forged bond. I can tell I’m earning back your trust, and I get pleasure from serving you. We are soul mates, Empress. You are my heart, and I trust you absolutely with this power you have over me. I will not let you break this bond, just like I didn’t let you break the one fate forged between us.”

Memnon halts at the threshold to the main bedroom.

“So,” he says, “I am asking you, as the man who wants to continue proving himself to you, to take back your last command.”

I pull away so I can really see him.

“Fine,” I say, making a face. “I take back my previous command.” The words taste like ash on my tongue, but as soon as I speak them, Memnon’s expression softens.