Memnon’s emotions are pouring down our bond. I’ve made the man incandescently happy.

Memnon leans forward and kisses me. Against my lips, he whispers, “I am yours, forever.”

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CHAPTER 44

I assumed that spending my days holed up with Memnon would make the time move at an unnervingly slow rate, but between strategizing and reacquainting myself with Memnon, the days fall away one by one.

I continue sending my parents daily texts letting them know I’m alive, I fill Sybil in on my absence at Henbane, and I let myself actually enjoy a period of time when no one is actively trying to harm me or my familiar.

Well, perhaps they are actively trying, but Memnon has successfully warded this place against our enemies.

The news still focuses heavily on the killings in San Francisco and the mass murderer on the loose, and there is precious little about the Fortuna empire, aside from a brief mention of a donation the Fortunas made to the Bay Area Politia.

Whatever whistleblowing might be happening by the supernaturals freed from Juliana’s influence, none of it is being broadcast. There’s also no mention of Juliana herself or her untimely death—there isn’t even a simple obituary. It’s as though her death never happened.

I cannot know the Fortunas’ reasons for such secrecy, but it’s clear that whatever they are, they place them in higher regard than publicizing their grief.

Halfway through the week, Kane sends me a series of texts:

Fourteen shifters have forced bonds. They’ve been quarantined away from the pack.

From what we know, the Politia has gathered a few testimonies from supernaturals who were bonded to Juliana, but they don’t have enough evidence to make arrests, nor do they have enough probable cause to involve themselves in the upcoming auction.

I hadn’t been holding out for the Politia’s help, but it’s still a punch to the gut to hear how they’ll do nothing. The two final texts from Kane, however, make up for it.

The rest of my pack voted, and the decision was unanimous.

We’ll be there.

Relief floods my system. Memnon and I will have help. I don’t focus too much on the fact that Kane doesn’t suggest we meet up and exchange notes, nor do he or his pack seem interested in joint strategizing. Their help will be entirely separate from us.

It’s better than nothing.

During the week, I resume using my notebooks, and it’s like reacquainting myself with an old friend. Though I no longer need my journals to assist my memory, I now fill the pages with notes and pictures of the Equinox Building, the murdered victims, the auction event, and finally, the Fortuna family themselves.

When the day of the new moon rolls around, I find myself lounging in Memnon’s bed and studying these photos of the family behind this whole mess.

There’s Juliana, with her dark brown hair and doe eyes. On the next page is her sister, Sophia. Her hair is a little lighter than her sister’s, and her face is a little broader. I haven’t met her, but from what I’ve heard, she’s just as awful as Juliana.

On the following page is Leonard, the brother of the two sorceresses. He’s handsome, but there’s a cruel edge to his expression that makes my gut churn with unease. I haven’t met him either, but in my bones, I sense he’s the worst, and he’s the one most closely involved with the murders.

Well, him and his father. Luca Fortuna has black hair that has gone gray at his temples, and honestly, the guy has really great skin. How is this guy sixty? Is this some drinking-the-blood-of-innocents shit?

I stare at the family. Aside from Leonard’s slightly cruel edge, they look like normal people. I hate that. I hate that evil can look entirely benign. I wonder what their worries are, what their cares are. I wonder how they love and how they mourn the death of Juliana. I wonder what that looks like for them. How they grieve. I assumed it would be showy, but so far, it seems as though they’re trying to cover it up.

My phone rings, interrupting my thoughts. I pull it out, ready to ignore it, when I see the caller. Kane.

“Hello—”

“Selene.” The voice that sobs out my name isn’t Kane’s. It’s⁠—

“Sybil?” I straighten up in the bed. “Are you okay? What are you doing with Kane’s phone?”

A curl of Memnon’s magic floats in from the kitchen, where he’s been cooking something since he left my side.

“It’s a long story,” she says hoarsely. “And yes, I’m fine—more than fine, finally. I’m—I’m—Sawyer bit me.”

“What?” I scramble out of the bed, my notebook entirely forgotten. I don’t know where I’m going or what I intend to do, but I’m ready to jump to her aid the moment she gives the word.

At my tone, more of Memnon’s power floats over to me, the indigo magic wrapping protectively around my torso.

I hear the sorcerer’s strides as he heads to the room, clearly ready to check on me.

Do I congratulate her? Do I gauge her mood? Is this a happy occasion, or⁠—

She begins to cry.

“I will kill him,” I say as Memnon enters the room.

“Whose life are we ending?” the sorcerer says. He crosses the room and grabs his dagger and sheath from the bedside table, clearly ready to charge into battle with me.

“No, you won’t,” Sybil says. “Sawyer saved my life—and he might’ve saved yours as well,” my friend says.

I go still at her words, a chill skittering up my back.

“Listen to me, Selene. There’s a crime family, the Fortunas.” Sybil gasps. “Fuck, I really can speak on it.”

Goosebumps break out across my skin hearing the Fortuna name cross her lips.

She starts crying again, and she’s trying to talk through her sobs. “I can’t…the bite…broke it…”

My hand is trembling, and I feel like I’m squeezing the life out of my phone. “Sybil, please, breathe. I promise, I’m listening.”

“Sawyer bit me, and it broke a bond that had been forced on me.”

My lungs aren’t working. I can’t seem to breathe.

“Where are you right now?” I ask.

“I’m in the Everwoods. I needed a little privacy to talk—I haven’t been able to tell Sawyer about this.” She hesitates. “This call can’t be long. Now that I’m bonded, Sawyer…he’s not really letting me out of his sight…” Her voice changes, and she sounds less traumatized and more exhilarated. Like she might enjoy that possessiveness. “I barely managed to convince him to let me use Kane’s phone instead of his—that’s how intense the bond is. But I didn’t think you would answer a stranger’s number.”

She’s right. I probably would’ve ignored the call and never heard any of this. I shift my weight from foot to foot.

Congratulations, I mean to tell her. It seems like that word should fit somewhere into this conversation. After all, Sybil bonded herself to someone she cares about, and in the process, she freed herself from a terrible fate.

“Please get out of those woods and go back to Sawyer and the rest of the pack,” I beg her instead. My gut is churning.

Memnon glances at me as he arms himself. I can tell he’s holding back a lot of questions. His magic has almost entirely encapsulated my body, like it can shield me from the horrors my best friend is telling me.

“Okay.” She takes a deep breath. “Okay. But, Selene, S-Sophia—the fucking monster who bonded me—she has been looking for you and Memnon since we last spoke.” She begins sobbing again. “I had to break my phone to avoid her calls, but now I’m worried that she’s—she’s⁠—”

I think I might be ill. “You think she’s after you too,” I say.

I can feel my own tears slipping down my cheek.

“Yes,” she whispers. “She knows you’re my best friend.”