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“So somehow separate from all your plotting, I find myself in a position where I have to stay with you,” I say to his back, my eyes trailing over the tattoos covering it.

“You don’t have to doanything,” he responds, rotating his head just enough so I can see his scarred profile. “You are a former queen,” he reminds me. “You do as you fucking please.” He pauses to turn off the burner and move the pan away from the heat. Then he swivels back to me. “ButIwant you here. This is your house. That”—he nods in the direction of the bedroom—“is your room and your bed.”

“Ourbed,” I correct. “It would beourbed.”

Memnon’s gaze burns with intensity. “You’re the one with the power, Selene. If you don’t want me in it, you can command me to sleep anywhere else,” he says. “You are the one in control.”

It’s the illusion of control, nothing more.

“This house and the woods around it are protected, and here, you and Nero will both be safe,” Memnon continues. “And in the meantime, we’ll work together to find this Lia, and we’ll stop her.”

Presumably then I’ll be able to return to the residence hall.

I take a deep breath. “Okay.” I nod. “I’ll stay.” Just until it’s safe for Nero. “I’ll still need to go back to campus,” I add, “at least some of the time. There are things that I need.” Such as my clothes, my notebooks, my laptop, and my textbooks. “And I’m going to continue attending class,” I say, lifting my chin a little. I fought hard to be admitted to Henbane. I’m not going to let a few rogue witches ruin it all for me.

Perhaps if the sorcerer were a modern man, he’d find the idea of me going back to campus supremely foolish. But Memnon is a warlord and a king. He has brazenly walked among enemies and would only assume I’d do the same. It’s not in his nature—inanySarmatian’s nature—to be cowed by an opponent.

The sorcerer crosses the kitchen and stops close enough to tilt my face up to his, his gold rings pressing against my skin. “Fair enough, Selene,” he says, taking in my features. “But if you must be among foes, do not give them this tempered, modern treatment. I don’t care what compassionate thoughts fill that heart of yours. If someone so much as looks at you wrong, you use your magic, and you aim to kill.”

CHAPTER 26

Another witch is missing.

I learn that ten minutes after I arrive on campus, right as I’m settling into my seat in Spellcasting 101.

The news steals the air from my lungs. Could the missing witch be one of Nero’s attackers? There was at least one whose throat he ripped out.

Goddess, she had to have died. I try not to panic in my seat as I remember that. What happened to the body? Is it still out there, waiting to be found? Could she have survived? Or is she the missing witch, her body moved sometime in the last twelve hours?

Throughout the lecture, I woodenly take down notes, but I’m not really listening. Instead my mind is turning and turning. There have been murdered witches, and there are now missing witches—Kasey is one of them, and now there’s another one. Both disappearances happened right after battles. Could whoever they’re working for be cleaning up any evidence? Or could it be…

I need to take care of a few things,est amage. I will be back soon.

Maybe that wasn’t just a dream. Maybe Memnon legitimately left.

I reach out to the sorcerer now.Did you move any bodies from the forest last night?

Is this an intrusive thought, or is this my little witch?Memnon responds.

I glance heavenward.Memnon.

I feel the warmth of his smile down our bond.

Did I mention that I miss you?

Memnon, be serious.

I can almost feel his next words—I am serious.

But he lets them go unspoken. Instead, he says,I went back and removed any evidence that might be incriminating,he says evasively.

Including bodies?

I do believe there was a body involved. Maybe even two.

My stomach turns over. Witches died last night, and while my blood still boils that they tried to kill my familiar, I feel nauseous at the thought of more lives lost.

Don’t, Memnon says, cutting through my thoughts.