Page 157

Safe…

It all comes roaring back to me then. The party, the spiked drink, the terrifying broom ride, and my abduction. Then thetorture, 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 wheremy 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.