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Sounds good. Love you—see you soon.

I try not to shiver at how mundane these last words were. It makes death seem all the more grotesque, to rob someone of their life right in the middle of a perfectly average day.

Instead, I focus on the ingredient itself—should I throw the note into the cauldron or whisper the words over it?

Before I can decide, the front door crashes open, wood splintering as it rips off its hinges. I expect to hear a chorus of screams, but most of, if not all, my sisters have gone to bed, save for a group that left an hour ago for some outdoor spellcasting.

Familiar heavy footfalls stride across the foyer, and my stomach fills with dread.

Memnon fills the doorway, his eyes blazing. They move from my face to the wooden spoon I have in my hand, then the cauldron in front of me.

I move in front of the cauldron, ready to defend my spell. “You do not get to just—”

I yelp as he picks me up and sets me on the island behind me.

He puts a finger up to my face. “Stay,” he growls, his magic coiling around me.

“Don’t talk to me like I’m a dog,” I snap back at him.

I try to hop off the counter, but damn it, he spelled my ass—literally. I can’t get up.

I watch on helplessly as Memnon stalks toward my cauldron and grabs it with his bare hands.

“Memnon, no—”

Before I can even finish my plea, he overturns the thing, dumping its contents out onto the open fire beneath it, dousing the flame and ruining my concoction.

I make a horrified sound and stare aghast at the ruins of my spell.

Memnon turns back to me, his chest heaving and his palms blistered from where he held the cauldron. “You were trying to break our bond!” he roars.

Upstairs, I hear someone yell, “Shut up!”

“Goddess above, lower your voice,” I whisper. “You’re going to wake up the whole coven.” I’m skating on thin enough ice as it is.

“Even after enduring your betrayal and your desertion,est amage, I would neverdareto break what is ours and ours alone!” His voice rises until he is bellowing the words.

“Maybe if you had spent the past several weeks trying to be my friend instead of making my life miserable, I wouldn’t be attempting to break our bond.”

His expression flickers, like he may feel regret or shame, but I’m not done.

“I swear to the goddess,” I continue, “the moment you leave my sight, I will start the process all over again.”

It seems like Memnon grows taller, wider. He steps between my legs, looking menacing, lethal.

“No,” he says softly, “you won’t.” The sorcerer places his hands on either side of my head, his eyes flinty.

I jerk against his touch. “Let me go.”

“Your mind isn’t the only one that can steal memories,” he says, those smoky eyes piercing.

I go still at what he’s hinting at. “You wouldn’t,” I breathe.

He smiles. “Of course I would. I alreadyhave.”

“You’ve taken my memories?” My voice is unnaturally quiet as I speak. Dark, roiling fury builds beneath my veins.

“Your heart isn’t the only thing I own.” It’s as much a confession as anything else.