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While his magic works me, Memnon gazes up the span of my body. When our eyes meet, the world tilts.

“All the lands and all the kingdoms shall be mine once more,” Memnon says softly, still moving his fingers in and out of me, “and all shall know my name as they once did. Memnon the Indomitable.” His eyes glitter with intensity. “Most of all, you will be mine again.”

My orgasm is so close, so, so—

Memnon settles back down between my legs, and he brushes a kiss against my inner thigh. “But first, my queen, you—will—pay.”

* * *

The alarm on my phone goes off, jolting me awake. I’m awash in sweat, and my core is throbbing with unfulfilled need.

Blowing out a breath, I grab my phone. I’m not entirely sure whether I’m going to take care of my missed orgasm and get up or simply snooze the alarm and go back to sleep. Before I decide, I catch sight of the message on my phone.

Alarm for morning run with Sybil @ 6:30 a.m.

Ugh, that’s right.

It’s 6:15 a.m. right now, which means I barely have time to change and meet her as it is. So no orgasm and no sleep.

Feeling flustered and grumpy, I grab my clothes and shove myself into them, then tie my hair back and lace up my running shoes.

By the time I knock on Sybil’s door, I have two minutes to spare. And I’m still in a foul mood.

When she opens her door, she takes me in. “You look how I feel,” she says, slipping out of the room. “Why do we do this to ourselves?”

I rub my eyes and shake my head. “Because we’re the queens of bad ideas.”

“C’mon then, my fellow queen,” she says. “Let’s see this bad idea through.”

* * *

Okay, the run is not half bad.

I mean, itisbecause it’s running, and everything jiggles, and I’m somehow sweating in unmentionable places and chilly in others. But the air carries the scent of pine trees and wet soil, and the birds are chirping—and that’s to say nothing of the view.

Sybil takes us on a path that winds behind the campus, then continues to the north of it, the dirt path snaking through the coastal hills.

“How much of this does the coven own?” I ask her. It feels like we’ve been running forever, and we haven’t turned back yet.

“Miles and miles—farther up this way are the residences for graduated coven members.” Sybil huffs, pointing ahead of us.

I can’t see the houses she’s talking about, but I know of them. Coven members who prefer living near other witches and away from the hustle and bustle of normal society can choose to live on coven property. The thought of growing old alongside other witches sounds pretty idyllic, but who knows? Perhaps by the time I graduate Henbane, I’ll be over it.

The forest around us opens, giving way to a field. Off to my left, I catch a glimpse of the distant coastline and the ocean beyond.

The wordidyllicwas created for days like this.

It’s almost enough for me to forget my encounter with Memnon.

He’s going to be a problem—a big one too. He’s now visited me twice in the past week—to say nothing of my, um,vividdreams. And if Memnon’s parting words last night were anything to go by, I’ll be seeing him again, and soon.

Only now do I remember one overlooked detail from our encounter.

And have you been enjoying our time apart?he said.All twenty centuries of it?

A chill runs down my back as I do the math.

He’s two thousand years old?