The Curse That Binds by Laura Thalassa

Here is a summary with spoilers for The Curse That Binds by Laura Thalassa

A little girl that lives in Rome has had a terrible life, when her parents and siblings are killed, leaving her orphaned. Flash forward, at 12 years old she has a new mother, although she is abusive and not very loving. One day, the girl starts to hear a voice in her head; he introduces himself as Memnon. He claims he has heard her voice for years, so it is about time she hears his. Not wanting to give up her real name, nor does she like that name, Memnon gives her a new one: Roxilana. For years the two get to know each other more. Roxi finds that Memnon is a warrior in Samaria, far away from her Rome. But every day the two grow closer and learn a lot about each other. Memnon also helps Roxi with her magic; he believes that she is a witch, and her magic also strengthens his own.

At 18 years old, Roxi is told by her mother that she is to be wed. When Memnon hears, he has already made plans to leave his land and collect her. He vows to make it before the wedding, as he wants Roxi for himself. The wedding day arrives, and right before the paperwork is signed, Memnon shows up. He declares that the wedding is off, and he will be taking his bride and mate for himself, and will make her his queen, as he is King of Samaritans.

Roxi and Memnon head to Rome, as Nero is very upset that Memnon came to his land without all the paperwork. By the time the meeting is done, Memnon and Roxi are officially married, and they are on their way back to his kingdom. While traveling, they come to an arena with an animal and human fighting pit. Roxi is pulled towards one of the animals. She goes in and protects him, and finds that their minds are somewhat connected.

The two continue to travel towards Memnon’s kingdom; he teaches Roxi all sorts of magic. When they return home, she is introduced to Memnon’s mother and sister, who are immediately preparing for the wedding week. While meeting the family, Roxi also meets Memnon’s father, who tells her that every time Memnon uses sorcery, he loses a piece of his conscience — at least it is to be believed that is what is happening, as that is what has happened to him and all of his ancestors. Roxi prays to the gods that the curse won’t be for Memnon.

Roxi is then introduced to a woman named Eislyn. Roxi doesn’t like her, but she has been the family counselor for years, so the family trusts her a lot. Roxi doesn’t like her even more when she brings up that Memnon is to have multiple wives. Roxi promises to herself that she will watch Eislyn, because after everything, she still doesn’t trust her. The wedding festivities go into full force. It’s a whirlwind week for Roxi and Memnon, but by the end she feels like she is truly family. However, their festivities end quickly when there is an attack by the Romans. For the first time, Roxi has purpose, and kills some of the men. After the attack, she decides to start training, wanting to make sure that she is strong for Memnon and her new people. However, her training stops quickly when she starts to get sick, and they believe that she is pregnant. After a few months of pregnancy, she loses the baby, shattering her heart and Memnon’s.

Flashing forward a couple of years, Roxi is a strong warrior. She and Memnon rule their people and continue their war with the Romans. Memnon decides that it’s time Roxi deserves a home of her own so she can stop constantly traveling, so he takes her back to one of the castles. While Roxi loves the home, she doesn’t like that it means Eislyn is around more. Her opinion solidifies on Eislyn when she suggests that he start to be more brutal, because wouldn’t it be a nice gesture to kill all the Romans who ruled Roxi, so that she can then rule over them. Memnon likes the idea of giving his queen everything, so he loves the idea of continuing the war. Memnon leaves the room to make plans, leaving Roxi and Eislyn to talk. Eislyn brings up that Roxi is not doing her duty as queen. She needs to have a child, and she hasn’t delivered on that, so she needs to encourage Memnon to take another wife so his lineage can continue. After that, Roxi goes to Memnon and continues to tell him that she doesn’t like Eislyn. He promises that she is just helping the family out.

Another attack happens, and it seems that many are going after Roxi. She ends up getting hit and dies in Memnon’s arms. He won’t accept the fate, so he goes to a nearby temple to sacrifice anything. He kills many men to bring her back, but eventually Roxi is brought back to life. That night, Memnon gets a letter from Nero, saying he’s sorry for what happened to Memnon’s wife, but he was the one to order her death. Despite the anger he feels, Roxi manages to convince Memnon to stop fighting Rome.

Roxi wakes up and knows something is wrong. Memnon won’t respond via the bond, and when she finds Memnon’s best friend that is bonded to him, she forces information out of him. There is a coup; they have already killed Memnon’s mother and sister, they are going to kill him, and put him on the throne. Roxi finds her opportunity and runs with her familiar. They make it to a temple for sanctuary, and she asks for sanctuary and safe passage. She tries giving the temple her blood, her tears, but it doesn’t take. She finally says she will give a secret: that she believes she is pregnant. The secret works. She enters the temple and is immediately stabbed in the stomach by Eislyn, who is at the heart of the coup and betrayal. She tells Roxi her plan of entombing Memnon for 100 years, and the only thing that will be left will be Eislyn. She will tell Memnon it was all Roxi’s fault, and that she never came looking for him. Eislyn disappears, and Roxi goes to find Memnon. She finds him in his tomb, gathers all her power (realizing she is already dying), and puts a spell on Memnon, that he will sleep and sleep and the only way he will wake is by her hand, no matter how long it may be. But she realizes that the spell is not enough; everyone needs to forget that Memnon ever existed, as she doesn’t want anyone going to look for him, including Eislyn. She starts her spell, and can feel Eislyn forget Memnon. Her spell works until the very end, when even she forgets her fated mate.