“So I guess I’m stuck with you,” Katherine said.

“I could order you to be happy about it, if you wanted,” I offered. “The enchantment would make it so you would be.”

“Um…I think I’ll try it without for now,” she said evenly.

“All right. If I let you call me Lin, can I call you Kat?”

She shrugged. “You own me, you can call me whatever you want.”

“Come on, don’t be like that,” I said. “I’m sorry about your situation, but there’s nothing I can do about it except try to take good care of you until I can change it. Can we just try to be friends? Please?”

She blinked. “You’re not… ordering me to be friends?”

I shook my head. “Just because I own you doesn’t give me the right to treat you like I own you. Well, except maybe little things, like having you carry my books.”

“Oh.” She was silent for a moment. “I guess you can call me Kat.”

“Great! Now you need to meet my best friend, Melanie.”

“Okay,” Kat said. “Where is she?”

“Right here.” I held up my right hand, and invoked the ring on my third finger.