Bewitched Chapter 13: Selene’s Face-to-Face with Memnon

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Selene has finished settling into Henbane Coven and is preparing for her first day of classes. Her friend Sybil expresses mild frustration that Selene hasn’t made time to socialize, but Selene explains she feels extra pressure to prove herself. Sybil reassures her and they agree to hang out later.

While photographing the campus buildings at sunset, Selene senses the familiar indigo magic that once trapped her in the tomb. Panicked, she sprints across coven grounds, but the magic catches her and compels her toward the Everwoods forest. Inside the trees, her resistance fades and she walks deeper.

Memnon emerges from the shadows. He speaks in an ancient language and angrily accuses Selene—whom he calls “Roxilana”—of dismantling his army, destroying his empire, and imprisoning him in the tomb without funerary rites. Selene protests that she does not know him and is not the woman he believes her to be. Their confrontation grows heated when Memnon insists they have been together intimately. He reveals himself to be a sorcerer, his power strong enough to erode his conscience. He vows to put Selene at his mercy and destroy her world until she has only him left.

Key Events

Selene finishes her first week at Henbane Coven, organizing her room and study materials.
Sybil reproaches Selene for not spending time together; Selene admits she feels driven to overcompensate.
While exploring the campus grounds at dusk, Selene senses Memnon’s indigo magic approaching.
She runs, but the magic wraps around her and draws her into the Everwoods forest.
Memnon steps out of the darkness, looking brutal and glorious. He speaks an unknown ancient tongue that Selene inexplicably understands and can speak.
Memnon accuses Selene of betraying him—dismantling his army, destroying his empire, and imprisoning him without death rites.
Selene denies being Roxilana and claims Memnon has mistaken her for someone else.
Memnon reveals supernatural glowing eyes, identifying himself as a sorcerer.
He threatens to destroy Selene’s world until she has nothing left but him.

Character Development

Selene demonstrates both vulnerability and fierce resolve. Her fear at the tomb’s memory turns into anger as she confronts Memnon. She instinctively speaks his language even while denying knowledge of it, hinting at buried memories or a past life. Her priority remains survival, but flashes of steel show she will fight back.

Memnon emerges as a tragic antagonist: a sorcerer whose power corrupts conscience, yet driven by a deep sense of betrayal. He believes Selene is his former lover Roxilana who destroyed his empire and condemned him to a living death. His pain is real, but his wrath is unchecked. He is both formidable and heartless.

Sybil appears briefly as a supportive but mildly hurt friend, grounding Selene’s social life and highlighting Selene’s isolation.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Identity and mistaken identity: Memnon’s insistence that Selene is Roxilana creates a central mystery. Selene’s own lack of memory about South America suggests a hidden past.
Power and corruption: Memnon’s sorcery weakens his conscience, reinforcing the danger of unchecked magical strength. His power is seductive yet crushing.
Ensnarement and compulsion: Memnon’s indigo magic physically and mentally forces Selene toward him, symbolizing how the past refuses to release her.
Language and memory: Selene’s ability to understand and speak an ancient tongue without conscious knowledge points to reincarnation, mind magic, or suppressed memories.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter marks the first direct, physical confrontation between Selene and Memnon. It confirms that Memnon is a sorcerer—one of the most dangerous supernaturals—and that he believes they share a violent, intimate history. The encounter escalates the plot from mystery to active threat: Memnon is no longer a specter in her dreams but a flesh-and-blood enemy with a personal vendetta. Selene’s lack of memory about her actions in South America deepens the puzzle and raises the stakes for her survival.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Selene feel compelled to work harder than other students? Selene believes she must overcompensate to be treated normally by her peers. Her conversation with Sybil reveals she fears “screwing this up” for herself, implying she feels disadvantaged or judged at Henbane Coven.

2. What evidence suggests Selene might have a hidden past with Memnon beyond her tomb encounter? Selene instinctively speaks and understands Memnon’s ancient language without ever having learned it. Also, specific gaps in her memory about South America—where the tomb was located—hint that she may have played a role in Memnon’s imprisonment that she has forgotten.

3. How does Memnon’s threat to “destroy your world bit by bit” connect to his stated grievance? He is punishing Selene for what he believes she did: demolishing his army, empire, and stripping him of funerary rites. By promising to strip away her world, he intends to replicate the loss she inflicted on him, leaving her dependent only on him.