Part I

Sidony reclined against the smooth silk pillows that crowded the head of her
king sized bed. She arranged her dark curls to fall artfully around her and waited for
tonight’s playmate to enter her bedroom.
In the century since her twenty first birthday, the day she’d been found in the
King’s bed and cursed, Sidony had a different lover, or two, in her bed every night.
This night’s entertainment had dropped onto her radar at the bakery down the
street from her office. A seductive smile, a flash of cleavage and he’d been ready to
accommodate her every whim. Then again, they always were – her curse ensured that
she would always be alluring to the opposite sex. Problem was - the sorceress hadn’t
been clear if her savior would be one of the men of her race or a human male.
"My lady?" The door swung soundlessly on the plush carpet, the dimness in the
hallway brightened the soft candle light in the room. Sidony glanced up and her inner
sex kitten purred. Hello, lover.
Her eyes focused on the large vampyre in front of her. She took in every detail of
him. Jason’s blonde hair gleamed a burnished gold and his skin, soon to be under her
fangs, had been kissed and caressed by the summer sun. Gods, I love my life -
sometimes.
He stepped inside the room and stood just beyond the doorway, helmet tucked
under an arm thick with muscle. Her playmate was a foot taller than her and not even
the obsidian centurion’s uniform he had on could hide that he was very well muscled.
“Come in.” Sidony’s eyes wandered past the embossed breastplate to the short
leather skirting and the bare legs below it. He’d left off the sandals. Bad boy. She
shifted against the pillows and let the cream colored sheet fall to her waist. "Tell me
soldier, what brings you to me?"
His sky blue eyes flashed with desire and followed the silken material as it slid
over her breasts. Hunger darkened his eyes and the way his fangs flashed when he
smiled moistened Sidony’s core. "I have been assigned as your new personal guard
m'lady. I am never to leave your side."
 "Do you like what you see soldier?" She stepped from the bed and its puddles of
slippery sheets. The fingers of her left hand toyed lazily with the pebbled nipple of her
breast as she drew closer to him. "Come; let me show you what your duties entail."
He tossed the helmet aside and pulled her against the cold metal covering his
chest. “This really gets you off?”
The filigreed emblem on the uniform abraded her nipples and forced a moan
from Sidony’s throat. “I hope so.”
Jason reached up to unbuckle and she slid her hands over his sides to help. The
uniform fit his large frame better than she’d expected.
“This thing is a perfect fit. Almost as if it was made for me.”
Sidony hid the startle his words caused behind her hair. She tossed the
breastplate aside and looked back up at him with a coy smile. “This old thing?” …was
made for the man who will finally give me what I’ve been cursed never to have
again...release.
His upper body was a delicious expanse of hard muscle under golden skin. He
wasn’t a battle scarred warrior like the men who’d originally worn the uniform. No,
he’d been trained for a far different kind of war - one Sidony was excited to let him win.
The battlefield of her body his to plunder at will.
The leather skirting followed the rest of his outfit to the floor.
His swollen cock was thick, the head a velvety purple that declared his arousal. A
dewy drop of moisture beaded and spilled over to coat the satiny skin that Sidony’s
mouth watered to taste. Inch upon rock hard inch of him sprung from the golden
thatch at his groin and strained past the hollow of Jason’s navel. The man was glorious.
“Gods, that’s beautiful.” Her words were a whisper as Sidony took in the size of
her bedmate.
Sidony licked her lips in anticipation and drew a finger over his length. The
steady movement of her hand a mask that hid the tremor of hope inside. Was this it?
Was he the one? "You’re perfect."
Jason knelt on the bed and pulled her beneath him. He dipped his head to nip at
the underside of her right breast and Sidony dug her fingers into the thick waves of his
hair as his fangs grazed her skin. “Mhmm, and you’re about to find out just how right
you are – repeatedly."
A ragged moan slipped passed Sidony’s lips as she ground herself against him.
His heavy chest vibrated with a chuckle. He pressed back against her moistened core
and pushed her that much closer to the ever elusive orgasm she craved. Freedom was
so close she could taste it. "You’re an eager one."
"It’s been a hell of a long time since a man like you has been in my bed. Eager is
an understatement, soldier."
His strong, firm hands slid between them. Fingers roughened by calluses traced
up her legs to thighs parted and trembling with anticipation for his invasion. "So soft
and warm. I can feel your heat from here."
Jason’s thumb found her clit and rubbed a slow circle around it. He sheathed
two thick fingers inside of her and Sidony arched into him as a rush of heat flooded her
veins.
“When you scream my name,” he whispered. “Scream Jason - not Soldier.”
Sidony dug her nails into his scalp and grunted as she tried to take in even more
of him. “If you can get me off – I’ll call you whatever you god damn want.”
“If I can?” Jason licked up the column of her throat. “Baby, you’re about to come
so hard you’ll forget your own name.”
“Prove it.”

The next afternoon the phone on Sidony’s desk rang and snapped her out of a
vision. She listened for the intercom buzz from the outer office and tried to shake the
images of chocolate covered flesh from her mind. She stopped short of answering the
call and then jammed down on the button anyway. “Shit. So much for relaxation time.”
"Hey Sid. Your mom’s on line two.”
Sidony groaned. The phone ringing had put a dampener on the mental peep
show she’d been trying to enjoy. Mention of her mother killed it.
"Hey Astrid. Clear our calendar for the next two weeks and tell mom I’m in a
meeting." She hung up the phone and made a mental note to try out the things she’d
seen in the vision.
Her best friend and secretary, Astrid, appeared in the office doorway two
minutes later. Sidony smiled and waved her into a chair. "How soon can you pack a
suitcase and meet me at my place?"
Astrid plopped her five foot six inch frame into a chair and her ruby red curls
bounced around her shoulders. "We going on another orgasm quest?"
Sidony’s grin widened. She shook her head and shared some of the details of the
unsuccessful date she’d had the night before with her while she wiped down the phone,
and her fingers, with a wet nap. "I've got a sudden urge to visit Italy. You game?"
"Gladiators, hmm? As long as we can make a detour for some shopping in Milan,
I'll clear the schedule for the next two months." Her chartreuse colored eyes glittered at
the prospect of a shopping trip. The woman loved her couture.
Astrid bounced out of the office and Sidony laughed. She really loved that the
little redheaded vampyre was such a good friend and so easy going. She put up with so
much of Sidony’s shit. Seriously. The woman deserved a Nobel Prize for her patience.
A few minutes later she heard her secretary on the phone cancelling
appointments. "Is this the office of Dr. Mongovian? I'm calling from the office of Dr.
Sidony Tassen. She was scheduled to meet with him next week but has been called
away on a family emergency and will be unable to attend. She sends her sincere
apologies and will reschedule for another time."
∞
The bartender placed two beers on the counter in front of Jason and his friend
slid a few bills back in payment.
"What are you staring at, Jase?" Pete followed Jason’s gaze and caught sight of
the brunette and redhead down the bar.
"Ah, I see. Those two have been in every bar in town for the past two weeks. Sex
in stilettos if I've ever seen it, my friend."
Jason turned his sky blue eyes to the shorter man. "You're such an ass, Pete."
Pete laughed, "Come on, man. The brunette is seriously hot and the redhead?
Can you say dick magnet?"
He turned to nudge Jason in the arm only to find him gone. "Where the hell did
he go?"
The bartender smirked and tipped his head in the direction of the women he'd
been talking about.

Astrid and Sidony were dressed to impress. There was more skin showing than
not and the men were taking notice. They had been inside the bar for two hours and
were finally sitting down to order drinks.
This was the girls’ last night in Italy and Sidony had yet to find her
entertainment for the night. She could hear the buzzer getting louder in her head, feel
the telltale tug of power that told her that he, the one who could help her, was nearby.
Astrid nudged Sidony with her elbow as she tilted her head to the left. "Sid, that
guy down the bar is eating you with his eyes."
"Which one?" She turned quickly to see down the bar as Astrid described a tall
blonde in a blue t-shirt. Yeah, Captain Subtle she was not.
The tug turned into a pull as she heard Astrid whisper her name. Sidony turned
and looked straight into a wall of muscle covered in blue cotton. Hello beefcake. Come
to mama.
Sidony’s eyes followed the cotton up to familiar sky blue eyes that glowed as they
bore into hers. Jason, the gladiator she’d brought home from the bakery. Shit.
"Wanna get out of here? Give me another shot?"
It took her brain a few seconds to catch up but she finally nodded. She turned to
let Astrid know where she was going but her friend had disappeared. "Sure."
 Part II

“Jason. Oh, gods.”

Sidony’s hips lifted and ground against the thick cock that filled her. Jason’s
warm tongue teased at her own as she writhed beneath him. Slick skin slid over
dampened silk sheets. Pillows slithered to the floor with a soft hiss and thump that went
unnoticed beneath the echoes of moans and flesh meeting flesh.
“Almost…there. I can…feel it.”
Jason sighed and rolled away to look over at her. His blue eyes took in the
concave dip of her belly, the up thrust globes of her full breasts and lips slightly parted
as she panted.
“No, you can’t.” He kissed her glistening shoulder and rolled over to give Sidony a
kiss filled with the lingering taste of her own musky juices. “You’re not even close.”
“I never will be if you keep stopping like that.”
She turned her body towards his, a lithe thigh sliding over his muscular one. Her
hips tilted against Jason as she sought to take him back inside.
“Sid, no.” Jason kissed the tip of her nose and pulled back. “We’ve been at it for
three hours now. I’ve come more times than I can count and you – haven’t come close
even once. We have to stop, Sidony.”
Unwilling to give up, Sidony reached for him and growled when her fingers
grasped nothing but musky, vanilla scented air. “I…but…we…”
She looked up from the bed as he slipped dark blue silk boxers over his hips. The
desperation in her voice, her expression, was a large pink elephant in the middle of the
bed - difficult to ignore, yet there all the same.
“Face it. I’m not the one Sidony.”
“You have to be. The armor fits you.” Sidony sat up and pulled the sheet over her
breasts. “You even said so yourself.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed heavily as he buttoned up the fly on
his jeans. “It almost fit. Almost. I have to go. Pete and I have an early flight in the
morning.”
Sidony sat, dumbfounded, as she watched him pick up his shirt and quietly leave
her hotel room.
“Jason, wait.”
Her call came a moment too late as the door closed. Silence fell around her,
deafening in its finality and she fell back against the mattress. She blinked at the ceiling
once, twice and then closed her eyes as the first tears slid into the dark masses of her
hair.
Sleep tugged at her and Sidony gave in to the undertow of fatigue as it pulled her
under into the currents of a dream.
“Sidony.” A warm hand slid up the inside of her thigh. The sheets bunched
around her hips as the questing touch neared her core. “Open your eyes and look at
me. Watch me take you, push you over the edge you’ve been craving.”
Her eyes fluttered open and gazed down at the violet ones hidden behind a black
domino. His face, framed by short, dark curls hovered near her navel. Lush lips curved
in a cocky smile to match the wicked gleam in his eyes.
 “Who are you?”
“Not important.” His tongue darted out and licked around the circumference of
Sidony’s navel before dipping in. The soft, pink tip fluttered inside, mimicking what it
would do were it a few inches lower.
Sidony moaned. Her fingers dug into his ebony curls as her hips tilted invitingly
towards the fingers that traced the crease of her thigh.
“Open for me Sidony. Let me taste the delicious heaven I know is in there.”
The heat of his breath on her sensitive flesh as she opened for him aroused
Sidony more than she’d been in decades. Her mind wanted to stop and analyze why
she was so responsive to the masked stranger; but her body, it wanted to slap a muzzle
on her brain and enjoy the ride.
His thumbs parted her folds and cool air rushed over Sidony’s skin before the
heat of his mouth closed over her clit. The firm brush of his tongue seared the blood in
her veins and she lifted her hips against his mouth.
“More. Gods, please…more.”
A soft hum of satisfaction vibrated against her skin and Sidony’s head dropped
back into the pillows. Her back arched up off the bed as she pulled his hair to keep her
dream lover from removing his mouth and ending the pleasure she craved
desperately.
Every muscle was on high alert, tensed and poised to experience the one thing
that had eluded Sidony for a hundred years – a blissful, mind-numbing orgasm.
Thick fingers pushed inside of her eager flesh that gripped tight in hungry
needful contractions and pulled them in further.
“Yes, please, please, yes.”
He began a slow, languorous series of thrusts despite the frantic grinding
against his hand and mouth. The gently curved tips of his fingers brushed over the
anterior wall of Sidony’s vagina, each entry and retreat pushing her that tiny bit
closer to the edge.
Sidony dug her nails into her lover’s scalp, a scream ready to rip from her
throat as the next thrust, the next lick promised to send her over the edge.
The shrill ring of the telephone on the bedside table snapped Sidony out of her
dream. Blood pumped madly through every inch of her body, her muscles throbbed with
unreleased energy and her breath pushed passed her lips in short, frustrated pants.
She reached over and yanked the receiver from the cradle.
“What?”
“Good morning, Miss Tassen. This is your four a.m. wake up call, as requested.
Your car will be here at six sharp.”
“Thank you.” Sidony dropped the phone back onto the table and rolled to her
stomach. Face down in the mattress she punched it and screamed into the best Sealy
Posturepedic had to offer.

Astrid dropped into the seat next to Sidony and slipped her seat belt on before
turning to assess her friend. Dark hair tied back in a ponytail, sunglasses, jeans, t-shirt
and a distinct lack of makeup told her something was up.
 “Spill it. You’ve been in a bitch since you came down and if I’ve got to endure the
crabby assed routine all the way back home; you’re going to damn well tell me why.”
Pushing the shades up to sit on top of her head, Sidony pinned Astrid with an
annoyed look. She gave her a brief rundown of the failed mattress marathon with Jason
and the promising dream that had been cut short just as she’d been about to come, hard.
“Ohmygod, dude. That’s one hella harsh night.”
“I know. I have to find him, Astrid. He’s out there somewhere and if he can get
me that close in a dream… I have to find him. Period.”
“We will.” Astrid patted her arm. “I have a feeling we’ll find him, and it will be in
the last place we expected.”

“You’ll make sure to put it somewhere she can’t fail to see it?”
The courier nodded and tucked the thick, vellum envelope beneath his arm. “Yes,
sir. It will be in plain sight for Ms. Tassen when she gets home.”
Michael tucked an ebony curl behind his ear and nodded. “Good. Thank you.”
“No problem, sir.”
“Michael.” A shrill voice called behind him and Michael turned his gaze away
from the man dressed in the brown uniform to face his mother. “What are you doing?”
“Sending a package. What does it look like I’m doing?”
Ingrid Mongovian reached her son’s side and glared after the courier as he
cleared the main doors and attained freedom. “I wasn’t aware that we had anything
going out today.”
“We didn’t. I did.”
“Who was the package destined for?”
“None of your business, mother.” Michael moved to pass her but Ingrid gripped
his arm. He looked up at her with what he hoped was ice in his violet eyes and she let go.
“It’s time someone set Sidony free from the curse Aunt Amy put on her. It was stupid
and vindictive.”
“She slept with the King. That little baggage deserves to suffer for disgracing the
Queen.”
Michael growled. “The Queen died fifty years ago and the King has long since
forgotten the likes of Sidony Tassen.”
“Clearly, you haven’t.” Ingrid huffed and twitched away an invisible spec of lint
on her pristine business suit. “I could kill my sister for tying you into that stupid curse.”
“She did, and whether you like it or not, I am going to release her from it,
Mother.” He turned his back on her and headed toward the elevators, and his office.
“I’ve already given her a taste of what I can do for her. Now that she knows I’m out
there, you can bet your ass she’ll come looking for me with a vengeance.”
The elevator dinged to announce its arrival and Michael grinned at his mother’s
cry of outrage as he stepped inside and the doors closed behind him. The game was
afoot and he was determined to see that it had a satisfactory outcome for himself but
most of all, for Sidony.
 Part III

Rain battered and spat on the window of the cozy B&B where Michael had
stopped for the night. The storm sounds blended with the shush of the shower and
frenetic sighs of the man beneath the rush of water.
Michael’s lavender eyes gazed out the mullioned, rain drenched window. The
mist rolled over the emerald carpet of the hills. It ran over the dips and rises, a secret
lover fleeing the angry droplets of a jilted spouse come home too soon.
He saw none of it.
Every thought was focused on the scene playing out in his mind’s eye. Glimpses
of chestnut curls, voluptuous breasts and creamy, silken skin. She had been on his mind
and in Michael’s dreams forever.
“Sidony.”
Michael sighed as his hand worked up the length of his shaft. The smooth skin of
his palm covered the velvety tip and squeezed lightly before it resumed with a downward
stroke.
The icy water from the shower slid over his flesh but did nothing to cool the
burning heat in Michael’s veins. Their latest dream rendezvous had been cut off again
and left him molten with need.
His fist pumped furiously up and down the granite length of his cock as he
pictured the way Sidony had writhed for him. She’d been poised on the edge, every cry
and whimper gliding over his senses and pulling him along with her. He understood the
demands of her career but the frequent interruptions were trying his patience. Michael
needed to get to her, and soon.
Thoughts focused on Sidony, Michael worked his turgid flesh. Each glide of his
hand a reminder of where he needed, wanted, to be – balls deep inside of the woman he
was destined to be with.
Several more sweat and shower slick strokes brought on the muscle tightness and
tingling at the base of Michael’s spine that heralded his release – and another night
alone. The hand on his shaft moved quickly while the other kneaded and rolled the
contents of his sack. His forehead pressed against the cool tile. His cry resonated
through the small bathroom as thick, creamy jets of cum streamed from his erection to
coat the walls.
Michael waited until the tremor in his muscles settled before rinsing off the
evidence of his activity and leaving the shower. He wrapped a thick towel around his
waist and padded out to sit on the end of the antique poster bed.
He sighed heavily and flopped back on the mattress.
“Sidony,” he whispered. “I can feel you near. Fall asleep and let me in again.”
She had opened up to him every night in the two weeks since their first
encounter. After their failed attempt earlier, her resistance to let him in now puzzled
Michael.
Their multiple contacts had opened a telepathic channel between them and he
tested it in order to draw her out.
“Sidony. Stop fighting.”
“Why?”
 Michael’s mind projected her image beside him on the bed and he blinked when
she appeared. Her arms were crossed beneath the delicious curves of her breasts. Even
fully dressed, she was exquisite and his cock twitched at the sight of her.
“You won’t tell me who you are or how I can find you. This little charade was
fun at first but I’m getting tired of it. You’ve said you can free me from this curse. Come
get me. Prove it.”
He rolled to his stomach and grimaced when his face connected with the soaked
comforter. She was right, and he knew full well that he could go to her anytime he
wished.
“Unlock your door. Trust me, sweetheart. You’ll have me tonight. I promise.”

Sidony opened her eyes and blinked at the ceiling. He was coming. Whoever her
dream lover was, he was coming tonight, and she would be free. The curse would be
gone and sex would once again be something enjoyable.
Her feet hit the floor and Sidony set about preparing the room she was staying in.
The B&B was decorated in typical old English inn style. Flowery patterned wall paper,
furniture in shades of pastel pinks, greens and blue and miles of lace.
Thunder boomed outside. The rain slashed against the window panes in a furious
onslaught that hadn’t let up since it had started just before noon.
Sidony pushed aside the curtains that covered her French doors and watched the
mist ghost across her small patio. It was an eerie night, almost perfect for breaking
curses. Releasing the fall of lace, she turned back to the room to find the landlady’s
supply of candles. With a storm raging outside, the candles would provide ambiance and
prevent the lights from blazing on at an inopportune moment.
A few moments later the room was lit by a soft glow and Sidony was dressed in a
black silk dressing gown. She checked her appearance in the mirror above the dresser
and sat on the edge of the bed to wait.
Soft ticking from the clock on the mantle counted the minutes until finally a
knock sounded on the thick wooden door. Sidony rose, pulled open the door and gasped
at who she found standing on the other side.
“Jason? What is he doing with you?”
The man she recognized from the dreams they had shared stepped forward and,
despite her surprise at seeing Jason, heat pooled in Sidony’s abdomen.
“We need him, sweetheart. Jason is part of the key to breaking your curse.”
She looked at the two men as they entered the room. Confusion warred with need
and desire as she watched the dark silk of their pants mould to the curves of their
backsides when they walked.
They were a truly magnificent sight to behold. The contrast of light and dark
between the two of them was a feast to Sidony’s hungry eyes. Michael’s hair was loose
and curled above his shoulders in a shinning tangle of waves. Jason’s pants rode his hips
in his usual sexy way.
“But… I thought. The dreams? It was only you and me then.”
Jason cast a glance at the other man and, when he nodded, pulled Sidony towards
the French doors. He tucked a curl behind her ear and gave her a reassuring smile.
 “Michael explained a few things to me. He’s the one you need to break the curse,
and you need me to help get the two of you there.”
Sidony looked over at the man she now knew as Michael and offered him her
hand. His warm palm covered hers and she smiled as the three of them moved towards
the large bed. They lifted her onto the mattress and she held her breath as they joined
her.
Michael reached to undo the sash of her robe and Sidony watched, wide eyed as
his fingers tugged on the silk and it came loose. The edges of her robe fell away to reveal
the quick rise and fall of her chest beneath the heavy globes of her breasts.
“Relax, Sid. You know us. Me, you know in the flesh and Michael in your dreams.
You’ve been waiting for this…for us.”
Jason crooked a finger beneath Sidony’s chin and tilted her face up for a gentle
kiss. His tongue brushed over hers, a tender, familiar tango they’d danced before. He
turned her in his arms and pulled the robe off Sidony’s shoulders baring her to Michael’s
hungry gaze.
A small golden pot appeared in Michael’s hand. He opened it and pressed a kiss
to the valley between Sidony’s breasts as he began to rub scented oil into her skin. Both
men began to chant quietly in the ancient tongue of the vampire race as their hands
worked their magic on her body.
Each stroke of their oil slicked fingers set Sidony on fire. The press of their lips
set shivers down her spine and their breath sent goose bumps parading over her skin.
She moaned and writhed as her skin became a living thing under their combined
touches.
The silk sheets Sidony had insisted on were a blessing as they would hide the
blood that would come later but they were a curse now as they whispered across her
sensitized skin. She wanted to scream out her frustration but all that came from Sidony’s
lips were Michael and Jason’s names whispered on moans.
Michael pressed kisses up the inside of her thighs and blew gently on her over
sensitized skin as Jason cupped her breasts from behind and pulled an earlobe between
his teeth.
Sidony’s ass ground into Jason’s groin as she frantically pulled at Michael’s hair
to bring his face up to hers. He ran his tongue up her warm cleft and groaned as he slid
the hard planes of his body against hers to bring his face up to Sidony’s.
“Mmm...warm strawberries. Tell us what you want, love. What do you need?”
Jason slid the heated length of his silken cock between the warm folds of her core
and hissed. “Is this what you want? Do you want us inside?”
He thrust against her and Sidony’s thoughts scrambled as the tip of him bumped
her clit. She could do nothing but nod as a whimper escaped her lips.
Michael stretched himself in front of her and pulled Sidony’s left leg over his hip
as he slowly thrust deep inside of her. She leaned back and hooked her hand around
Jason’s hip to pull him closer as he thrust in rhythm with Michael.
Sidony’s senses swirled and images danced in her mind as she drowned in the
scents their bodies released as they neared the point where the men pressing into her
body would sink their fangs into her flesh. Michael smelled of spiced vanilla and Jason
had the scent of warm sugar.
 As her scent mixed in with theirs Sidony felt the sharp piercing of her flesh as
they recognized the signal and began marking her. Jason sank his fangs into the flesh of
her right shoulder and Michael took the left.
The smell of fresh ripe strawberries filled the room as the speed of their thrusting
increased and Sidony felt her body tighten as it poised to climax.
Her cries became frantic with need as they sucked at her skin and increased the
speed of their thrusts. She pushed and pulled at them as the urgency built and their
breath came in shorter bursts against her skin.
A scream burst from Sidony’s lips and her body arched back as she came, hard.
She forgot who was where and even where she was for a moment as Sidony gave herself
over to the violent tumult of the orgasm.
The second orgasm slammed into her so hard that Sidony screamed her release
as her body arched and writhed. She bucked between them like a bronco held too long in
the chute and it was all they could do to keep her between them.
Sidony moaned incoherently as both men gave one final thrust and spilled their
own orgasms into her quivering sheath.
Her body gave one last shudder and a dark purple glow spilled out over Michael’s
face as she looked into his glowing lavender eyes. He pushed a strand of damp hair out
of her eyes and gasped, “You’re eyes. Jason, look at her eyes.”
Jason rolled Sidony onto her back and the glow flooded the room. She turned to
look into the soft blue glow of his eyes and he grinned triumphantly.
“Cool. You’re eyes are purple.”
Sidony’s eyes widened. “What does that mean?”
Michael traced his fingers over the mark on her shoulder and whispered, “It
means we did it right. The curse is broken and you’re free.”