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Elena walked around the front of her desk and leaned against it. “Oh, she wants details today. I’m reviewing the ledgers?—”

Zuri cut her off with a kiss, palms pressed to Elena’s sexy hip bones when she held her waist. Elena smiled against her lips, inhaling her like she hadn’t seen her in years, before returning her kiss.

“Ready for today?” Elena rested her arms on Zuri’s shoulders. Her eyes were rich honey cracked into a dozen shades of brown.

Zuri wanted to admit that she wasn’t ready. That after months of dreaming, she was about to find out whether her plans stood a chance. But she didn’t want to breathe life into her anxiety. It was one thing to imagine something, quite another to make it happen. Once it was out there, she wouldn’t be able to hide in the promise of possibility. She’d be forced to reckon with reality.

Reading her silence correctly, Elena cupped her face with both hands and held her in her gaze. “I will spare no expense to get you the relic you need. Whatever it takes to establish your own coven, Zuri, you already have it.”

Heat sank into Zuri’s skin and warmed her chest. She had no doubt that Elena meant what she said. “Big flex,” she said instead ofthank youandI love youandI can’t believe I’m doing this. “You know you don’t have to overcompensate just because there’s a younger woman in our bed now.”

Elena’s lip twitched in amusement. “Our bed, is it?”

“Shut up,” Zuri said instead ofobviously, and kissed her again.

An hour later, she was sitting in Candela’s living room. Her buzz cut had grown into more of a fade, but was still bright red.

“Alright, let’s hear it,” Avani said when she walked in from the kitchen, three beers in hand. After passing them out, she dropped onto the overstuffed couch next to Zuri.

“We barely see you for months and then you’re all cryptic about a meeting,” Candela said, leaning back in her recliner with the bottle to her lips. “Let’s cut to it.”

Zuri chugged the lite beer like it might have the right words hiding at the bottom. “I…”

“You’re jumping ship to another coven,” Avani said, as if intending to put her out of her misery.

“What?” Zuri furrowed her brow and put her beer on the coffee table.

“That’s her guess,” Candela explained. “I think you’re leaving your heritage altogether to join your vampire wife.”

Zuri laughed, pressure easing from her shoulders. “Are you fucking with me?”

“Are you fucking with us?” Candela narrowed her eyes.

“Bitches, I’m here to ask you about starting our own fucking coven, not abandoning you.” Zuri’s attention darted between them.

“Wait, what?” Candela sat forward, elbows on her lap. “What do you mean?”

“I mean what the hell I said.” Zuri leaned back, confidence growing. “We’re not going to change the triumvirate. We’re not going to save them from themselves. I think our best bet is going out on our own.”

“But how?” Avani set her beer down too.

“Theoretically, it’s not that hard.” Zuri shrugged. “All we need are three witches and a sacred artifact to consecrate the coven ground.”

“And you can pick one of those up on Amazon,” Candela joked. “Maybe we can get Prime delivery and be ready to rock by the weekend.”

“Don’t be a dick,” Zuri snapped, but she wasn’t angry. She was excited that they hadn’t rejected the idea. “That’s obviously the hardest part.”

Avani’s smile started slowly and ended in a grin. “But if you know someone richer than rich and with a couple hundred years worth of connections…”

Candela’s eyes widened. “Z, are you fucking serious about this?”

“What exactly do you think is wrong with me that I would joke?—”

“I need to hear it. Tell me you’re serious right now. Tell me that you really think we can do this.”

Zuri took a deep breath and locked Candela in her gaze. “I don’t think we can do it…” She straightened. “I know we can.”

Avani replied with a thunder clap and a foot stomp. “Hell yeah we can!” She grabbed her bottle and held it up. “I trust you more than my actual sisters.” She pointed the neck of her bottle toward them. “Let’s do this shit.”