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When she started for him, Zuri let go of her hand and reached for Marisol instead. Elena should have guessed that she’d know business was underway, but their old rhythm gave her a thrill nonetheless.

She watched them walk to the bar in the back. Watched a nervous Marisol cling to Zuri. They weren’t the only non-vampires there, but she wasn’t sure that knowledge would put Marisol at ease.

“I’d say you get used to this shit,” Zuri whispered into Marisol’s ear. Elena could hear her voice from a mile away. “But you won’t.”

Where the crowd was thicker near the bar, Zuri moved Marisol to walk in front of her, hand protectively at her back. Before she could allow herself to become distracted, Elena gestured at Sofia to keep watch over them. Librada already knew where to be and went upstairs to survey the space.

As Elena approached Diego, the group dispersed in open deference. Good.

Diego turned. “Elena.” He tipped his head in a small bow. “You’re back.”

“Obviously,” she replied, voice cool and measured. She met his gaze, her own sharp and assessing. Diego was loyal, she knewthat. But loyalty could be bought, could be swayed, could be broken.

“Everything is as you left it,” Diego said, his gaze avoiding hers after a respectful amount of eye contact. He didn’t dare ask about the attack, about her injuries, about the week she’d been missing. He knew better. Elena appreciated his discretion, but it also made her suspicious. Was he hiding something? Was he involved?

“Good,” she said, her voice clipped while she scrutinized him. Zuri was wrong about Librada and Sofia, but she couldn’t discount the possibility that one of her underlings had deluded themselves into thinking they could take her on. Knock her off the top and take her place. “I expect a full report. Later.”

Diego nodded, his throat bobbing when he swallowed too hard. “Of course. The only change of note is a dip in the supply of earth witch blood. We had a power failure in the storage facility. Not all vials could be saved.”

Elena pinned him down with her gaze. “And who fucked that up?”

He opened his mouth, but apparently thought better of the excuse he was about to spout. “The ultimate responsibility must be mine,” he said, gaze cutting to the floor.

Responding with a guttural sound in her throat, Elena made her disappointment clear. She didn’t really care about a few lost vials, but that wasn’t the point. “And yet you’re here. Drinking my wine.”

Without looking at her again, he slinked toward the door. Elena turned away, her gaze sweeping the room, searching for any sign of unease, any flicker of betrayal.

The vampires, gathered in small groups, their conversations hushed and movements cautious, seemed to sense her scrutiny. They averted their gazes, but beneath the surface, Elena could feel the currents of curiosity, of speculation, of doubt.

She pushed the unease aside and made her way towards the bar. Zuri and Marisol were standing near the edge of the crowd, their bodies close. Just the sight of them loosened the tension in her chest, made it easier to breathe.

“Elena,” Sofia said from behind her, stopping her advance. “Narine has sent word that she cannot attend tonight.”

Furrowing her brow, Elena didn’t hide her surprise. Narine wasn’t her blood daughter, but she’d lost her true mother shortly after she was turned. Elena had adopted her.

When Narine wanted to build a little something of her own, Elena had done the unprecedented and granted her St. Augustine. It was a small enclave of fewer than a hundred vampires and significantly more witches, but it was hers and Elena had ceded it despite objections from her inner circle.

Can’t attend?She’d expected Narine to rush to her side. To be part of her show of strength. Unless she doubted Elena could protect her? Perhaps she feared that her microscopic cartel could suffer collateral damage from Elena’s usurpers. If Narine’s belief in her was wavering, she had more to shore up than she calculated.

“But that’s not the urgent?—”

“What is it?” Elena snapped, frustrated and annoyed.

“One of our scouts has heard murmurings of a male nest. But the sighting was deep in some swamp on the Florida-Georgia border.”

“Amalenest? How can that be?” Elena shook her head.

There was no such thing. Males were soldiers, but there was always a female head. A female vampire to follow. They might not all be her progeny, but they were under her control. And in her territory, every nest was hers.

Sofia nodded, hazel eyes keen and always moving. Always aware of her surroundings. “As far as we can tell. There’s no sign of females.”

“She must be well hidden,” Elena decided.

If she were plotting an overthrow, remaining undetected until the violent end would be a possible strategy. One she’d immediately discard because subterfuge was for pussies.

“Go,” Elena commanded, her voice laced with urgency. “Now. Find out everything you can. Who they are. What they’re doing. Why they’re here.”

“Should I contact Sayah? If they’re also on her border?—”