“Yes, how is he cooking up the earth magick?”

“He can brew a lot of it, and research all of it. It’s just that someone else has to store and wield the charms and spells. He’s using a magickal surrogate, basically.”

Sarafina looked over at Micah. He was speaking with Thomas. “He seems to be coping okay with it all.”

Claire glanced in Micah’s direction. “His first love is research. I think he’ll be fine. He just needs someone as geeky as he is to test his spells. A permanent research and testing partner.” She looked pointedly at a tall, attractive brown-haired earth witch who was sipping a glass of wine across the room.

“Oh, she’s very pretty,” Sarafina answered. “Have you been meddling, Claire?”

She pinched her thumb and forefinger together. “Just a little. I think Emily and Micah will get along really well. She’s just as interested in history and magickal theory as he is. Micah just needs a little . . . push, is all.” Claire grinned. “They’re going to be working very closely together in the future. Plus, Emily’s been smitten with Micah forever. Micah has just never noticed before. He’s so oblivious to anything but his work.”

Sarafina watched Micah glance at Emily across the room, then look again and stare at her a bit.

Uh-huh. Magick in the making.

“He’s not oblivious anymore,” Sarafina murmured, raising her eyebrow and taking a sip of her sweet tea.

Claire laughed. “Nope. The seed has been planted. It has nothing to do now but bloom.”

“Good for Micah.” Sarafina sighed. “All this good news after so much bad, it’s heartwarming. We’ll all be raising a whole new generation of witches soon.”

“The Coven’s future is bright,” answered Theo. He pulled her against his side. “Like ours.”

“Okay,” said Thomas loudly. “It’s almost time for our announcement.”

All the heads in the ballroom swiveled toward Thomas and the conversation hushed. Sarafina felt in the know, figuring his announcement would be Micah’s fertility tinkering. But when the large screen descended from the ceiling, Sarafina realized that perhaps that wasn’t what they planned to announce, after all.

“For your viewing pleasure,” Thomas announced to the hushed crowd. He smiled vibrantly, Isabelle and Micah on either side of him, also smiling. “I think you’ll enjoy this.” He hit a button on the remote control he held.

The evening news popped on.

And in business news this evening, millionaire Thomas Monahan has purchased a controlling stake in Duskoff International. Duskoff International has been in the news lately because of the mysterious disappearance of celebrity CEO Stefan Faucheux. Faucheux took the company public only last spring. The police are actively investigating his disappearance. But perhaps for now, the rudderless company has found a new man to help lead it.

The video cut to a smiling Thomas.