“For my grandmother’s house, I was thinking that first it needs to be cleansed. Everything needs to be healed and recovered.” I looked at the coven. “I’ll need some help with that.” I swallowed. “Then, I want to make it into a sanctuary for any witch that needs a place to land from a bad situation. Like we did. I still want to use the profits from my new potion for it, but having it as a sanctuary is going to jump-start the whole project. I think Grandmother would’ve approved.”
“You’re extraordinary,” he said finally, voice low and rough with emotion.
I laughed softly—shaky, overwhelmed. “Savla—”
“No.” He shook his head. “What you’re planning… what you want to build… your grandmother would be proud.”He lifted his hand and brushed his knuckles along my jaw.“And so am I.”
My breath hitched. “You are?”
His eyes warmed. “Hanna, I’ve always been proud of you.”
Something inside me unclenched and bloomed for the first time in a long time. Since my grandmother had been alive.I leaned into his palm, closing my eyes.
“Thank you,” I whispered, my voice cracking under the strain of holding all my emotions inside.
He bent his forehead to mine, breathing in my scent.
“You’re going to create something beautiful,” he murmured. “And I’ll help you however you need. A workshop. A storefront. A website. Deliveries. Anything.”
I opened my eyes. “Anything?” I asked, mischief entering my tone now.
His lips curved—soft, rare and devastating. “Anything.”
And for the first time since leaving my old life behind—I saw the future clearly.Not the one that my parents envisioned for me. Nothing that was forced onto me. I wouldn’t be trapped by obligation.
No, the future that I was seeing wasmine. And Savla’s. The home and business and life we would make together.We would build everything from the roots up. Just like my grandmother wanted.
Just likeIwanted.
Chapter 43
Hanna
The celebration that the clan and coven had planned after the hearing was in full swing when Tabitha caught my eye from across the room. I knew that look—the subtle lift of her brow and the twitch of her fingers.
Witch business.Importantwitch business.
“Hanna,” she said gently, touching my elbow. “Come with me.”
Before I could ask what was happening, Zara swooped in at my other side like a glitter tornado.
“Yes, come on, it’s time! Oh, Savla, you’re coming too,” she insisted.
Savla blinked from where he’d been watching me talk with Dristan. “I’m what?”
Zara grabbed his wrist. “Yes. You. Come.Now.”
He shot me a confused look, but followed without protest—mostly because Zara was surprisingly insistent and also because Ribbon was now herding him forward with soft but relentlessnudges.Tabitha led us out of the noisy hall, past the elevator, down the corridor lined with lanterns. My stomach fluttered. The air felt different here—thicker, humming, warm like the atmosphere before a lightning storm.
“Where are we going?” I whispered.
Tabitha smiled softly. “Somewhere long overdue.”
We reached the coven room at the far end of the floor from the general gathering room. I’d only been inside a few times—usually for full-moon blessings or spell renewals. It always smelled like sage and cedar, and carried a quiet power that made the skin on my arms tingle.
When Tabitha opened the door, flickering candles illuminated a circle of runes carved into the floor. The air shimmered faintly, as though waiting for breath.
Savla stopped short. “This is… magick meant for witches. I shouldn’t—”
