She laughed, a little musical chortle that was quite cute. “I’m not quite sure, but I assure you- you can. Although... I have noticed that you do have a certain attraction for the Fae.”
She waggled her eyebrows.
I grabbed for another bread, my cheeks heating with a blush. “Oh...”
“It’s okay,” she said. “I actually agree with you that Tavlor is extremely... attractive.”
My gaze came up to her. “He seems to think that no-one finds him beautiful.”
“Oh, he isn’t, but he is powerful... and ferocious. Those two things are very handsome in a Fae man.”
Are you serious right now?
Were all the women around me blind? Or was I the one who couldn’t see straight?
I chewed on a piece of meat in thought. So, he had been telling the truth. Then why did I see him for what he was? Why did I have a different perspective? Was I blinded to his danger?
I dismissed the worry. I had other things to deal with now.
“Tell me what’s going on, Abigail.”
She sighed, her whole weight behind the sound. “They are going to charge you with treason and hold a court to decide your fate.”
My heart sank. “Are they out of their minds? That’s crazy. Treason.”
Abigail shrugged and bit her lip. “I think it’s crazy too. You’re the only heir to the high warlock. They would be stupid to kill you...”
“Kill me!” I started to bolt off the bed, but dizziness swam through my brain. I perched on the edge. “Did you just say... kill me?”
“Well... I may not have translated that correctly, but the punishment for treason... is death. Or a magical version of it. Perhaps they’ll only strip you of your powers...”
“Only...”
My powers were as much a part of me as my arms and legs were. They couldn’t do that- could they? That would almost be worse than death.
I wasn’t sure what was worse!
I looked over at Abigail, remembering the way she’d fought me in the trials. “Were you trying to expose me in the trial today?”
“Oh no! Not like this... anyway. I knew after the first test that you were hiding how powerful you were, and I didn’t understand why. My... ego got the best of me and I set out to challenge you. Unfortunately, you showed me up... so I... apologise for my part in exposing you. That was not meant. I didn’t know you were hiding such a secret.”
I shook my head.
“No-one did. My mother’s best friend put a promise spell on me before I left the human world, to make sure I couldn’t tell anyone.” I sighed and leaned against the wall. “This is why... obviously. Auntie Alison must have known that if the truth got out, I’d be in a lot of trouble. Not that I understand this quite right... can you explain it to me Abigail.”
She conjured a glass of red wine from thin air and took a sip. “Not really.”
“Then give it a guess.”
Abigail glanced around and conjured a shimmer that enfolded us both like a globe.
“Listen, I don’t think cloaking spell will give us much time. There are laws about who will inherit the High Warlock position. For the thousands of years, the Council has ruled the realms, the High Warlock post has always been passed from father to son.”
“Okay.” What did that have to do with...
“Never to a daughter, generally the High Warlock’s don’t even have daughters.”
“Okay.” I wasn’t sure what else to say at this point.