I interrupted him. “I’m not like those bitches, I promise. They can keep all their pure blood crap. It’s a load of absolute shit. My only issue is... the length of our lives. How old are you now? Will you live a lot longer than me?”
He smiled. “I’m thirty-seven years old.”
I breathed out a sigh of relief. “Oh, that’s not much of a difference!”
Well, certainly less than I’d anticipated.
“But what is your lifespan? I know the Fae live forever.”
He nodded. “Yes, but my Warlock blood dilutes that a lot.”
“By how much?” I asked.
There was a beat of silence, as though he was wondering how honest to be with me.
“Come on, tell me.”
“There aren’t a lot of half breeds like myself, but it has been approximated that I will live a few hundred years. If I’m not killed in battle beforehand.”
I inhaled sharply, pain splintering through my chest. “Ah. That’s a lot longer than me.”
He nodded, but waited.
I lowered my gaze, wondering how to handle this new situation.
Then my head cleared, and I laughed to clear the tension. “Well, considering I could die tomorrow, I don’t think I should be worried about that.”
He frowned.
“Oh, sweetheart, stop,” I said, cupping his face with my hand. “I am so blessed to have found you. And to have you feel the same way... I don’t want to think about where we’ll be in a decade, or a century. Let’s get through the next week, the next month, then worry about forever. The only important thing for me right now is that you want to be with me. Now.”
He nodded, as though he couldn’t speak.
I trudged forward. “I need you to be on my side though. Support me in fighting the Council. I don’t think I can do it without you.”
I could try, of course. But the likelihood of succeeding was slim to none. Tavlor knew the Council, the politics, the realms... and a hell of a lot more magic than I did.
His jaw hardened. “I will stand beside you, Ava. No matter what. You are the High Warlock’s daughter, and a powerful witch. There is no reason at all why they should reject you. W
ithout you... they have no-one.”
“I suppose they could elect their own High Warlock again... Hey, do you think that’s the plan? To have another warlock step up, maybe from one of the Council member’s family?”
I hadn’t thought about a plan B that I was interrupting.
“It’s possible... although that would require a re-writing of the Council laws as well.”
I nodded, the possibilities whirling through my head.
“So, at the moment, the plan is to get me into the magical realm without anyone capturing me, or recognizing me, and asking the Council to give me a proper trial?”
Tavlor nodded. “With the information I got today from the book your mother had in her possession, I believe we can appeal to an ancient re-set of the laws. Especially as there is no current successor. You aren’t opposing anyone.”
“So, Bella found something useful?” I asked, though I was pretty sure I knew the answer.
“Oh, yes, that book is the key to everything.”
I grinned. “My sisters are pretty awesome.”