Tavlor grabbed my hand and squeezed, silencing me from saying anything else. He didn’t actually have to do that. I couldn’t think of anything else to say anyway.
“We need to focus on the items at hand,” Tavlor said. He kept glancing at my father, almost as though he was waiting to be reprimanded for speaking out of turn. The fact that Tavlor was brave enough to do so, however, meant a lot to me. It told me he was finally starting to see himself as important, as more than just a drone who only carried out orders. “Firstly, the act of treason Rasslor tried to undertake here today.”
My father’s gaze shot to Rasslor still dangling in the air.
“Confess your plan and your conspirators,” he demanded.
Orange magic zipped out the end of Matlock’s finger and hit Rasslor in the chest. Rasslor’s eyes squeezed shut so tightly, little crow’s feet punched at the corners. His mouth went wide, like he was screaming, except no sound came out. Clearly, the man was in more pain than even I could imagine.
I couldn’t stop the grin that spread across my face watching my father hold this man accountable for his actions. I should have felt guilty, enjoying this man’s pain, but I didn’t. He deserved everything he got.
“Treason... no... Matlock...” Rasslor gasped as the orange magic pulsed up his throat and over his face.
“Tell me, Rasslor,” Matlock said, his tone firm. His muscles twitched with the amount of power he possessed, enough to hold a grown man in the air for as long as he was, without breaking a sweat. I wondered how many times my father had to do this before now. “What was the plan?”
Rasslor’s face went blank, and his eyes grew strangely devoid of personality. All the pain vanished from his face.
If I didn’t know any better, I would say he looked dead.
“What’s he doing?” I hissed at Tavlor, my eyes never leaving Rasslor. I didn’t trust this man. I knew my father was powerful but I wanted to be ready to strike just in case.
Tavlor’s grin bordered on malicious. “Truth spell,” he said. “They’re not that legal outside a trial... but he’s the High Warlock, so no-one’s going to hold him accountable at this point.”
I scoffed. “Not that legal?” I said. “Charity had no qualm throwing them at me at my learning trial!”
I turned my attention back to Rasslor.
“The plan for Ava?” Matlock repeated. His voice was crisp and cool, like the breeze of an autumn day. He didn’t even seem disturbed by what he was doing, by the torture he was inflicting on Rasslor. He didn’t even bat an eye.
I wondered if I should be more concerned about this, about what he was capable of. He was helping us now, sure, but what about the people before?
“I was to come and wait for her to arrive, and take her to the executioner,” he said. His voice was monotone, and each word was dull. It was like he was in some sort of trance.
He is, duh!
Matlock hissed like a snake. “Without telling me?” he growled, his teeth clenched together like a wolf snapping at the feet of a sheep. “Without alerting anyone else?”
“She has been convicted and sentenced,” Rasslor continued, sounding like a robot. “There was no need to do anything but carry out the sentence.”
“Those... assholes,” I said, swallowing hard at the bile rising in my throat. All I cared about was hearing what Rasslor had to say. And what he had to say was more than what I expected, even with the truth spell.
Although it shouldn’t matter, that definitely made their crimes worse in my eyes. If they needed to convince me of Matlock’s diffidence, it meant that my father did care. Maybe he wasn’t showing m
e he cared, not yet, but he did.
“And who are your co-conspirators?” Matlock asked, squeezing his fingers closer together but in a way where they weren’t yet touching.
“Charity, Nephim, Sirum, and Thomas.”
Tavlor cussed beside me. I didn’t think I had heard him utter a bad word like that before. If it had been under different circumstances, I would have laughed.
“It’s half the Council,” he muttered.
I huffed out half a laugh. “Really?” I said. “Well, I guess I should look on the bright side. I was expecting the whole lot.”
“Enough,” my father said and released his hold on Rasslor.
Rasslor hit the floor with a thud, and I flinched. I didn’t want to feel sorry for Rasslor, not when he clearly wanted me dead. He lay in a crumpled heap, his eyes staring at nothing.