Chapter 1.
TO SAY I WAS NERVOUS about the up and coming trial, was the understatement of my life. My stomach constantly churned and the hairs on my neck stood on end, waiting for the axe to fall.
Currently, I sat at my bureau, brushing my long blonde hair over and over again. It soothed me, as it normally did when my sister Bella used to do it after a particularly bitter fight with my mother.
My heart clenched. My mother was gone now. I never thought I would have missed those fights, but I was wrong.
“Good morning, Ava,” Matlock, otherwise known as the High Warlock of the magical realms, also known as... my father, said as he knocked on the door frame of my open door as he walked into my room.
“Morning,” I said, turning around to smile at him. I didn’t want him to see me nervous, so I hoped the smile wasn’t strained.
When the Council had agreed to give me a second chance at a trial to defend myself against the allegations of treason, they had demanded that I not leave the premises of the Council building my father resided in.
My father, with his magical powers, had built me a room adjacent to his offices within the Council building. It had a large bed, its own separate bathroom, a lounge area and a small desk.
It was a great set up, and if this was any other time in my life, I would have been ecstatic to be so close to my father, and to have him standing by me in this stressful time. I hadn’t known him growing up. My mother refused to tell us anything, and now I had a chance to learn more.
But it wasn’t a normal week, and today wasn’t a normal day, so enjoying the closeness to the father I’d never had, unfortunately had to wait.
“What’s up?” I asked with a forced relaxedness to my voice. I was pretty sure he’d come to get me for court. His dark hair was brushed to a bright shine and he wore his official cape and robes.
He smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes.
“They called to say we need to be in the trial rooms by twelve,” he said. He laced his fingers together and rested them in front of his body, trying to show me how calm he was. But I could see him twiddling his thumbs.
I glanced at the clock on the wall, inhaling sharply as my stomach quivered. That was in fifteen minutes!
Had Matlock only just found out? Or had he waited until the last minute to tell me so that I wouldn’t get too nervous? I glanced back at him, but realized it didn’t matter.
The time had come, and he was supporting me in this massive step forward to becoming his heir. What else could I ask for?
I sighed, setting down my brush and taking a deep breath. “All right. I think I’m ready.”
I hadn’t exactly dressed for the occasion, wearing a comfy pair of jeans and a black top, but the last thing I wanted to do was look intimidating. I didn’t need that added to my list of crimes. On the other hand, would I be attacked for being too informal? Would they automatically assume I wasn’t taking this as seriously as I should be?
I didn’t know.
I couldn’t let myself be bothered by it, though. I had to focus on what was important, and that was making sure I gave myself the best chance to win this fight against them. Letting frivolous possibilities cloud my judgment wasn’t going to get me anywhere.
I stood up and my father smiled at me, pride in his face. I was only recently getting used to that look. It felt strange, as though I didn’t deserve it, especially not from him. From a man who didn’t even know me.
“You’re so much like your mother, Ava,” he said, and I realized from his gentle tone that it was meant as a compliment. “So brave.”
I shrugged, tension tugging at my upper back and shoulders. “I never thought of my mother as brave.”
She had hidden in her own private realm for over twenty years. Seemed kind of... weak to me. Scared.
I glanced over at the jewelry box where my locket lay buried for the moment. I’d taken to not wearing the necklace as often lately.
I didn’t really like my mother’s voice being in my head all the time. Especially when the only reason I was fighting for my life was because she’d chosen to break some pretty major rules when she’d had me. It hurt me because she didn’t seem to care about the consequences of her actions. She didn’t seem to care how it would be for us, for her three daughters.