He nodded fiercely, his mouth set in a straight line. “Yes. I was born for this.”
“A fighter, you mean?” I asked with a smile.
Considering my path, I couldn’t have picked a better life partner for myself than a warrior like Tavlor. It was exactly why I needed him by my side.
He nodded. “Yes, and a man shunned by the Council, by the Warlocks I’ve served. Half Fae, I have the ability to move between each realm, each community, with ease...”
“And be stronger than both,” I said with a grin. “I love that about you.”
He smiled gently but didn’t respond. He thought my beliefs about him were all in my head.
I slid my gaze over to my father. “Dad, obviously no-one has ever told Tavlor how powerful he is, nor encouraged any self-esteem in that area,” I pointed out. “To me, it’s obvious, but could you help me out and play the parent role for a moment, and tell him the truth?”
I raised one eyebrow and waited. Poor Tavlor had basically been raised an orphan, with only a semi-affectionate aunt for company. Of course, his confidence was lacking, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary that he was an incredible man.
He needed someone other than me to tell him just how amazing he was. I could go on and on about it, but for some inexplicably annoying reason, men seemed to have this thing about being told by someone other than their partner before they believed anything.
My father turned towards Tavlor. “You know that you are one of a kind, Tavlor,” he said. “I would not have hired you to be the head of my guard, my personal body guard, unless you were up to the job, if I didn’t believe in you.”
I groaned internally. Not exactly the way I would have complimented him, but okay... I did put my father on the spot, after all.
Tavlor shrugged. “I was told you had to hire me as there was no other place for me to go.”
My father stared at Tavlor, then his jaw dropped. “Who told you that?”
Tavlor turned to my father with a frown. “My aunt... your wife, everyone.”
My father said some sort of expletive that I didn’t quite understand, but I knew the tone.
; He shook his head. “No. That wasn’t the case at all. I had to fight to get you! They wanted you as a teacher at the college, or fighting with the guard. Someone even asked if you’d consider being the ambassador between the Fae and the Council.”
Tavlor frowned even harder, “Then why...”
“Why would they tell you such lies?” my father finished for him. He shook his head and shrugged once. “I have no idea. But when your tenement came up, I fought to have you by my side. I knew that having no heir made me an easy target for those warlocks who wanted me gone, so as soon as I could, I hired you. I knew I needed you in my camp to protect me if need be.”
Tavlor looked up. “But why would you want me? The Warlock’s believe I’m an abomination to the blood lines, a ...”
“Because I knew you’d protect me!” my father practically shouted at him. To be fair, I wanted to throttle Tavlor at times. He was so calculating, so cunning, when he was making a plan for the battlefield, but he couldn’t seem to understand his own worth. “Your magical scores are off any chart we’ve ever used, and your Fae blood makes you impervious to many warlock tricks.”
“I didn’t realize...” Tavlor began, swallowing hard. He looked down at his palms and my annoyance at his ignorance disappeared. I couldn’t blame him for being wary when this world, with all its bigotry and hatred, was all he knew.
“And it wasn’t just that,” my father went on and my heart pounded a little harder, happiness filling me up at seeing my lover, my fiancé, the man I wanted to marry, finally understanding how valuable he was.
“What do you mean?” Tavlor asked quietly.
“I mean, you have integrity. And courage. And an unbelievable sense of duty. Every Warlock who has ever been assassinated, or betrayed, had those closest to him sell him out. I knew you never would. And I truly believe that I am still alive today, mostly because you frighten anyone who would do me wrong. You are a power to behold, a frighteningly strong warlock, and I would be very happy indeed—in fact, I’d go as far as to say I would be honored—to one day call you my son.”
My head came up and I glanced from my father to Tavlor and back again.
My father looked towards me.
“Is there any news you two wish to share?” he asked slowly.
I swallowed hard, strangely nervous now, despite the fact my father had practically given us permission to announce our love and be accepted.
“Ah, yes...” I began.