I fought to calm my heart rate and swallowed hard. “You’re right. Do what you can, Tavlor. Dad and I will hold them off until you get back.”
I squeezed my father’s hand, feeling my magic grow and twist and turn in my veins. It was time to step up, to face my fears, to become the woman, and the witch, I was meant to be.
“We have some work to do,” I said.
Chapter 19.
I WATCHED TAVLOR LEAVE, trying to ignore the disappointment rooted in my stomach. I knew he was trying to help. Regardless, I didn’t want to do this trial without him. I wasn’t sure if I could.
In order to pass the time, I began to talk to my father about my mother. I was sure he would want to have a conversation about her, and maybe I could see her in a different light. Unfortunately, he was pretty cryptic about the whole thing.
Instead, we spent the time talking of my sisters. He desperately wanted to get to know them, and I hoped that would happen.
I glanced at the clock on the wall, trying to distract myself from the feeling that Tavlor might not be coming back.
“How much longer do we have?” I asked.
My father looked down at the pocket watch on the table. “About an hour.”
I groaned. “Where is he?”
Tavlor had been gone too long. I didn’t want to go to the trial without him.
My father looked up at me from the book he was studying and laughed. “Ava. He isn’t popping around to a café to pick you up some lunch. Tavlor is travelling to multiple realms, hoping to convince warriors to fight on our side. That is not an easy task.”
I inhaled sharply, resting my hands on my knees. My father was right.
“Maybe I should have gone with him,” I said.
I could have helped him convince them that I was on their side. That I would fight for them.
“And risk missing the deadline? Ah... no.” My father inclined his head over the book and I picked up the note pad next to him.
I glanced over the notes he’d made about the Council history, memorizing each line. “Do you think it’ll be enough?”
He sighed, then shrugged. “What’s the absolute worst thing that could happen?”
“Um. That we all die.”
My father looked up and rolled his eyes at me. “Seriously, Ava.”
I was being serious, deadly serious. But obviously that was lost on the High Warlock.
“Um, okay, I suppose if you take mortal danger off the table,” I said, shifting in my seat. My grip on my knees only tightened. “Then... we tell them what I want, put forward our case... Well, I suppose they could lock us up, take away your title. We might never be free again.”
He shook his head, not even glancing up at me this time, interrupting my train of thought.
I took a breath, calming myself as his point became clearer in my head.
“They could say no,” I stated simply.
He looked up, meeting my gaze with an intensity that took my breath away.
“Exactly!” he said, leaning forward. He set the book aside so he could give me his completely focus. “If all else fails, and they say no, then you make your choice. You walk away. You live your life, with Tavlor. And me. Nothing lost, Ava. So, don’t be scared. Not for me, nor Tavlor, nor yourself. This is the right path. It’s just a matter of patience and standing up for yourself.”
He put his head back down, turning his attention back to his book.
I didn’t know how he could be so confident when I wasn’t. I didn’t know how he could trust that the Council was just going to let me walk away from this, let my father and Tavlor walk away. But I decided to feed off that energy and read the notes we made. It was the only thing I could do to distract me since my father had stopped talking and decided to put his head in a book instead.