by Amelia Shaw
He flicked his hand and Horlow allowed the shield to come down.
I held my breath.
This could turn deadly in a mere moment. I had my protection, inbuilt in my training, my tattoo, and in Tavlor’s reflexes that would surely save me now that he was here.
But there were other’s here that were not so powerful, and for them, it could be a blood bath.
But no-one moved.
Thank God.
I released a breath I didn’t realize I was holding, my shoulders sagging forward. The last thing I wanted was blood and my hands—and there would be, if anyone had gotten hurt.
Two Council members coughed and cleared their throats.
“Shall we get on with the signing of the new High Warlock?” a man asked.
He didn’t even bother to hide his impatience.
I nodded and stepped forward as Tavlor magicked up a large desk.
“Ava. You first,” Tavlor said, pointing to the place he wanted me to stand.
I put my contract on the table and picked up a pen that laid next to it. I was, quite literally, signing my life away. But I would be helping so many other people. It would be worth it.
I put the pen to paper and signed my name, feeling the heat of the promise move through my veins.
When it was done, the contract rolled up on its own accord, and a lock cracked into place.
Tavlor picked up the scroll and handed it to a nearby Councilor.
It’s done.
The man nodded and took the contract away. I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. It was really over, completed, finished. I was—or, would be, once my father was finished—High Warlock.
I stepped back, my heart beating un-naturally quick as I watched the other men sign their rights, and their lives away to give me a chance to make a difference.
It was an awe-inspiring, incredible moment. To know they trusted me and were willing to forgo a fight for a seat at the table, so they could get me into a position where I might help them.
The contracts were signed, and my father stepped forward as bodyguard. He still didn’t seem to trust the Council, and after everything I had seen, I couldn’t blame him.
“Tavlor. Stay with Ava, if you will. I will escort our friends back to their prospective realms,” my father said. His eyes were still on the Council.
Tavlor nodded and stepped close to me, his chest rumbling with a protective growl.
Our guests bowed to us, then, escorted by my father, they walked out of the trial room with their heads held high.
Most of the Councilors left also, a defeated attitude in the cloud around them. All except for the man who would have been the next High Warlock. Cedric.
He and his family moved closer to us, their faces wide eyed, shocked, and angry.
“But why go to all this trouble just to avoid a marriage that would have been advantageous to us all?” Cedric demanded. “You stupid, silly fool. You don’t understand what you just gave up, signing that abysmal contract.”
I shuddered. Oh, God. To be married to him and have to hear that voice every day of my life... no, thank you.
He had grey eyes, ashen skin, and a pug nose. Not to mention the fact that his voice was as high pitched as Courtney’s on a bad day. I might have used my magic to change everything about him if I had to deal with that.
I quirked an eyebrow at him. “Advantageous to us all? You’ve got to be kidding me. The only person who lost today, was you.”
Cedric frowned and his lips dipped. “But your family has been part of a line of arranged marriages for generations. How could this be a surprise to you?”
Didn’t he know anything about me?
I laughed hard. “My family? You obviously don’t know who my mother was.”
I glanced at his parents, and they all shook their heads. They weren’t being sarcastic; they genuinely didn’t know.
Poor people. They’d been willing to be dragged into a battle they hadn’t been prepared for. And this man... dragged into a marriage that he would have hated.
I looked straight at the puppet the Council had chosen to be my father’s successor. Cedric.
“My mother was Genevieve Melfi,” I announced, courage making my voice grow strong. “An incredible witch, but one who didn’t stick by anyone’s rules. So, believe me when I say you dodged a bullet today. I would not have been an easy wife to live with, and I was never giving up my right to be my father’s heir... so...”
I let the words hang in the air, to give the family some consolation so that they weren’t too devastated with the turn of events.
The mother, I assumed, by the age in her face and the close family resemblance to her son, stepped forward.
“But why fight so hard, and almost lose everything?” she asked. Clearly, she didn’t understand what it was like to have something to fight for. “Do you already have a man in mind that you wish to marry?”
I nodded and reached back, taking Tavlor’s hand and drawing him forward. “I do. I accepted Tavlor’s offer of marriage days ago. I love him, and I can’t imagine a better, nor more powerful warlock to guide me through this role.”
Disgust tainted their three faces.
The father spit on the floor. “That’s an abomination of the blood lines! The Council will never support it!”
“They already have,” I said with a shrug.
Before they could respond, I dragged my lover back to the door behind us that would lead us straight back to my bedroom where we could celebrate our victory.
“The Council can kiss my ass,” I muttered.
I turned my back on the future the Council had wanted for me, one of servitude and pain.
And made my way forward with the man of my dreams, and the support of everyone who was important to me.
Epilogue: A month later.
“THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR coming,” I said, gripping my sisters’ hands and staring into their strangely brown eyes. Despite everything we had gone through to get to this point, and the fear in my heart that they would be discovered today, I was still intensely glad they were here with me. I didn’t think I could do this without them.
“We wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” Bella said, squeezing my hand and smiling from behind a face I didn’t recognize.
Courtney ran her hand through her straight, dark hair. “I still don’t think we needed to come in full disguises like this.”
I rolled my eyes for what felt like the tenth time. “Court. Please. Things with the Council are still super prickly, and if they, even for a minute, realize I’m not Dad’s only heir...”
Then my life could be forfeit. Not to mention what they may do to my sisters.
Courtney sighed. “Yeah. I know. I’m sorry. This is your day. I’ll do whatever you ask.”
She forced a smile and I rolled my eyes.
“Thank you.” I said, grinning. It was my day.
My wedding day. I still couldn’t believe it. To think that I’d ever get married.
I’d asked both Bella and Courtney to come completely disguised. They were now both brunette’s with brown eyes and a few freckles spackled across their noses. Thanks to the fact that Tavlor and I were getting married in a Fae realm, the magic that my sisters had used to disguise themselves wouldn’t wash away as it would have in the Council magical realm.
“At least you get to meet our father for the first time,” I said, glancing at my sisters from beneath my eyelashes.
My hair was curled and styled up on top of my head, and I was wearing a tight, white dress. And for a bit of fancy, Abigail had created silk butterflies and flowers that decorated my waist.
“Yes. When do you think that will happen?” Bella asked.
There was a knock on the door, and I smiled. “How about now?”
The door opened and my father stepped into the room, looking dashing in a black and silver suit and cloak.
“Are you ready, Ava?” he asked, wiping his hands on his slacks.
&nbs
p; “Yes, Dad,” I said. I wanted to ask if he was ready, if he was prepared to walk me down the aisle and give me away so soon after getting me, but I bit my tongue. I didn’t believe in that crap and needling him right now probably wasn’t the best idea. “But I wanted to introduce you to my bridesmaids first.” I stepped towards my father and motioned to my sisters. “This is Bella, and this is Courtney.”
He stared at me, then slowly pivoted to look at my sisters. There was a moment where nothing happened. He just stared. I wasn’t sure if he was in shock or if he was just trying to take the moment in. My sisters waited, which I was grateful for.
Finally, my father cleared his throat. “It’s... wonderful to meet you. But... you don’t look the same as I expected you to.”
He was trying to be funny, I could tell, the tension in the room could be cut with a razor.
Courtney crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin.
“Well, Ava told us to magic up a disguise so that none of the Council recognized us,” she said, almost defensively. “We all have mother’s eyes and some would say we look quite alike.”
That wasn’t quite true. We were distinctly different, but I just couldn’t take the risk. Not when the consequences were so severe. Not when I couldn’t imagine what those consequences could be.
He nodded, obviously not able to formulate the next words.
I couldn’t stand it. There would be time for them to get to know each other after the ceremony.
“Is it time to go, Dad?” I asked, breaking the silence. I didn’t want to interrupt them, but at the same time, I couldn’t be late.
I’d thought of this moment for the past four weeks, the moment when my baby sisters would finally meet their father. A man we’d all dreamt of for decades. I wasn’t sure they would appreciate the gesture since I had been the only one so insistent on going out and finding him, but I didn’t care. We were all together, and that was all that mattered.
But now that the moment was finally here, there was no joyous hugging. No happy cries of relief to finally have found him. The man our mother should have married. If anything, my sisters weren’t quite sure how to respond to him. And I didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.
It had taken me time to accept, and love my father. It would take my sisters time too. I respected that. I understood it. I just hoped my father felt the same way.
Our father dragged his gaze back to me and shook himself. “Ah, yes. They’re all waiting. Tavlor’s practically pacing.”
He chuckled. The sound was forced, but there was some humor in it.
I grinned at the image his words evoked and took the arm my father offered me. He would be conducting the ceremony today, but he was also the one to ‘give’ me away.
I waved my hand at my sisters.
“Courtney, go first. I’ll meet you both at the top of the aisle,” I instructed. I had never seen a real wedding before, but all of Bella’s book were enough for me to go on. And since today was my day anyway...
Bella gave me a quick smile before she headed out the door and towards the ‘aisle’ they’d made for us, leading up to the place where Tavlor would be waiting for me.
My father grinned as we walked out the door. I clung to him as we moved together, towards the sounds of a crowd up ahead.
Abigail and some of her beautiful Fae people had thrown together a lavish feast with decorations and music, all for Tavlor and myself.
As we turned a corner and stepped deeper into the forest, I saw the wedding party.
They were standing amongst a cleared area. There were shifters, and Fae and witches and warlocks. Some of the people I’d grown incredibly close to over the past month of hard work.
I’d been able to change a little so far, but what I had achieved, had been to see to the comfort of the people in the realms I’d already visited.
The shifters had more food, more clothing, better housing.
The Fae had the same. My father and I had also managed to channel some of the king’s magic into the rest of his kingdom.
It wasn’t a lot by any stretch, but it was a start. My father was on board now that he had some guidance and realized he didn’t have to adhere to the Council’s cruel proclivities. I was glad my father was taking steps to rectify the power struggle. I was glad he was willing to help.
My belly quivered with unease as I took more steps towards my future husband. He was wearing the most beautiful robes and a smile that made my belly quiver.
This was it! A dream was becoming a reality. The man who’d proven time and time again how much he loved me, was making me his wife.
We reached the edge of the crowd of people and it was an ocean of smiles and brightly colored robes.
My sisters had stopped at the front of the aisle and were now facing me, their faces twin grins of happiness. They liked Tavlor; they especially liked to give him a hard time. And now they would get to do that for a lifetime.
A member or two of the Council had arrived to witness the event but for the rest of the crowd, there were only friends.
I clung to my father’s arm and lifted my gaze to my future husband, standing stoically at the altar, his intense gaze meeting mine.
Happiness pulsed through every part of me. From my eyes, to my heart, to the tips of my fingers.
When we reached the end of our long walk, my father kissed my cheek, took my hand, and passed me over to Tavlor.
That familiar tingle caressed my skin and I gripped my Fae lover’s hand as we both turned towards my father, who was now standing facing us.
“Friends, and family, welcome,” my father said, his voice gentle but booming so everyone could hear him. “Today, we come together, to join two of the most beautiful souls I’ve ever had the privilege to know. My daughter, Ava, and the man who will soon become my son, Tavlor.”
My father went on, and my heart soared. It was strange. I thought for sure I’d be captivated by my father, trying to memorize his words so I’d never forget today. But all I could do was stare at Tavlor, the color of his eyes as he looked at me, the way his lips curved up into a soft smile, the tingle I felt when he caressed the backs of my hands with his thumbs.
This was my husband. I was going to be with him for the rest of my life.
Today was the first step towards getting Tavlor accepted as not only my husband, but as the man who would share the High Warlock role with me in the years to come.
We were on the path to change many of the things that the Council had destroyed, and together we were stronger, bigger, better.
And magic willing, one day, we would have our own family, and I would finally show my half Fae, half warlock husband that I would be truly proud to raise babies of his bloodline.
It would be a lot of work, but I was willing to put in the time and effort.
In fact, I was too stubborn not to.
THE END... of Ava’s trilogy.
Bella’s story begins September 1st 2020.