“Her innocence?” He sneered. “I thought you cleverer than this, Tavlor? Or have you finally been breached by a pretty girl? I thought you were an immovable soldier, and yet you come here, actually believing there’s a chance that this girl is innocent? Is she not the illegitimate daughter of our High Warlock? Is she not a threat to everything we have built, everything this community stands for?” He spat on the floor and I flinched. “Hybrid fool. This is why your kind will never be taken seriously.”
I snarled. Tavlor did not look at me but he clenched his jaw. At least Rasslor’s words affected him negatively now, instead of just rolling off his shoulders like what he said had any sort of truth to it.
Suddenly, Rasslor’s words sank in. I knew I was a threat to the Council, but what did he mean by me being a threat to what the magic realm stands for?
“What are you talking about?” I demanded. “All I ever wanted was to know my father after being denied any access to him my whole life. I didn’t mean to threaten the very fabric of your life! I’m one person.”
I wanted to yell and scream and pull at my hair. I wanted to stomp my foot. I wanted to cry.
Why did everyone keep blaming me for my very existence?
I had to keep my composure, though. I had to show them that I was stronger than what they expected of me.
“Yes, you are,” he said. “And by all our laws and standards, you should not exis
t.”
There was more venom in his words than I’d ever heard anyone use before, even more than when people spoke about Tavlor. It was as though Tavlor was dirt under a shoe, and I something even worse, a squashed bug on a windshield. Disgusting to look at, difficult to wash away.
I stared at him, shocked. Was he serious?
Of course, he was.
This entire realm was based on bigoted laws.
I flicked my hair back and lifted my chin. I was not afraid of him. I would not let him intimidate me.
They’re afraid of you, Ava. Don’t let yourself forget that.
I nodded to the voice inside my head. Rasslor frowned, looking as though I had done something incomprehensible.
But that was the problem, wasn’t it? Their fear of me.
“I should not exist?” I repeated.
Rasslor’s mouth pulled down at the edges.
“Well, I suppose you need to blame my father then... No, wait, he’s the High Warlock, so you can’t possibly blame him.” It wasn’t hard to inject disgust into my tone as I threw that at him. I was still annoyed with my father.
My father, who had yet to show up. I didn’t need him to come save me by any means, but it would have been nice to have him by my side. To know without a doubt that he would support me—his own flesh and blood—rather than a corrupt institution who only cared about their own power.
“So, who’s left?” I snapped. I threw my arms out. “Me! The child of a union I didn’t choose, nor ask for. What the hell kind of logic is that?”
The same logic that made the witches hate Tavlor. The children of forbidden unions. It was insane.
I needed to change that. I couldn’t live in a world that thought this treatment of their people was acceptable. If I couldn’t do that, I would die trying. I refused to let others feel the pain I felt. Not anymore.
“You will be executed within the hour,” Rasslor said with a snarl, ignoring my arguments. “You disgusting filth.”
I gasped, then tried to stifle my reaction.
Rasslor beamed with a triumphant grin.
Shit! Never let a bully know they got to you. Never react. Then, they win.
I thrust my chin up again and tried to incline my head in a way that got rid of the tears that accumulated in my eyes. I would not let them fall, no matter what happened. I wouldn’t allow him to think he could hurt me.
“I want to speak to my father,” I said. My voice quivered and I hated myself for it, but there was nothing I could do about it now. I sucked in a breath. “Where is he?”