Heir of the Coven (Daughters of the Warlock 3)

And I was pretty sure the warlock they’d chosen would not be some amazing, powerful, awe-inspiring man.

My mother was silent for far too long. To the point I started to worry that she’d ‘hung up’ on me.

“Mother? You

still there?”

Yes, Ava. Just processing everything. So, to summarize, the Council has agreed to accept you as the next High Warlock, which is an incredible achievement and one I never thought to expect.

“Yes...”

But they want to run your life and control you the same way they’ve always controlled your father? And we don’t know how any of this is going to affect your sisters?

“Pretty much.”

Those... bastards.

I snorted. “Mother, what do I do? If I hadn’t met Tavlor, and fallen in love with him, an arranged marriage would still not be my choice... but it would be more palatable to me. But now? I can’t do it. I just can’t. And once I sign that contract, they’ll want full autonomy over me. Not just who I marry, but what I do, say, how many children I have...”

Oh, you’ll have a single son. It’s in the contract.

I rolled my eyes. “No way.”

“Yes, way.”

I shook my head. “Oh, mother, what am I going to do?”

Chapter 14.

I THINK, THE QUESTION is Ava, what do you want to do? Do you want the role of High Warlock? Do you want the responsibility that comes with it?

I frowned. “I still don’t know enough about it to truly make that choice, Mother,” I said. “Every time I think I know what I want, I see Tavlor and that stops me. Then, my father tells me about another place that’s been marginalized due to ridiculous prejudice on the Council’s behalf, and I reconsider. That’s the hardest part. I haven’t grown up in this world. I don’t know anything about what my father does. What the responsibilities are. What I would have to sacrifice and if that sacrifice is even worth it at all.”

You can find out about that, Ava. That’s not the hard part.

I rolled my eyes. Of course, I’d gotten that wrong. “Then tell me, Mother, what is the hard part?”

I wasn’t trying to be caustic about it, but I bristled every time my mother tried to tell me how to feel.

Deciding if this is the life you want. To make decisions for others. To be held accountable for wars, and other worlds. It’s a big role with lots of responsibility.

“You don’t think I can do it?” I snapped. I could always count on my mother to rile me up and get me defensive.

She laughed.

“Mother.”

I’m not laughing in a bad way, Ava. You, my girl, are an amazing witch.

I swallowed hard and sat up, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. She’d rarely said things like that, especially when she was alive. “Do you really mean that?”

Of course. Why do you think I pushed you so hard?

“What do you mean?” I asked slowly. She couldn’t possibly be insinuating... “Did you know that this might happen?”

Of course, I did. From the moment you were born, I knew that there was a possibility that one day you would need to... be with your father. Goodness, you always threatened to run away, or did you forget about that? And with that fierce determination, there would come problems. Responsibilities. A needed for you to be strong in your power. Why do you think I pushed you so hard? Taught you so much more than I needed to?

I chuckled. “I don’t know what you taught me, or how much you taught me. I never had any comparison.”