Sisters of the Coven (Daughters of the Warlock 1)

I frowned, suspicious of her motives now.

“When’s your trial?” She asked, her voice too high.

I wanted to stop and assess why she was speaking so strangely, but my hunger was too insistent. “I don’t know. But I told the High Warlock that I had to get back to my cats quickly, so he said he’d get me in as soon as possible.”

Mallory’s eyebrows came together. “That’s not really his job.”

I shrugged again. “I have no idea what his job is Mallory, all I know is, I have a plan! I can get a job, a home, my cats. We’re going to be okay.”

As soon as I said it, a weight lifted off my shoulders. I’d been struggling with that one. Wondering how I was going to give my sisters any sort of future, when I knew nothing about the world. Our mother had kept us far too isolated, ignorant even.

We were feisty, sure. Courtney especially. But when it came to a lot of things, we were totally innocent, and that shouldn’t be the way things were.

“You seem... happier.” Mallory said.

I met her gaze. “I suppose I am. I hadn’t really thought about how stressed I was getting... or the fact that I was going to have to dig us out of the hole my mother left us in. I... I don’t know.”

I pushed the main plate aside and pulled the apple pie towards me. “Can I ask you a question, Mallory. But please keep in mind, I know like... nothing about this realm.”

Mallory laughed gently. “I’m slowly understanding that. Ask away.”

I wasn’t sure if this was the woman I should be asking questions of, but at the moment she was my only friend.

“As I was leaving the High Warlocks... office, a man came in.”

“Yes, and?”

I bit my lip, not sure which way to play this. Should I say I was totally turned on by a guy I’d never met before?

No- best keep that to yourself.

“He said he was the captain of the guard.”

Mallory went very still, like a rabbit caught in the headlights of a human car.

“Mallory?” I froze. Should I have told her anything at all? Was this something I should have kept to myself? I rubbed my lips together, internally scolding myself for my ignorance. “You okay?”

“You met...” She swallowed. “Tavlor.”

“Yes, I did.” I swallowed, deciding to play dumb to get more information for the woman who had showed every sign of being a bigot. “He came to get the High Warlock for some meeting or something. And I wanted to know... what is he? He didn’t seem... like us.” I gestured between the two of us. Considering how easy it was to read her prejudiced nature, I knew that was my best bet on getting her to talk. Pretending I felt the same way – or, at least, uncomfortable around those who were different.

It was the best way to describe it, and considering Mallory’s reaction, I knew I was about to get a good explanation.

Mallory conjured a wine glass with a purple tinged drink. She took a fortifying sip and I had the absurd feeling to laugh. She looked like a woman in desperate need of a cigarette- if Witches used those?

“I’ve only heard the stories, I’ve never actually met the beast.”

“The beast?” I wrinkled my nose. “I think that’s a bit of an over statement.”

Sure, he was a little grizzly and rough around the edges, but I wouldn’t call him a beast. Not by a long shot.

Mallory shook her head and pulled up a stool. “No, it’s not. He’s an abomination. A mix of Witch blood and Fae. Some say his mother was raped, others say she was in love with the man. But either way, his mother died giving birth to him and he was raised by his aunt, a high-born wife of one of the Council members.” She scoffed. “It’s the only way he survived, if I’m being honest. If he were born into a low family and anyone found out about what he was, he would have been killed.”

A shiver coursed along my spine as she told her story. So, this man... this half Fae Warlock, was orphaned at birth by his mother and I assumed, his father as well. He was then raised by his aunt, among the elite, where they all looked down upon him, as though he were a mere animal?

Lovely.

No wonder his soul seemed so broken... so damaged.