Heir of the Coven (Daughters of the Warlock 3)

my chest. “That wasn’t the original agreement.”

We hadn’t had a formal agreement in place on who got the final say, but I still expected some sense of fairness.

“It’s the best you’re going to get, missy.”

He nodded to where I was supposed to go.

I glanced around. Where was my father? He’d disappeared all of a sudden, when he’d just been right beside me. Had they taken him away when I hadn’t been looking? Had he willingly left?

Panic began to eat into my gut. “And who is going to be on my side? Am I allowed counsel? Someone to represent me?”

Thomas’ lips grimaced into a triumphant smile. “Of course. Whom do you choose?”

So, they had taken my father away so he couldn’t represent me? That would be right. Dirty sneaks didn’t know how to play fair.

“I...” I didn’t know. Why hadn’t I spoken to my father about this before now? Did Witches have a version of a defense attorney? Would my father be willing to defend me, or was that some sort of conflict of interest? I wished I knew more about this so I could prepare. Right now, I felt like a sitting duck.

“I’ll defend Ava.” The call out was unexpected, but completely welcome.

We all turned towards Tavlor, who was standing straight and proud beside me.

Thomas’ eyebrows rose high on his forehead. “But you can’t... you shouldn’t...”

He didn’t seem to know how to finish that sentence.

Tavlor, who’d obviously never stood up to a member of the Council before, smiled.

“I can, and I will.” He cleared his throat, his shoulders tense. Clearly, he didn’t like the attention. “There’s nothing that says I can’t.”

He turned to me, and love for this incredible man spilled over into every cell in my body.

“Ava, please take a seat on the chair in the middle of the room, and I’ll be in the first row, ready to help, if you need me,” he said in a low voice.

I nodded once, and went straight to my chair, in case they caught me grinning.

He was here to help me!

I sat in the chair designed to torture me and a sense of pure happiness washed over me.

I had a chance now.

Chapter 2.

SHOWING ANY SIGN OF weakness to a bully was the worst thing to do.

So, I calmly sat down on the ‘accused’s chair’ and crossed my legs even though everything inside of me urged me to get up, to fight, to demand to be treated fairly.

I would get my chance, I assured myself. Tavlor was right here, helping me, when he didn’t have to. Everything would be okay. I took what I hoped was a calming breath. Then I looked up at Thomas and waited for the questions to begin.

I had to stay calm and rational. After all, if I stuck to the truth, they simply couldn’t find me guilty a second time. Their arguments didn’t make sense and I needed to trust that the normal people of this realm would see that. The Council was grasping at straws if they used all the same upside down logic they had last time, logic that didn’t make sense except to power hungry people who were all afraid of change. I hadn’t done anything wrong. Nothing. And yet they wanted to condemn me.

I was the child of an affair. I’d had nothing to do with it. But I was the proof. The victim. And blaming the victim in any situation was wrong... although humans seemed to do it all the time.

Tavlor sat at the front of the pews of people, next to my father who had magically reappeared. He didn’t look impressed, his eyebrows lowered into a scowl, but he wasn’t acting or speaking in any way.

Had they put some sort of spell over him?

I wasn’t sure whether to be upset with him for leaving so abruptly or worried that they might have tampered with him in some way.