Alison heaved a sigh. “You’re right, and you deserve to know the truth.”
She took another sip of her tea and set it down on the table. She smoothed down wrinkles on her skirt, as though wiping away dirt that had accumulated there. It almost seemed as though she was buying time for herself, trying to figure out the best words in her head.
I settled back a little but didn’t relax. It sounded like I was about to receive the key to the whole universe.
Alison cleared her throat and shifted in her chair as though settling in for a long conversation. I was about ready to insist that she start talking or else I was going to leave when she rolled her shoulders back and locked her eyes with mine.
“The High Warlock is the most powerful mage in all the magical realm,” she said.
I nodded. Yes, I know that. Nothing new there. I gripped the arm of the couch, trying to pour my frustration into the material rather than lashing out at the woman in front of me.
“His power is passed from father to son, as all High Warlock’s have only one child. A male child,” she pointed out.
I hadn’t known that specifically, but I had assumed he would need an heir. Most hierarchies were built on the same principal.
“Yes... and?” I raised my brow. My foot began to bounce.
“The High Warlock does not have a son. In fact, his wife cannot bear any children.”
I blinked. Well, that was a surprise. I hadn’t known my father was married to anyone else. I probably should have considered it a possibility, but I hadn’t. On top of that, I didn’t realize my father had no other children.
I breathed in slowly and breathed out just as slow. I didn’t want anyone to see me cry, especially over a man I barely knew.
I swallowed. Instead of thinking about my father, I thought about the other part of what Alison had said. His wife couldn’t have any children. I didn’t think a witch had such restrictions. I’d never even thought of a barren witch.
“Then why doesn’t he simply... remarry?” I asked, pressing my brows together. Surely if an heir was so important, they would have a clause to allow him to find another wife.
I loosened my grip on the couch arm. An odd emotion struck me. It was cool, like a wave crashing to the shore. It was something like sympathy. I shouldn’t feel sorry for someone I didn’t know. I shouldn’t feel sorry for a father who had left me and my sisters behind. But I did. “Or have a child by someone else. Surely he needs an heir.”
Seemed simple enough for me.
“This is where it gets more complicated,” Alison said, hesitation in her voice, as though she wasn’t sure if she should continue or not.
I pressed my lips together and waited.
“According to the law, the heir to the High Warlock must come from his first, and only, wife. A wife the Council has chosen for him.”
“The Council?” Just saying the words made a cold hand clasp the back of my neck. Who, or what, were they?
Who were they to dictate heirs of the most powerful warlock in the world? As an entity, could they control someone as powerful as my father?
“Yes.” She nodded once. She reached for her tea and then dropped her hands back into her lap. “They are the governing council that enforces the laws of our land. The High Warlock is more of a figure head, kind of like... he’s a king when the real people making and enacting the laws are the parliament.”
“So, my father is a puppet?”
Alison’s smile flickered as she nodded. “You do have good intuition.”
I sighed. “Mother always said so.”
I didn’t have any other opinions to go on besides hers. I didn’t even know the magical community had a Council. I knew who my father was but that was it.
Alison took a sip of her tea and I waited. I thrummed my fingers on my knees. My stomach suddenly growled and I glanced at what was available. I did like the red velvet, but the lemon looked good too.
When she didn’t continue, I said, “What am I missing, Alison?”
It sounded like she was saying that my father was the puppet to the real power in the magic realm. It also sounded like my father was following their rules. So, why should they worry about me? Why was everyone being so secretive about my father?
Alison sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “You are the only living heir to the High Warlock,” she said slowly, as though she wanted me to understand the significance of her words. “He has no other children.”