Hell, she was probably laughing because it was both.
I shook my head. “Not really,” I said.
I didn’t care if she laughed at me. If anything, I’d rather have her underestimate me rather than think I was my father’s daughter or any kind of threat she needed to contend with. Let her think I was helpless. To a degree, I was.
“The High Warlock is not elected,” she insisted, walking to the staircase and taking a seat on the step. She rested her elbows on her knees, cupping her chin in her palm. “He’s born into the blood line.”
Confirmation on information I already had. But I still didn’t think he’d have his own realm. It seemed... extravagant. Again, he was supposed to be a puppet.
I started to fiddle with the chain around my neck, careful not to touch my locket. Although, I remembered that my mother had created her own realm in the human world. I blinked. I hadn’t realized that was what she had done up until I heard Mallory speak of the High Warlock’s own realm. I always thought we were in a deep, unpopulated part of the human world, but we weren’t. She had her own realm. Which meant my mother was more powerful than even I realized. If my mother could do that, I shouldn’t have been that surprised that the High Warlock could do something similar. Maybe I was surprised it was public knowledge.
“Oh, so he’s like a King,” I said, curling a strand of hair around my finger, hoping to add to the ignorance I was feigning. “Born into the line like the... royal family?”
Mallory cocked her head, probably not understanding the human reference. “Yes, sort of,” she said after a moment of thinking about it.
My head was beginning to race now. Even in the human world, illegitimate heirs to royal families threw people into turmoil. Especially if the illegitimate heir turned out to be older than the King’s eldest child.
Also, illegitimate heirs were usually hunted down and disposed of in as discreet a method as possible. Which meant if anyone found out who I was, there was a good chance I was dead. And if they knew about my sisters...
I didn’t even want to think about finishing that sentence.
I stared up the stairs, wondering more about the man I was about to meet. “So, he lives in the realm with his family?” I asked. I took a couple of steps to the left, looking at the building without Mallory in view.
“Actually, the whole Council lives in the realm,” she corrected.
The whole Council? How many people was that? Three? Ten? Were they born into their roles as well? I thought the High Warlock had his own realm. Was it his in name only, much like his title? Or was it something else. Every time I thought I was gifted with an answer that would explain things, Mallory would say something that completely threw me for a loop and suddenly I had more questions than answers.
I didn’t ask her anything else, though. Not right now, anyway. I was already getting the feeling that Mallory thought I was odd, and ignorance could only make up so much of that.
I shook my head. “I have so much to learn,” I said, offering her a smile and strolling back over to where she sat. The clack of my heels echoed off the concrete, reminding me that even though we were close to civilization, we were also quite alone.
Mallory laughed and smiled indulgently at me. “It’s second nature to me, I guess,” she said, dropping her arm and stretching out her legs. The beads on her sandals glinted in the sunlight. “I forget how different we are to the human world. I don’t spend any time there. I would be as ignorant about your world as you are to mine.”
She said it with tones that indicated that she had no plans to change that, whatsoever. She probably thought humans were even more beneath her than shifters. I wondered if she saw me as a human because I grew up there, or if she regarded me as a witch because of who my mother was. I didn’t particularly care if she saw me as her equal or not, but it would indicate the sort of character she had. And since I was living with her for the time being, I thought it best to know who I was getting in bed with, so to speak.
“Well, I appreciate you helping me, Mallory,” I forced myself to say when I realized the pause be
tween us was turning tense. “Thank you.” I grabbed her hands and squeezed them tightly.
She smiled back and finally, I saw true warmth in her gaze. “Let’s go get you settled, Miss Ava,” she said and hopped up to her feet. I was beginning to understand why she named her café the Black Cat. For someone who hated animals, she certainly moved like one.
We turned towards the building and I let Mallory lead. We walked up the stone steps one at a time, and when we finally reached the top, my heart was beginning to pound and I was out of breath. I didn’t know how out of shape I truly was until I stood up on the last step. Just because I was slender did not mean I was fit. I needed to fix that, quickly, and I didn’t think magic was going to cut it.
I blew out a ragged breath and so did Mallory. We didn’t say anything, but shared a look that empathised the effort that had taken both of us. I knew I would blister soon. My heels pinched in pain. I was tempted to take them off, if only for a moment, but I stopped myself from doing so. I didn’t want to show a vulnerability – even one as innocuous as walking in heels – if I didn’t have to.
Then Mallory straightened and indicated to the entrance, sweeping her arm out dramatically.
I nodded, unable to speak for another moment or so, then together we walked through the large double doors. If I was going to back out, now would be the time to do it. I hadn’t committed to this. I could still leave. I could return to my sisters. I didn’t have to go through with this.
Don’t leave when you’ve gotten so far, I told myself. I pushed forward. I ignored the pain in my feet. I wouldn’t back down, even as my fingers trembled.
“Woah.” I stopped in the foyer and stared all around me. Now this was what I assumed a building would look like, if the creators had all the magic in the world. I didn’t care that I was gaping. I stepped back, looking up at the ceiling, down at the floor, on the walls and the space between. I had no real words to describe what I saw, only that I was awed. I couldn’t speak.
There was nothing quaint about the Council’s building. It was filled with imposing statues, a gold water fountain, twenty-foot ceilings and mirrors everywhere. And I was pretty sure, this was just the foyer. There was more. I knew there would be. Part of me was curious to see just how much more, to see just what the magic could do.
“Yes, it is impressive, isn’t it?” Mallory asked, arms crossed casually over her chest. She didn’t seem impressed by what was before her, but even with all of her knowledge, I saw her eyes linger every now and then on certain things.
I nodded, noticing the details in every corner of the room. The wall paper that seemed to flicker with fire light. The beautifully carved wooden furniture. Whose magic maintained this room? Or had it been built by hand? I couldn’t imagine that. But then again, I knew how much magic it took to maintain a lot less. It actually killed my mother – at least, that was what I assumed. So, if this was magic, how could it be maintained? Was it more than just one person who was doing this?