I rolled my eyes. “I’ve never hurt anyone in my life. Why would I start now?”
Nathan’s eyebrows shot up. “We all saw how powerful and capable you are. You put on quite a display yesterday.”
“Well, firstly, I didn’t hurt anyone. And secondly, I was tricked into pushing myself way past my normal limitations.”
I bit my lip, wondering if I should say anymore. Then decided I would. What did I have to lose anyway?
This wasn’t going to be a fair trial. They were here to convict me of a crime I hadn’t committed. They wanted me put away.
So, I pushed forward. “What I don’t understand is why you’re all so afraid of my power? Why wouldn’t you want me on your side? On your team? Trained properly, I’m sure I could be a very capable... whatever Tavlor is.”
Nathan grimaced as though the idea abhorred him. “No.”
“No?”
That was not a suitable answer to what I’d just said. It didn’t make sense.
Nathan picked up a gavel and tapped it onto his table. “Now, onto the matter at hand. Treason.”
“Now, explain to me how my actions of being the illegitimate daughter of the High Warlock is... treasonous?” I glared around the room. “It’s not my fault my mother got pregnant to him!”
A small part of me was glad my mother wasn’t here to see this, because I was seriously throwing her under the bus.
Around the room, people gasped.
An empty large chair materialized beside me.
“High Warlock. If you please?” Nathan asked, turning to my father.
My father stood up, disentangling his wife from his arm, and walked across the floor to sit in the large seat beside me.
“Sir, you have been accused of treason yourself. As you know, the begetting of a child outside of your marriage, and outside of the accepted magical lines, is forbidden. A direct violation against the Warlock laws.”
A sinking feeling hit my gut.
He was... what?
They were accusing my father of treason against... himself?
“How do you plead, Matlock?” Nathan asked, puffing up his chest like a peacock.
“Not guilty,” my father said, loud and proud.
I gaped at him as he continued.
“I had no knowledge of this girl and her alleged parentage, and her mother and I were simply school friends.”
My gaze shot over to Tavlor, who glowered over Charity, his gaze burning into mine.
He didn’t move, didn’t flinch, didn’t make a sound, but something inside my head told me to go along with this ludicrous story.
Nathan stepped up in front of me again. “Is this true?”
“I, uh...” I looked around like a drowning person in the ocean, waiting for help that wasn’t coming. “I’m only going off what my mother told me. I have no actual proof.”
And that was the truth. I’d believed my mother. And so had Matlock when I’d told him.
I knew he’d had sex with her—he’d practically outright admitted it to me—but what proof did I have of any of those c