If I was being honest, the reason I was here, trying to have some kind of a relationship with a man who was my father was because she prevented me from having one with him in the first place. The day she passed away, I set out to change that, to figure out who I was.
And now I was here, on trial for being his daughter.
Matlock smiled again and this time there was brighter warmth in his face.
“Well, she was fierce at school and up until she disappeared,” he pointed out. “No-one went up against her, not even me. She didn’t seem to be afraid of anything, and I can only imagine that raising you...” We didn’t mention my sisters in case there were people listening. “Well, that would have taken an iron will.”
I shrugged. I didn’t really want to talk about her again. That was all we seemed to do. Talk about how to unravel the mess my mother, Genevieve Melfi, had landed us all in. Quite frankly, I already knew about the mess and was more concerned how we were going to get out of it.
I grabbed my mother’s journal from the table and slid it into my bag. My secret weapon. The book Bella had made sure I’d brought with me when I’d left our realm. I hadn’t known what it was when Bell had given it to me, but when I’d finally opened it up to read what was inside, I understood why my sister had insisted that I take it.
And as usual with Bella, it was a stroke of genius. Definitely not my realm of expertise, but that was okay. We all had our specialties.
I hadn’t told my father, or Tavlor, what the book was, let alone what was written in it. Because the book Bella had given me, was mother’s journal. Amazingly Tavlor hadn’t asked it, probably assuming I’d tell them if it was important.
In that assumption they were wrong. This book was important to the case, very important. But only if the Council decided to change their tack and go after my father at my trial. If they chose to charge him with treason, when I proved they couldn’t go after me, well... I had something to fight back with now.
I probably should have felt more guilty at keeping something like this from Tavlor and my father, but quite honestly, I didn’t. I would only use it if it was absolutely necessary. If it wasn’t, it wasn’t their place to know about the journal at all.
Until then
, my mother’s inner most thoughts and secrets were staying under wraps. Especially as the later chapters of her journal also mentioned my sisters, and the Council could not find out about my sisters. If they were ready to go to war with me simply for being my father’s daughter, I could only imagine how they’d react when they discovered there was three of us. If I did use the diary to prove my father’s innocence in all this, I had to work out a way to only show the integral parts of the text without ruining the integrity or authenticity of the writing itself.
And I hadn’t figured that part out yet.
My father gestured to the door. “Let’s go then. Tavlor will meet us there.”
“Oh, good.” I wasn’t sure what role Tavlor was going to play today, but his presence was always bolstering for my mood. My heart fluttered just thinking about seeing him, and I cleared my throat to keep myself from allowing Tavlor to distract me.
I followed my father out the door and into his chambers, then through the many portals required to get to our destination. It was a long, intricate maze that he had designed to keep me protected. My feet ached from the walking, but I did appreciate what my father was trying to do.
I glanced at him, worry coursing through me. He’d offered to stand by me, fight with me so that I could remain with him, not only as his illegitimate daughter, but as his heir to the ‘throne.’
Not that I was sure I wanted the responsibility and power that came with his position, but the situation had got to the point where it was all or nothing, and nothing just wasn’t an option anymore.
But my biggest concern was, that in standing up for me, putting himself in the same boat as I was, he’d shown his cards. Made it clear to the Council where his allegiance lied.
In theory, that was fine. And I was proud that my father wanted me as his heir. Prouder than I could possibly say. It was more than I could have expected from someone who found out about me only a couple of months ago.
But what if he’d chosen the losing side?
If I sunk, we both did, and I didn’t want him paying for my, and my mother’s, mistakes. Our choices.
Because when it came down to it, revealing who I was to him, had been my choice. I’d been tricked into showing how powerful I was to the Council, but I could have found another way into the Magical realm, I was sure of it. I had a lot of time here, staring at these walls, going over those choices again and again, only to come up with the same conclusion: I could have figured out a different way.
And the guilt of those decisions—decisions I made when I wasn’t thinking of anyone but myself—ate at me like a cancer.
We stepped through the final gateway, and I stopped dead. My stomach constricting painfully. We were inside the court room once again. The same one where they’d sentenced me to death without a thought, only a few weeks ago.
It was difficult for me to knowingly walk through a door that could lead to a horrible fate. Matlock seemed to notice I wasn’t matching his steps and stopped. He did not urge me forward, but gave me the space to wait, to take my time.
That simple gesture meant more to me than he probably realized.
I focused on the room, noting each element and the fact that this time, there was a difference. Slowly, I began to make my way in, with Matlock next to me, offering me his presence as a way to protect me. Had the Council really stuck to the agreement about giving me a fair trial? That would surprise me. They were known for their heartless and devious ways.
And yet, the pews of the court room were filled with people I could only describe as ‘normal.’ Witches and Warlocks I would have seen on the streets around the cafes. Not members of the Council, or their family. Not that I could be one hundred percent sure of that... of course. The Council had vast amounts of power.
These people could be a ruse for all I knew.