“She has no idea what she will be giving up if she relinquishes her right to the High Warlock position. In all our history, we have never had an heir abdicate, and I think Ava deserves to know.”
“Then what are you suggesting, exactly?” Thomas asked, narrowing his eyes between the two of us.
“Simple,” my father said, spreading out his hands. “A three-day reprieve until she has to give her final answer. I will show her the realms, introduce her to some of the politics, and school her in our laws. After that, she can make an educated decision about what she would like to do.”
“I’d also like to meet the man you want me to marry,” I burst out with.
Everyone turned to me, even my father and Tavlor.
I didn’t flinch but I could feel my cheeks burning up with a blush. I cleared my throat.
“I think that’s fair,” I added, though my voice wasn’t as confident as I wanted it to be. I avoided even glancing in Tavlor’s direction. I didn’t want him to think I was considering being with someone other than him, but I needed to know who they wanted to pair me with.
In truth, no matter what my father showed me, I wasn’t agreeing to be ‘bred’ with anyone other than Tavlor.
But if my intuition was correct, this was the man they would replace me with, as High Warlock. And I wanted to suss out my competition, as Courtney liked to say.
Who did they want as their puppet.
My father turned back to Thomas.
“Do we have a deal?” he asked, arching a brow. The fact that my father posed no argument to my suggestion must mean that it was a reasonable request.
Thomas tapped Charity on the arm.
“Give us a moment,” he said.
They receded back into their army and I hurried forward to regroup with Tavlor and my father. I looked between the two of them, hoping to find out if them discussing our request was a good sign or if we had shot ourselves in the foot.
Tavlor raised one eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything.
“What?” I said.
My father chuckled.
“Wanna meet the potential husband, do you?” he teased, his eyes lighting up.
I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest. Of course they would think that. They couldn’t possibly try and see it from my point of view, how it was important to understand who would succeed my father if I were to abdicate.
“You guys are too literal,” I insisted. “I don’t even remember his name!”
“Then why...” my father began, but let his voice trail off. He tilted his head to the side.
“Because they will need to replace me with a High Warlock of their choosing, according to you, and it makes sense to me, that they’ve already chosen someone,” I said. “Someone they are trying to get into the bloodlines... someone who may be super malleable...”
My father grinned. “You think they will name Cedric High Warlock, irrespective of whether you agree to the marriage or not.”
“Yes, I think they want him in,” I said. “Either way. So, I want to know who they’ve chosen, and why. I want to know who my potential husband and competition is, to see what sort of man Cedric is before I’m able to make an informed decision about everything.”
Tavlor made a grunting, approval sort of noise. “Smart thinking, Ava.”
I shrugged.
“Not just a pretty face,” I said before sticking out my tongue and giving him a wink.
We turned back to the Council group, who had gone quiet, obviously having made a decision. They were looking at us, waiting. I hoped they weren’t trying to listen in on our discussion. I didn’t think that was allowed, but then again, when did the Council ever respect rules, even ones they, themselves, had put into place?
My father joined Thomas in the middle of the room, and Charity hung back, looking pouty, arms crossed over her chest, a hip jutted out.