Hiding from the Coven

Chapter 1 IT HAD BEEN TOO LONG since I’d spoken to my sisters. Sending messages to them was dangerous—for them, and for me—but I couldn’t leave them in radio silence any longer. So, as I languished in a Fae realm, in my own little cottage, I picked up a pen and set it to magical paper. Dearest Bella and Courtney, I miss you both and hope you’re well. Things have gone terribly wrong here, and I’m in hiding. The Council wants me dead, but luckily, I have some friends that are helping me. I can’t tell you any more than that, for your own safety, But please, stay in the realm, study, train—protect yourself, and I will contact you as soon as I can. All my love, forever, Ava. Unfortunately, I kept the letter vague, so if it was discovered, it could not be traced back to me. However... maybe it was still too much. I chewed my bottom lip and decided to rewrite the letter, leaving their names off it. And mine. Finally satisfied, I folded the piece of paper I’d written the letter on four times over and closed my eyes. My love for my sisters knew no bounds, so as I chanted the spell the Fae had taught me for transport and focused on where my sisters were, the paper burned up within my hand and disappeared from sight. I sighed. I hoped they received the letter. I hoped they understood. I still felt wretched for not being able to talk to them directly, to explain all that was going on. The fact that I was nowhere to be found as far as my sisters were concerned must have dragged on them. I couldn’t go to them and risk being followed, not yet. I wasn’t powerful enough to protect them, or myself, against the Council. I also couldn’t protect them against the man who hunted me. The head of the Council guard. The face that still haunted my dreams even now. Tavlor. Something inside my chest, and much lower down, clenched at the mere thought of the half warlock/Fae. I hadn’t heard from him in a while which was probably a good thing. He did want to turn me in to the Council. But it was his job to hunt for me, and even though the Councilors hated Tavlor, hated what he was, he followed their orders without question like the good soldier he was. God, he was beautiful. A strong, magical, half-breed man with more loyalty, love, and mixed up emotions than anyone I’d ever met. From the moment I’d seen him, I wanted him. Like no-one I’d met before, nor met since. Something about him called to me, connected me to him. I’d never felt like this before. Unfortunately, my mother—who passed recently—never warned me about this sort of sensation either. I had no idea if he felt the same way I did, despite a singularly hot kiss we’d shared. My father, the High Warlock, had lied about my parentage and stood by while they passed the sentence to execute me. How could he be on my side? Granted, standing up for me would force the Council to strip him of everything he owned and relegate him to the status of a war criminal. There was a chance that he was pretending not to care about me, but I couldn’t believe anything anymore. Not when so many people had already lied to me, including my mother. Tavlor was no more trustworthy. He’d been the one to arrest me and had turned a blind eye to my interrogation and incarceration. Abigail said my father and Tavlor had helped her rescue me, but Tavlor hadn’t come to see me since that fateful day, and neither had my father. I had been in a strange realm completely alone, with no idea what was going on, no idea who was after me and who I could and couldn’t trust. It had been weeks since the day I’d been sentenced to death. When my world had gone from being the secret heir to the High Warlock, a powerful and happy witch... to Hell in a handbasket, in a matter of hours. I still couldn’t believe how fast everything had turned. The locket around my neck heated my skin and I laughed at her timing; my mother always knew when to speak. “Yes, Mother?” I told you, Ava... I told you they would never accept you. That your life would be in danger if they found out who you were. I rolled my eyes. Yes, she had told me. And I hadn’t believed her. More fool me. The thing was, my mother was bossy. I was always expected to listen because she was my mother and she knew better than me. But it was difficult to trust someone when they had been keeping things from me my whole life. And now, when it would be nice to have someone to talk to, she decided to remind me how right she was and how wrong I was. “I know, Mother,” I snapped, playing with the chain of the locket and debating whether or not I should remove the necklace. “You don’t need to keep repeating the same thing over and over again.” She had been right, obviously, but I had innocently and rather naively thought that the Council would accept me when they met me. And of course, once my father stood up for me, and stood beside me. He was the High Warlock after all. But he hadn’t, not at all. Now, they wanted me dead. All because my father was the key to the Council’s power, and they didn’t want that power going anywhere but to a person of their choosing. A person of their breeding and make up. Not a person like me. I was not their choice. I was a wild card. So, despite my own magical power that was allegedly unsurpassed in their realm, they wouldn’t accept me. And that was the part that didn’t make sense. I was powerful, more so than I’d realized, so obviously a powerful High Warlock was not what they craved. They wanted submission. Obedience. Unfortunately for them—and for me, to a degree—I was my mother’s daughter, and that was never going to happen. I would never bend the knee to them when they were so obviously corrupt. Maybe my father chose to do that, but I wouldn’t. Which made me a threat, in their eyes. A threat they needed to remove. Well, my mother said, interrupting my thoughts, how is your training going with the Fae mages? The Fae mages were the only people I’d met in the Fae realm. They were the only reason I held onto my sanity. If I had been left alone with no one but my mother for company, I would have gone insane. “It’s going well,” I said. My mother’s laugh filled my head as the locket around my neck buzzed with her energy. I sighed, flaring my nostrils. There was nothing funny about what I said, and yet, this subject always amused her. I never thought the Fae would help a witch. I almost rolled my eyes at her total lack of understanding and bigotry. She was nearly as bad as Mallory back in the Magic Realm. “They’re not that different to us, Mother,” I reminded her. I was tired of repeating the same thing over and over again. Except, they are immortal. And that makes them dangerous. “Maybe, but no more than the witches and warlocks I’ve met,” I pointed out. I stretched my legs under the small desk, leaning my back against the chair. “Plus, the Fae who have helped me so far have done so against their own safety and at great risk to themselves and their people.” I still didn’t understand why they chose to help me when they didn’t have to. Mother went silent and I let go of the locket hanging around my neck. I didn’t want to deal with talking to her right now. I didn’t need her judgment ringing through my head. Footsteps approached and I turned in my chair to look at the doorway to my small cabin and saw Abigail walking toward me. She was tiny, with braided dark brown hair and an innocent look about her gorgeous face that was truly deceiving. She was the one I’d gone up against in my trial. The one to accidentally uncover my power in front of the Council. Despite her appearance, she was as powerful as me, and a hundred years older with that much more experience. I was lucky that she was willing to help me. “Hey Abigail,” I said when she came into the living room. “Any news from Tavlor?” Abigail looked at me for a long time. I hoped I wasn’t blushing and giving my feelings away. Finally, she nodded. “I have heard from him,” she said. “He is searching the human world at the moment, pretending to be looking for you. But I think he will be here soon. He wants to see you in person.” My cheeks heated like a summer sun and I looked away, not sure how to handle the sudden intense amount of embarrassment flooding through me. “Oh... well...” What could I say? I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Did he want to see me because he missed me or because he wanted to kill me? I had to hope, and assume, that Abigail wouldn’t lead him to me if he wished me harm. Abigail chuckled and touched my hand to get my attention. “The Mage Horlow is ready for you. He has been wanting to teach you some protection spells for the fights he believes you will soon be in.” Had he had a vision? I needed to speak to him. “Thanks. Where is he?” “In the main eating area.” She gestured behind her, toward the door and the woods. “He is getting some lunch if you are hungry?” On cue my stomach rumbled. I loved food, but what was produced here was better than that. I wasn’t sure what to call it, but food felt like an understatement. “That sounds like a great idea, thanks.” I hadn’t realized how much time had passed since I’d sat down to write a letter to my sisters after breakfast. Time was different here, though that wasn’t exactly a bad thing. I stood to follow her. “How are you doing?” Abigail was one of the few people I actually considered a friend. She had saved me when I was locked up and she was protecting me now. We chatted as we left the small abode where I was being kept and stepped out into the rich forestry that surrounded us. The sun was high, but it wasn’t blinding, the air was cool and refreshing. I took a deep breath and filled my lungs with crisp, clean air. It almost reminded me of the place my mother had carved out for all of us to live in, completely isolated from people and pollution. It had been lonely at times, but I missed it, looking back now. The Fae lived within several large kingdoms, all structured like massive towns, with lots of security and little crime. I’d felt safe immediately upon arriving here, even though I was worried I would be found out. The whole community functioned on the premise of helping one another, sharing their food, their jobs, the raising of the children. Humans and warlocks alike could learn a lot from these ancient people. The main eating area was ten times the size of my cottage and already filled with people. There were spots to eat outside, and the Fae who lived here were sitting and talking quietly amongst themselves. Abigail and I stepped into one of the large eating halls, where tables were laid out with huge banquets of food. More Fae sat around talking and eating. They didn’t even look at me, which was a good thing. I didn’t feel out of place. I could blend in and not receive any unwanted attention. My stomach tightened and my mouth began to water as the scent of the food wafted toward me. I licked my lips. “I’m still getting used to the richness of the food here,” I admitted. Abigail chuckled. “Did your mother cook badly?” I laughed. “Well, she never really cooked. We had servants...” Now that I thought about it, her magic created and controlled all of the servants so did that mean that my mother technically had cooked for us? I shook myself, not wanting to focus on the past, nor the questions my mother’s untimely death had left behind. I could still feel the locket against my skin, and I was glad it remained silent, even now. I cleared my throat and got in line. “Either way, I love the food here. It’s just different to what I’ve eaten my whole life.” Abigail handed me a faded orange tray from the banquet table before grabbing one for herself. I made myself a plate quickly before thanking her. As much as I wanted to sit and eat lunch with her, Horlow wanted to see me and I couldn’t reject an invitation from him. He had been teaching me since I arrived here, and it still felt like an honor each time he let me come back and learn more. Nearby, Mage Horlow held up his hand, catching my eye from where he sat with three other Fae men. His long silver hair hung down his back, while his face held the wrinkles of age and time, his eyes did not. They were vivacious and clever and didn’t miss a thing. His still strong body was encased in his training attire which reminded me of comfortable white pajamas. I smiled, walking over to them, and sat down. “Hello everyone,” I said, my face flushed. I set my food down and grabbed my utensils. The pointed-eared, gorgeous men murmured their greetings but barely paused in their eating. My stomach flipped a little as I took a bite of the stew. It was richly seasoned and oiled with flavors I had never tasted before coming here. I didn’t know how they made any of the food, nor what meats the stews consisted of, and I didn’t ask. In such cases, it was often better not to know. But God, it was good. “What are we doing today, Horlow?” I asked after swallowing a large bite of potato and sage. Mage Horlow smiled at me. “You will find out soon enough,” he said. “Eat, and then we will go.” The conversation flowed around me, and I found myself relaxing in a way I hadn’t allowed myself to do in years. It was nice being surrounded by people who didn’t care who I was or what I was or anything else. My mother’s illness had caused so many issues in the years preceding her death. Then her passing, followed quickly by my imprisonment in the Magic Realm, was a whirlwind of emotion I was still recovering from. My life had been fast, and grief-filled for so long, it was nice to simply be calm and still. And strangely content, despite my situation. I ate the fresh vegetables and meat, relishing every morsel as I swallowed them down, then cleared our plates away. When I returned to the table, Horlow was waiting for me. “Shall we go?” He indicated to the door and together we walked outside, toward one of the many training arenas. The Fae were a fantastic combination of magic, spiritual understanding, and warrior combat skills. I had magical skill and untampered power, but I didn’t know physical combat, and my mother had kept so much from me in terms of actual intellect concerning magic. I was lucky he agreed to train me in the first place. It was no wonder the Witches and Warlocks found the Fae people to be a threat. They lived ten times as long as any Warlock and could accumulate ten times the knowledge if they so chose. It was amazing that the Fae had not taken over the Magic Realm and tried to usurp the power of the Council.