Hiding from the Coven

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“BECAUSE YOU WANTED to check on me?” I asked. I couldn’t believe the words actually came out of my mouth. “Or because...” I let my voice trail off and held my breath.

Tavlor sighed, heavily. He leaned forward, elbows on knees, rubbing his palms together casually. His hands probably weren’t sweating. He probably wasn’t even nervous.

“Because I need to tell you something that I felt better done face to face,” he said.

I inhaled quickly, my breath quivering. I didn’t like the tone of his voice. I wasn’t sure what he had to say, but obviously it was important. He wouldn’t risk coming to see me so openly if it wasn’t.

“Tell me,” I said.

Was there something wrong? Had the Council found my sisters?

“The Council have changed their approach,” he said, flashing his eyes up at me.

“Okay...” I needed more information than that. I still wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

“I have been doing my best to lead them in another direction, to distract them while the High Warlock secures their trust and investigates the law for loopholes regarding illegitimacy...” He sighed, sitting up, rolling his shoulders back. His big, hulking frame made the couch look tiny. I couldn’t believe he fit through the cottage doorway.

“Hang on,” I said, putting up my hand. I c****d my head to the side. “My father’s trying to find a way around the sentencing?”

Really? Why hadn’t anyone told me? Why would he do that? Why would he risk that?

“Of course.” He said it so matter-of-factly, like it should have been obvious.

I rolled my eyes. “How would I know that?” I asked, annoyance prickling my skin. “I’m being told nothing, and I can tell you, letting my father lie to the Council about my parentage was not fun.”

I took a steadying breath, my chest burning. I hadn’t realized how angry I still was about how things went down at the trial. I shouldn’t have expected that he would be there for me, not when so much was at stake, but to completely betray me? That hurt.

Tavlor blinked a few times, absorbing my words. “I’m sorry that we have not kept you in the loop as much as we should have,” he said. I was surprised to find he actually did sound sorry. “Your father is doing everything he can to help you, and I’ve done everything I can do so far to protect you, but things have become more complicated. And that is why I’ve come.”

“What’s happened?”

“The Council have taken my lack of success... badly.” His words sounded strained. Even though he was helping me, even though he was doing me a favor by not turning me in, he still didn’t like failure. That was obvious. “I have been put on restricted duties, and I’m now relegated to little more than a doorman at the Council steps. They have instead put a bounty on your head.”

I blinked, then blinked again, trying to understand everything he was saying all at once. I didn’t want to make any assumptions, but I also didn’t understand what he was saying.

First things first.

“They punished you for failing to find me?” I asked, tilting my head to the side.

He shrugged. “Of course.”

His eyes narrowed, staring at his hands.

His response surprised me. Not that the Council punished him, but that he didn’t turn me in, despite that punishment. What was worse, it tarnished his reputation as an infallible soldier, as someone they could rely on to carry out orders.

Even though the Council treated him as though he was nothing but a monster, he still listened to them. He still obeyed.

Until now.

I leaned forward, my words soft and careful. “And you still went through with it?”

A smile crept onto his lips.

“I have endured a lot worse, for much less before, Ava,” he said. “Your safety, and your life is, well, worth fighting for.”

The little hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. The way he said that made it sound like I was worth dying for, but he couldn’t possibly mean that.

Could he?

I was getting ahead of myself. The last thing I wanted was for him to die for me. But the fact that he was willing to fight for me, even if it meant betraying those he was most loyal to, was a big deal.

And if it was a big deal for him, it was a bigger deal for me.

My heart fluttered.

The only problem was, I didn’t want him to get in trouble for me. If the Council wanted to kill me for being born, what would they want to do to him for outright betrayal?

“Thank you.” The words were not enough to express my gratitude, but for now, they would have to do.

He inclined his head and I ached to run across the room and kiss him. I wanted to hold him, to remind myself that this wasn’t a dream, that he was really here, and he had come to see me because he wanted to.

However, I wasn’t sure where we stood at this point. I didn’t want to make things tense or awkward between us. I didn’t want to ruin this... friendship? Relationship?

Another moment ticked by.

I began to rub my thighs with my hands again. “Um, did you say something about a bounty?”

Tavlor’s lips thinned as his jaw hardened. “Yes.” Another nod, short and firm. “The Council have put out a notice to every realm that you are to be captured, alive.”

I guess if there was a silver lining to this, it was that they wanted me alive.

He paused and I wondered if that was an indication that the Council had considered putting a ‘dead or alive’ clause on the notice. Maybe they wanted to try and take me in alive but if that didn’t work, I would be ordered to be killed.

“Is it a lot of money?” I asked, my ego strangely putting a lot of weight on his answer. Was I a threat that went for a nice amount of money? Or was I as insignificant as a fly, an annoyance, that needed to be contained?

He nodded once, sharply. “Yes, it is a lot of money.”

I couldn’t stop the way my lips turned up in a smile. “I’m strangely flattered.”

“You shouldn’t be.” He seemed angry and disturbed.

I looked down at the floor, heat flushing my face. He was right, of course. This whole thing made me uncomfortable. I was starting to say stupid things. I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the shame that filled my body.

I coughed, clearing my throat. “I understand that,” I forced myself to say. “So, how bad is it?”

I wasn’t sure if I even wanted the answer. A lot of money meant it would attract a lot of attention. Everyone would know my face. I highly doubted they would know who I was, that I was the High Warlock’s daughter. The Council wouldn’t want that information getting out. Not right now.

“It’s bad,” he admitted. He glanced over at me. It felt as though he was trying to evaluate how I was taking the news.

I would have thought it was sweet if I didn’t want to know the answers so badly. I didn’t want to be protected. I wanted to know what was going on and how I—and possibly my sisters—were affected by this.

“Every bounty hunter in the known Universe will be after you. Every shifter, some Fae... I can’t stand by and let this happen.” He clenched his jaw so hard that it popped. He looked in front of me, rather than at me. “And my people, Abigail... they will only be able to protect you for so long.”

He stood up suddenly and shuffled around the tiny room.

I wanted to ask him what that meant. Should I go somewhere else or was it better that I just stop running? I didn’t want to risk the people who had tried to protect me. Tavlor or Abigail or my sisters. I even didn’t want to risk my father. If Tavlor wasn’t lying and he was helping, I didn’t want him to push himself to the point where everything he had worked for was for nothing.

Tavlor continued, almost to himself. “It’s more money than most people would make in ten years. More money than has ever been offered—for anyone. It’s absolutely ludicrous.” He shook his head. His movement was graceful, and I recognized the Fae in him, the air of timelessness we magic folk didn’t have.

I stood up, unable to stay seated while he roamed like a caged animal. He was too big for this cottage. Every move he made filled the space up even more. His hair roamed wildly like the mane of a lion. I wanted to calm him in some way. I wanted to run my fingers through his hair and make myself feel better. Instead, I kept everything to myself, my hands, my words.

“So, let me get this straight,” I said, shifting my weight from one foot to the other, trying to keep myself out of his way but needing to be on my feet as well. Magic buzzed around me, but I didn’t dare give into it. I didn’t think I’d be able to control myself. Not around Tavlor. “I’m no longer safe here, because the Council has put a massive price on my head, and every bad guy around is going to be hunting me down soon for the bounty.”

“Not just the bad guys.” Tavlor stopped pacing and faced me, his intense gaze burning into mine. “Ava, anyone in desperate need of money will be after you. You won’t be able to trust anyone.”

He stepped forward, so that we were a whisper’s breadth apart. He lifted his hand and stroked my cheek, his touch as warm and light as a summer’s breeze. I leaned into it before I could stop myself. The last thing I expected from Tavlor was gentleness. He was fierce and strong and deadly. To have him touch me like this made me yearn for more.

Goosebumps ran up and down my arms. I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry.

I couldn’t stop looking at the beauty of his face or thinking about how much I’d missed seeing him.

How could I yearn for someone I barely knew? And yet, it felt as though I knew him as well as I knew my sisters. As well as I knew myself. It was difficult to remember what life was like before I’d met him. Which, to me, someone who had never been kissed before him, sounded absolutely insane. And yet, that was exactly how he made me feel.

I went up on my tiptoes, bringing myself closer to his face, and leaned forward, hoping he would feel what my intention was and kiss me back.

I was being bold. I had been waiting so long for him to kiss me that I didn’t want him not to. I didn’t know when I’d see him again. I had to make this count.

He didn’t disappoint.

His lips pressed into mine, stealing my breath.

I wrapped my arms around his waist while he cupped my face and held me tight, devouring my lips in a perfect kiss. I wasn’t cold, but I shivered. Butterflies crashed into each other in my stomach.

It wasn’t enough. I wanted to get closer.

I pressed myself harder against him and he swept his tongue between my lips.

Oh, my God, this feels so good.

He groaned, low and deep in his throat, and grabbed my a*s with both hands.

Heat spread from his touch, straight through my core. I wished that we had all the time in the world. I wanted to go further with him. I wanted to wrap myself around him and forget about everyone and everything else in the world, so it was just the two of us.

But I couldn’t.

Not when there was a bounty on my head.

Not when I wasn’t safe anymore.