Page 62 of Enchanted Warrior

“What Waller doesn’t understand,” Gawain replied, “is that LaFaye will destroy or enslave the witches. Mordred already killed Henderson.”

“Pity,” said Hector with genuine regret. “He was foolish, not evil.”

Tamsin studied her father, everything he’d said churning in her mind. As a child, she’d seen him as a bulwark against the world, protecting her from every possible harm. He’d been the center of her love and admiration as only a father can be to his girl. Yet did she really know him at all?

Hurt hardened to resentment inside her. It would have been so much easier to live with these revelations if she didn’t love him so much. Then she wouldn’t have been so disappointed. Her fingers curled in her lap, crushing handfuls of her dress.

The men were still talking. “You have Merlin’s books!” Hector exclaimed. “That was well done. We can make good use of them to locate Arthur’s tomb.”

“Haven’t you found it?” Gawain asked in confusion.

“Oh, I know where it is, more or less,” Hector replied with a grimace. “But we’ll need the spells to get it back. In the meantime, we can build a portal and get Tamsin home to where it’s safe. This is no place for my daughter.”

That was it. Tamsin sprang to her feet and met her father’s eyes, letting her anger show. “That’s not up to you anymore.”

Shock spread across Hector’s features. His mouth dropped open as he clearly struggled for words. She didn’t wait for his reply as she stormed into the courtyard to let her temper cool—but it didn’t. Since hearing Hector was alive, Tamsin had dreamed of meeting her father again. She’d wanted him to respect the person she’d grown to be. That wasn’t at all what was happening.

Tears of frustration leaked down her face, hot in the cool autumn air. She wasn’t a child, to be ordered to bed early. Most of all, she deserved more than lies and secrets from the father she loved so very much.

Tamsin wasn’t sure how much time passed before she heard Hector’s footfall behind her. Her stomach tightened, as if bracing herself. Every instinct said the conversation they were about to have wouldn’t be easy.

“What would you have had me do?” her father asked from behind her. “I swore an oath of silence. Gawain just told me of your visit to the dungeon. You saw what was there. If Mordred had caught wind that someone in the coven knew about Arthur, he would have cheerfully filled every cell with Shadowring witches. How could I risk our family that way?”

Tamsin closed her eyes, the cold wind fanning her cheeks. She was shivering, but refused to turn around and go inside. “I get it. But think how I feel. You’re not the father I knew. You’re standing there in a chain mail shirt with an ax strapped to your saddle and a mission that doesn’t include me in the slightest. Children always have a moment when they realize their parents have their own lives, but this is a little extreme.”

“I understand it’s a shock.”

“Really? I don’t even know how many families you had all this time. Am I your first daughter? Your hundredth? Do I rank among your favorites? After all these centuries, I could share DNA with a lot of people. Don’t you think I have a right to know?”

Hector cleared his throat. Even so, his voice cracked as he spoke. “You’d be surprised how few times I’ve sought the comfort of a family. Living forever is a more frightening prospect than you would think. I’ve watched everyone I loved die.”

Tamsin’s heart lurched, and she turned around. Her father’s expression made him look oddly naked, as if a barrier she’d never even noticed had been stripped away. “At the very least, you could have warned me that the fae weren’t gone from the earth.”

He nodded, looking at his feet. “You’re right about that much. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not going home,” she said. Her chest ached, wanting to end this and take her father in her arms, but she needed to make this one last point. “I’ve held up my end on this mission. Ask Gawain.”

“He’s told me in glowing terms.” Hector looked up. “He is the reason you have to go. He’s not for you, Tamsin.”

“What?” His words hit her like a slap. “Don’t even start. I’ve had enough talk about suitable matches from Mom and Stacy. I choose who I’m with.”

“That’s not what I’m saying,” Hector took a step closer, his eyes dark with sadness. “I see the way Gawain looks at you.”

Tamsin shivered, but this time it wasn’t from the cold. It was the thrill of hearing her private hopes aloud. “But?”

“It’s bad enough his view of the world is centuries out-of-date, but in the end he will turn on you because you are a witch.”

“No,” she said quickly. “He has no reason to. He knows what I can do already.”

Hector shook his head. “If you say that, then you don’t understand the true nature of his struggle. You’re better off far away. It will save you a great deal of pain.”

Tamsin pressed her lips together, breathing deep before she answered. In truth, she wanted to scream with frustration. After Richard, she hadn’t cared much about marriage. That relationship hadn’t been a selling point for romance of any kind, but with Gawain, she’d known what it was to feel cherished. To be in a partnership. She would rather be alone than settle for less, pain or no pain.

“I’m not going back,” she said. “For a lot of reasons, including Gawain, but also because that’s what Waller wants. He’d rather I ended up an obedient servant of Shadowring.”

“Who asked his opinion?” Hector growled.

Tamsin rubbed the vine tattoo around her wrist. “We had a long conversation during which he tried to shame me and threaten me, and when that didn’t work he said he’d make me an Elder if I gave him Merlin’s books.”

---