Escaped Daughter (Morrigan University #1)

7

“The council doesn’t like to run behind,” my guard warned me as he gestured for me to clean up my papers. “And you leave a different way than you arrived for security measures.”

“Right, of course,” I muttered. Plus—and it was a big one—I wanted away from my family. Immediately .

I hurried after him, and we went out a side door that led down a smaller back hallway directly towards an exit. We stopped right before it and the cuff was taken off. I thanked the guards and hurried outside where they said the spell circle to leave was. My guard seemed to catch onto what I wanted to avoid as well and didn’t seem offended as we walked briskly.

But we weren’t fast enough.

“Bevin, stop right there,” Father bellowed right before I could tell the guards where I wanted the circle to take me.

I decided to handle this loudly and with witnesses as I spun around on my heel and gave him a bored look as he ate up the ground between us, the others right behind him. “That’s Ms. Millen to you, Mr. Shaw. I don’t answer to you anymore, and I believe you have some council aides to go over matters with that will be packing up my belongings and taking them to my new home.”

“Where is that?” he ground out.

“Not your concern,” I answered. “They know the address. Everything about me is not your concern . You lost. Even you cannot go around High Council rulings. It’s over.”

“It’s over when I say it’s over,” he snapped, flinching when several people didn’t like hearing that especially given where we were.

I cocked my head and gave him the condescending look he deserved. “I’ve told you before, Mr. Shaw, that’s the problem with sexism. You cannot see the person in front of you clearly. Now I’ll also tell you that you have the handicap of narcissism . You think you’re smarter and better than everyone. You’re not actually and you lost this time, completely blind to the truth because of it.”

“That’s enough of your disrespect,” Alex growled as he reached for me.

And for once I didn’t have to take it. I didn’t have to let him hit me or hurt me. I didn’t have to hide my magic or power.

So I didn’t. I let out an energy pulse as easily as blinking that sent him flying before he touched me. He landed a good twenty feet away, almost to the parking lot, and kept rolling until he bumped into a light pole.

The shocked looks of my family were almost amusing enough to make me burst out laughing, but right then was the time to be on guard, not enjoy my perfectly reserved and elegant family looking stupefied.

“Losing your purity unlocked your magic,” Jean accused.

“No, it’s always been there,” I chuckled darkly.

“You’re a complete fraud and lied to us all these years,” Grandmother seethed… Loudly , making a scene and playing the victim as people gathered.

Which pissed me off.

Badly.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “And what would you have done if you’d found out I had magic? Would I have ended up like your youngest child, Grammy?” I nodded when she flinched. “Yes, I know all about that and how Father got his power.”

“Shut your—” Father started to say, but I ignored him and raised my voice even louder.

“So forgive me if I wasn’t willing to be sacrificed so you could give Alex my magic and lie to the community that it was some accidental death. Too bad for him that I was smart enough to find out and hide it because there’s a punishment from the gods when you decide to sacrifice your youngest child.” I turned to my mother and smirked. “Isn’t there? You can’t conceive any more children then, right?”

Her face went pale and the truth was in her eyes even as she sputtered her denial. “I have no idea what you mean. You’re making up lies to defend your lying to your family.”

“You’re not my family anymore. The High Council ruled it so after you tried to drug me so your top choice to force me to mate could rape me and take my purity,” I shouted. “You were convicted of that, so don’t try to spin this around. We’re done. We’re strangers from this day forward. It was ruled as such.” I turned to the guard attending the circle. “Morrigan University, please.”

“You just attacked the heir of the Shaw family,” Father snapped. “You’re not going anywhere until that situation is handled and you answer all my questions, Ms. Millen.”

“That’s not what I saw,” my guard said easily. “I saw her defend herself when your son reached to strike a woman at the High Council compound which he had to be insane to even fathom to do.”

I shot Father a disgusted look. “You were going to try and use that to find out what I inherited and the company I started, try and get control of it all.” I shook my head when I saw the greed in his eyes. “Be very careful not to overreach, Mr. Shaw. You were blinded by what was right in front of you for years. Make sure you didn’t miss anything else.”

“What does that mean?” he growled.

I smirked at him. “Do you think I would so openly and loudly say an accusation like that without proof? I have proof of the sacrifices with a third party in case I couldn’t get free to be turned over to the High Council. I also have proof of Alex’s abuse. I have proof of Mother’s ‘discipline.’ I have proof of so much that it would make your head spin and your house collapse.”

“Now I’m dying to know what company you own as well,” my guard muttered under his breath.

I made a business card appear in my hand and extended it to shake, smiling when he caught on. “Thank you for watching my back and guiding me through this. Whatever you need is on me.”

“It was my pleasure. Best of luck to you, Ms. Millen.”

I nodded and headed to the spell circle. I ignored the bullshit my parents and grandmother were spewing but saw Alex was racing to rejoin my siblings… And flicked them all off.

Fine, I was a brat sometimes. I thought I deserved it right then.

I arrived back at school and kept my composure until I reached my room. Then I did the world’s dorkiest happy dance as I silently screamed in joy, jumping up and down all around in celebration at winning my freedom and more.

Once I settled down, the first thing I did was call my business manager, Tracey. She was someone my grandfather had found when she was a young witch who had just graduated from college without any prospects and came from no reputable family. She was smart though, graduating at the top of her class and with a drive he’d liked.

However, in our sexist world and without connections, that left her without much of a chance to get far. We’d given her that chance. I’d been just a kid and instantly liked her, so that was enough for me.

“I won,” I greeted.

“Thank fuck, Bevin,” she rasped. “You’re finally free.”

“Even more than that,” I chuckled as I wiped my eyes. “One of the councilmen was a friend of Grandfather’s. The others seemed giddy to stick it to Father. I let it out that I have magic, but they are furious I’m not penniless. They have no idea what it all entails, so be on your guard as they won’t let this go.”

“I’ll be ready. Now that we’re not only in a holding pattern with the stodgy attorney and you are the boss, I want to submit some ideas for changes.”

I frowned. “I thought you liked him.”

“Yes, I do, but as an attorney. And no offense to your grandfather as I adored him, but his buddy is sexist and we both get pats on the head too often.”

That was fair and I admitted it. “What are you thinking?”

“We need better security. Human stuff and cameras for the stock you can now ramp up from your dorm. We can now do more since you’re free. Not too much, keep it exclusive, and your schooling is most important, but we’re not slipping packages under your parents’ noses. Let’s do this better.”

“I leave it to you,” I agreed immediately. She was loyal like my sisters should have been and I trusted her with everything. I paid her like she deserved to run it all, and she lived in the mansion I owned. Well, it was one of the Millen vacation houses that had been hidden from the Shaws when they ruined Grandfather’s family. He hadn’t had the money to do much with it until I started my company.

So really it was mine now, and I’d paid for the renovations and updates. He’d handled it all as the adult while he’d been alive and then Tracey had taken it over. I hadn’t even seen it besides in pictures since he’d died as my parents never let me leave their estate.

“Tell me everything,” she demanded.

So I did. I filled her in down to the last detail of the hearings, not surprised when she was shocked silent. While she processed that, she caught me up on what else was going on. We hung up with a lot to think about on both sides.

I changed clothes and laid down on my bed, picking up the ball I liked to toss around when I needed to think. It was squishy and didn’t bounce, so there was no noise given I was used to being watched like a hawk… And it was actually a pet toy which was perfect for my business.

I was the owner of Familiar Treasures. A cute name and misleading if humans ever stumbled upon it which was a requirement of the High Council. No one could ever be idiots and name their business something that made it clear magic and the supernatural were real.

Not if they liked their lives.

Unlike the name implied, I didn’t sell treasures that were familiar as in maybe collectibles. No, they were treasures for familiars. Obviously, humans didn’t know familiars were real, so that was the fun of the name.

I’d been a kid when I’d come up with it. Then again, I still loved it at eighteen, so I would probably still have named it that if I’d started the business now.

While I could talk to animals and that helped me with familiars, familiars weren’t simply animals. They were animals who were blessed with a spirit that could aid a witch or warlock in their magic. That was what we were taught from very young. No one debated that or disagreed.

What the “spirit” entailed tended to be where people split into groups. One group didn’t care—which I was mostly a part of—and it simply was the way things were and we would never have the answer.

Another group preached they were spirits of the earth the gods blessed witches and warlocks with to help us in our magic so familiars could be part of our lives. When a witch or warlock developed to the point of needing a familiar, a spirit assigned by the gods to guide them blessed a spirit animal that represented them and made a sacred match.

When the familiar died—either when the witch or warlock did or by other means—the spirit would return to the gods until it was called upon again. It was part of the natural order and a very “circle of life” kind of harmonious teaching. I tended to believe that was the actual answer, but I wasn’t devout and admitted I could be wrong.

The third group… Disturbed me. They were the smallest group and a bit radical. They believed that the spirits were deceased witches and warlocks that possessed animals to become the familiars to help those of their bloodline. I hoped that wasn’t really how things worked and would hate that to be the truth for several reasons.

First, that would be a horrible afterlife to me as a witch. To live a life with magic to only become a spirit who possesses an animal and then has no magic? That would be a horrific way to exist.

Second, my family devoutly believed in that and preached it which, to me, meant everyone should run from it.

Third, it once again put too much importance on bloodlines and the powerful families owning those people in them. It seemed like a made-up idea to control and give power that heads of families shouldn’t have. Especially the sexist ones. It was too cult-like for me and upsetting to sit in a family who believed in it.

Fourth, they used it as a way to shame people. If children hadn’t found their familiar yet, they would say they must have shamed their bloodline or done something wrong. In turn, they would falsely praise those who found their familiar early as a blessing from ancestors and mixing things that shouldn’t.

Especially as I knew that part to be bullshit. I chose not to have a familiar. I didn’t have a familiar because I couldn’t… I didn’t want to so I could keep my magic hidden. That was part of me being able to talk to animals, and with that I rejected several possible familiars. Most wouldn’t ever have dared, but I was too scared of what my family would do and how they could control me if I had a familiar.

So that part of the belief was complete and utter bullshit.

The concept of the company had started when I was just a child. It hadn’t been long after I turned seven and figured out I could hear animals and was still terrified of my family. I’d overheard the truth after what Clarence had told me, and I knew Grandfather was the only one I could trust.

I’d talked him into taking me to one of the vacation homes when my family was disgusted with me and wanted me out of their sight. He seemed to know there was more to everything that happened but hadn’t pushed it. However, it was a rare occasion where it was only us and a few staff that traveled there.

The day that started it all had been just the two of us on a picnic… And his familiar. A falcon who I could hear and was completely bored and actually depressed. He had no purpose until Grandfather needed him, and for the animal and spirit merged into one, it was a dull, drab life.

Before I realized what I was doing, I was playing with the nature around us and making a nesting, harvest toy for the falcon… While infusing my magic in it.

“Bevin, what are you doing there?” Grandfather had asked when his familiar couldn’t seem to leave me alone.

“Making him happy. He was sad,” I’d answered.

“How do you know that?”

“He told me.”

To say Grandfather had been startled was an understatement. “Darling, can you talk to my familiar?”

“Yes, but the frog at home told me not to let Father know and that I have magic or he’ll take it. I can only trust you. The others will hurt me.”

He never doubted me. Grandfather had never, not for one second thought me speaking the silliness of a little girl or anything childish but had believed me instantly. I didn’t know if he suspected what the Shaw family had already done or knew just how cruel they were capable of being… But he believed me and protected me from that moment.

And helped me build a thriving business unlike any other in the magical community.

I didn’t make ridiculous nests of tied weeds and long grasses I found in the backyard of a country estate anymore. No, my wares had developed far beyond that, but they were still handmade as that was the way to infuse the magic that attracted familiars to want to play with them and liven them up. That, in turn, helped witches and warlocks as a happy familiar harvested more magic and aided them better.

Which was why my company was so successful and I had a waiting list of people who wanted to buy items from me. What I was able to do was also unique, and while others had apparently tried to replicate it, their quality and ability couldn’t match mine, so they were quickly shot down as subpar.

And that was why I could charge what I did. I didn’t feel bad for that either as I put in a lot of time and magic to make each item. Plus, the value was there given how much they helped the familiars. If I was going to help the wealthy get more magic… I was going to make them fork over the money for it as well.

There were smaller, less expensive options when I could manage them, and we had a separate waiting list for those that Tracey handled a back door for. Those were for people who didn’t have the finances to buy the bigger items. None of it was forever, but given how important familiars were to witches and warlocks, treating them right was important.

Apparently, no one had thought about that before me. Shame on them for that, and I was also going to charge for that as well. All the ways people used their magic to make their lives easier and they didn’t focus on helping their own familiars be happy?

Yeah, shame on them.

Once I fully mulled over what Tracey had told me, I set aside the ball and grabbed my sketch pad. I never, not ever , stole people’s ideas, but there was only so much range that could truly be had for toys for animals. Plus, familiars came in a much wider variety than humans were allowed to keep as pets.

That caused a lot of problems for witches and warlocks. Lots of them.

But Tracey enjoyed browsing Etsy for market research. The truth was, Tracey simply adored Etsy and wished she was crafty like some of those people. Her creativity was in graphics and computers, not handcrafts… No matter how many times she tried.

And tried.

And tried .

I swore she’d tried every medium there was, from knitting with yarn to acrylic paint pours, and she simply was never happy with the way anything turned out unless it was digital art.

It worked out well for business that she still craved eating it up with her eyes as she was creative in her mind and coming up with possibilities. Or at least mentioning things that were off the wall and clever. We’d learned that her telling me about those sorts of things sparked my creative side and normally led to a new design that had me requesting materials to try something out with.

The way the company was set up was fairly ingenious and I could say that since Grandfather and Tracey had done it. We had a store in one of the most popular magical shopping areas. It was a bit like fiction where it was hidden from humans but a throwback to the past and something out of Harry Potter it was not.

It was way trendier and more upscale than that. There was tech mixed in with magic and all kinds of cool that I couldn’t wait to see for myself now that I was free.

But I had a store there with one of every option we sold on display. We made it clear it was best to go with their familiars and let the familiars pick which item they wanted. Yes, people tended to want the expensive ones, however , they didn’t always pay attention, and there were times they tried to buy the most expensive item for a bird familiar for a large cat.

Yeah, that wouldn’t keep them entertained long or really much at all.

Once they chose, they put their name on the waiting list, and when I was able to make items we contacted the next person on the list. Those who put deposits down when they were next on the list we made a priority. It wasn’t the best business model and we fully admitted it, apologized for it even in our store, and our salespeople were trained to deal with peeved people.

While reminding them it was complicated and intricate magic no one else had come up with so far, so obviously people had to be patient. That worked for most, but others were still jerks. If they got to a demeaning level or verbally abusive, Tracey and I wouldn’t put up with that, and our salespeople had full authority to warn people they could be banned for life from buying from the company if they preferred.

That tended to make people behave better.

We also didn’t tell them I was underage, hiding I had magic from my family, and practically lived as a prisoner trying to be sold off into a mating by a father who was no better than a human trafficker… So there was that to deal with.

But things were different. I was free now.

My phone rang and I glanced over at it, frowning when I saw the display.

Okay, so I was free right after I changed my phone number and got a new plan because apparently my family weren’t going to take the High Council’s ruling seriously given my father was calling me. Ass. Hole.