He was in his human guise, which was nearly as beautiful as his Elven one. He was tall and his gate was regal and bold. He held the attention of the entire room and all he was doing was walking. He was wearing faded denim jeans, his black boots, and a black t-shirt that said I’m kind of a big deal. She had never seen him in regular human clothes, and she had to admit he rocked a pair of jeans and novelty T-shirt like nobody’s business.
When he finally reached their table he pulled out a chair next to Cassie and sat down. He leaned back and laid his arm on the back of her chair and nonchalantly played with a strand of her hair. The lunchroom was still quiet as they all watched Trik. His shirt was being proved right as they stared at him, doing absolutely nothing.
Elora saw his shirt and let out a snort of laughter as she shook her head at him.
“So does that mean you like me now?” Trik asked her.
“About as much as I’d like to throw up in my mouth all day.”
“So that’s a no?” Trik grinned, not bothered by Elora’s jab in the least.
Cassie looked around the room as gasps ricocheted off the walls. His voice was a caress and she wasn’t the only one affected by it. She felt a wave of possessiveness rush over her and knew that he had felt it too. He leaned in close to her ear and whispered. “You’re hot when you’re jealous.”
Cassie stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed at her. She swore some of the girls were on the verge of passing out.
Elora looked around and then back at Trik. “Hey I bet we could make some money if we let them touch you, and charged for it.”
This brought another burst of laughter from Trik. Cassie slapped his arm and whispered, “Stop laughing or some poor girl is going to die of a heart attack. What are you doing here anyways?” She asked him.
“I wanted to let you know that I have your dress for tonight.”
“Is it weird?”
Trik scrunched up his face at her. “Explain weird.”
“I think she’s asking if it’s some virginal, see through, sacrifice dress.” Elora smiled at Cassie. “You can thank me later.”
“That has some serious possibilities. Maybe I’ve gone too conservative in my choice.” Trik teased Cassie as he watched her face flush.
“Can you leave now and take her with you so that I can eat my food without constantly regurgitating it?”
“I like you Elora.”
“So not what I was going for,” she told him, her voice dripped with sarcasm.
Trik stood and grabbed Cassie’s hand. “Walk me out?” He asked.
She nodded at him and let him pull her up to her feet. Cassie gave a small wave to Elora who rolled her eyes and shook her head.
Trik watched as Cassie walked in front of him. The sway of her hips was natural and her every move was made with a subtle sensuality that she wasn’t even aware of. Cassie was oblivious to how desirable she was and based on the number of eyes following her progress, she filled more than a few of their thoughts. The idea of them thinking about his Chosen in such a way filled him with rage. Cassie stumbled as she felt his fury through their hands that were clasped together. Trik’s eyes roamed the room landing on stare after stare and their faces paled at what they saw in him. He knew they felt it. When he met their eyes they knew they were staring at the face of death.
Cassie tried to walk faster but Trik didn’t let her pull him. He wanted every male to know that she was his and to pursue her would be their demise. Was he overreacting? Probably. Did he care? Nope.
Once they were outside Cassie folded her arms across her chest trying to fight off the crisp, cool, fall air.
“I put the dress in your car,” Trik told her as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him.
Cassie looked around to see if anyone was watching. She was pretty sure that guys that weren’t students weren’t supposed to be hanging out at the high school. She had been so caught up in him being there that she hadn’t thought of it in the lunchroom.
“Nervous?” he asked her.
“I just don’t want to get caught standing out here in the arms of an older guy who isn’t a student.”
“You’d rather get caught standing out here in the arms of an older guy who is a student?” Trik teased, but she saw the underlying tension in the narrowing of his eyes.
“Why were you flipping out in the lunchroom?”
He looked down at her, taking in her beauty that wasn’t only skin deep. Cassie was beautiful from the inside out. She was the furthest person from vai n that he had ever come across and she was oblivious to her effect on the opposite sex.
“Cassie, every guy in that cafeteria was drooling on themselves as you walked past. I don’t go to school here so they don’t see me with you. For all they know you are available. I wanted them to know that you were the complete opposite of available.”
Cassie laughed. “You , tough guy assassin are insecure?”
Trik frowned, “I’m not insecure. You don’t realize how possessive the males in my race are of their Chosen. Cassie, I have waited over a thousand years for you. You are beyond precious to me and so yes, I’m possessive and overprotective. But I’m not insecure. The males in that room,” he motioned towards the lunchroom, “could never give you what I can, care for you the way I do, make you feel the way I do. You would always feel empty with another male.”
“What about you?” Cassie leaned back so she could see his face clearly. “Am I the only girl who can give you what you want, what you need? Do you think that no other could care for you the way I do?”
“There are no others. There is only you. No other could be what I need and want. No other could love me as you will. No other will ever make me feel the way you do. My soul would cry out in betrayal if I tried to be with another, just as your soul would cry out.”
Cassie didn’t realize that she had been holding her breath. She had been waiting for him to bust out the L word but he had yet to tell her that he loved her. She couldn’t decide if it was because he wasn’t there yet or if maybe he couldn’t love her. Maybe his dark nature would keep him from ever loving her. Her heart broke at the thought and she quickly pushed it away not wanting him to see it.
“I’ll see you tonight,” Trik told her as he released her and stepped back. She smiled at him and blew him a kiss as he walked backward towards the parking lot.
“I’ll take that as a promise,” he called out to her with his wicked grin.
Cassie laughed and gestured for him to go. She turned and went back inside the school. Lunch had just ended and students filled the hall, making their way to their next class. Cassie stood watching as they went about their normal, daily activities. She realized then that this normal life would never be enough again, not since Trik. She had tasted what it would be like to be with him in his world and it was decadent. Going back to her life would be like trading the finest chocolate for the generic brand at the Dollar General.
“Earth to lover girl,” Elora snapped her fingers in front of Cassie’s face.
Cassie blinked several times clearing her mind. She looked at Elora, who was frowning at her and said, “Hey!”
Elora raised a single brow at her friend’s perky demeanor. She had decided that as soon as she and Trik had left the lunchroom that she would not be asking Cassie about her midday interlude with the dark one. “You ready?”
Cassie nodded and a slow smile crept across her face. “Definitely.”
~
“Is everything ready for tonight?” Lorsan asked Ilyrana.
She smiled and nodded. “It’s going to be perfect.”
“I agree,” he said with a wicked smile.
“What plan do you have up your sleeve King of mine?”
Lorsan’s eyes narrowed as he spoke. “Tonight, my love, I will find out if Triktapic really is as loyal to me as he says.”
“How?”
“Simple, I’m going to have a chat with his Chosen, and see how much he has told her; if he really
has been as honest with her as he claims to be.”
“You think she will be honest?” She asked.
“If she’s as good and pure as Trik makes her out to be, then yes, she will be honest.”
Ilyrana let out a deep sigh. “I hope, for Trik’s sake, that he really is still your warrior in heart and action.”
~
Tamsin sifted through page after page of archives and letters of centuries long past. He was searching. The Forest Lords had told him that a great change was coming and that one that was lost would be restored. Was it Trik they were talking about? If he is the King of the Elven race and he has been lost, in a manner of speaking, would he not be who they were talking about being restored? If so, Tamsin knew that something would need to take place to be the catalyst for that change. Something in Tamsin told him that he needed to find out what that catalyst would be.
He had been at it for hours when he came across the oldest record thus far. It was writt en by the first scribes of the Elfin people, the scribes to the King, before they were divided.
I, Cyntree, scribe to the King of the Elves so write this account of the last record of his reign. Our people are fighting amongst themselves. They have forgotten the Forest Lords and the love for their creation. They no longer honor their creator or the King put in place by them. Triktapic, Tamsin paused over the name, he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. Trik was indeed the King of all the elves; it was him.
The King of the Elves has petitioned the Forest Lords. He asks that they relieve him of his duty for he is tired of his people ignoring his council, refusing to obey his commands. He has tried to show them mercy, tried to understand what it was that was tearing them apart, but he has grown weary. The Forest Lords were not happy with the King’s request, but they granted it. Written here is a summary of the terms by which they allowed Triktapic to abdicate his throne.
He would give up his Royal powers endowed to him by the Lords. He would become like the other elves.
His abdication would cause a split in the elves, dark and light, and his place would be with the dark.
He would serve the new Dark Elf King as an assassin, merciless and fierce. For if he was tired of being a loving King then he would know no love.
His appearance would be altered so that none would recognize him and his reign would fade into history.
Only one thing would restore him as the rightful King, only one thing will unite the dark and light elves and once again make them the Elfin race. The King’s Chosen. Trik would have to love his Chosen above himself, above his desires, wants, and needs. He must do for his Chosen what he did not do for his people. He must love her unconditionally through the peaceful times and the times of strife and war, no matter how difficult it became. He must recognize this love and choose it. Choose to love her for she will not always be loveable, just as his people were not always loveable. Once his heart has been restored to its once selfless state, then he will be King once more.
The Forest Lords gave him one last warning before they completed the request. Because of the life he would soon lead , darkness would begin to seep into his once pure heart. He would kill, torture, and destroy many lives before he would meet his Chosen. Their warning was this—if the darkness consumes you fully before you meet your Chosen, you will have lost your ability to love selflessly. For love brings life, life is brought forth in light, and if darkness seeps into every cavern, crevice and secret place inside you there will be no room for light to shine and no way for love to grow.
Tamsin sat in stunned silence as he read the last paragraph over and over. His Chosen. Trik must love his Chosen. Did he love Cassie? Tamsin could tell that he felt strongly for her, he was certainly possessive and protective of her, but did he love her? He was willing to walk away from Lorsan. Was that an act of love? But he wasn’t being honest with Cassie about how he would be walking away. Would the love for your Chosen allow you to lie to her or would it pierce your heart so strongly that you kept nothing from her.
No, Tamsin wasn’t sure if Trik loved her. And if he did he might not even realize it. He needed to speak with the Forest Lords again. He needed their guidance on how to move forward. Tamsin wondered then if Trik remembered the decree given him by the Lords, or if it was too late and he no longer had enough light left in him to remember.
~
Cassie stood in her room staring at the bag sitting on her bed. The bag Trik had left in the back of her car because it was supposed to have her dress in it. She shook her head at it as she thought that there could be no way a dress could fit in that bag, and if there was a dress in that bag then it was for a Barbie doll. She was actually a little nervous about opening it and found herself stalling. She took a shower, blow-dried her hair, then put on some makeup. But now there was nothing else she could do other than open the cursed bag and get it over with. Her mom had asked her what it was and she did not want to see her mom’s expression when she told her that Trik had bought her a dress to wear. So she just told her it was a surprise from Trik and she hadn’t opened it yet. And that was the truth. It would be a surprise to find out how he stuffed a dress for a grown woman in that tiny, blasted bag.
“Okay,” she muttered as she stepped towards the bed, “moment of truth.”
She grabbed the handles and held them like they were covered in flesh eating mucus as she pulled the bag open. She reached down into it and felt her fingers touch a handful of fabric. She bunched it up in her hand and pulled her arm out. She held out a piece of material and watched as it seemed to grow in her hand. She dropped most of it, only holding on to a small piece and the fabric continued to magically grow. Finally it stopped.
Cassie grasped it in both hands and spread it out and saw that it was a beautiful, black dress with a black lace shell over the fabric. It had long lace sleeves that allowed the skin to be seen and a V neck that plunged a little lower than she would have normally picked. She held it up to her and stood in front of her mirror. The dress hit just below mid-thigh, short enough to be sexy, long enough to not have to pull it down constantly.
She grabbed the bag off of her bed intending to lay the dress out while she got undressed and realized that the bag was not empty. She was sure there hadn’t been anything else in the bag when she had pulled out the dress. Peeking over the edge of the side she looked back into it and grinned. She reached in and pulled out black heels, the strappy kind that accentuate small ankles. She hadn’t thought about having shoes to match. Well Trik was good for one thing at least. She smiled to herself knowing that Trik was good for much more than one thing.
She undressed and quickly slipped the black dress on, eager to see if it looked as good on as it did lying on her bed. It slipped over her head and down her body caressing her too sensitive skin. She shuddered at the sensation of the cool material against her. Once the dress was completely on she felt the fabric shift and move, stretching here and shrinking there. She stood in front of the mirror watching in fascination as the dress fit itself to her very form, every curve and straight line. It was molding itself to her body. Finally all movement ceased and she stood their wearing the most elegant dress she had ever laid eyes on and couldn’t believe how amazing it made her look. She turned in the mirror looking at the back only then realizing there was an even more daring V cut than had been there previously. Apparently Elven clothes had more magical properties than even a Victoria’s Secret bra and she had to admit that it was pretty freaking cool.
She strapped on the heels, fluffed out her hair, took one last look in the mirror and froze. There was a soft knock on her door.
“Come in,” she said softly as that was all she could manage as she took in the woman who stared back at her from the mirror.
Cassie’s mom inhaled sharply as she entered the room and saw Cassie standing there.
“Is that what was in that little bag?” She asked.
Cassie nodded still unable to speak.
“You look grown, no longer my little girl.” Sylv
ia looked into the mirror with Cassie and she met her daughter’s eyes. “You look astonishing.”
Cassie cleared her throat and smiled. “Thank you.”
“Where is he taking you that you have to be dressed so fancy?”
Cassie was momentarily caught off guard by the question and stumbled before she finally got out an answer. “He wouldn’t tell me.”
Sylvia nodded slowly, a hint of skepticism in her eyes.
The doorbell rang and Cassie rolled her eyes at herself when she thought, Saved by the Bell .
She followed her mom out of the room and down the stairs just as her dad was opening the door. Cassie stopped in her tracks, her mom stopped, time stopped. Trik stood at her door in a sleek black tuxedo. And just as she had thought many other times, she didn’t know how a man could look sexy in a suit with a bowtie, but he pulled it off magnificently. He was, of course, in his human guise so his hair was shorter than normal, but just as black. His silver eyes met hers and she shivered as those intense eyes traveled down her body, not bothering to hide his intensity or possessiveness in that look.
He held his hand out to her father introducing himself but his eyes never left her. She realized her dad was speaking and finally tore her eyes from Trik’s penetrating stare.
“What dad?” Cassie asked.
“I said why don’t we have a seat in the living room?” William Tate motioned in the direction of the living room.
Trik waited for Cassie to descend the rest of the stairs and met her at the bottom. He held his hand out to her as she hit the last step. She stepped down and Trik pulled her close as they followed her dad.
He leaned down as they walked and put his mouth next to her ear. “There are not words that could describe how you look tonight.”
Cassie felt her face heat as the blood rushed into her skin. She looked up at him and he winked at her, which did not help her already dazed condition.
Her dad sat on the couch next to her mom, making it painfully obvious that he did not want her and Trik sitting close, as the only chairs left were a rocking chair and a winged back chair. Trik smiled at her as he took the chair directly across from her dad. Cassie sat down and she was stiff with nervousness at what her father might do. She immediately buried her face in her hands when her dad handed Trik a piece of paper and a pen.