“Is that your language?” She asked, slightly in awe. “It’s beautiful. What did you say?”
Trik shook his head. “That is for another time.” It took every ounce of his control to step away from her and allow her some space. What he wanted, what his very soul was telling him to do, was to wrap her in his arms and take her to his realm where he could protect her from everything and everyone that could hurt her or take her away from him.
Cassie walked over and sat on her bed, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She tilted her head as she watched the inhumanly handsome man walk around her room, inspecting his surroundings.
“So you’re an elf?” She asked unnecessarily.
“Yes.”
“What kind of elf?”
Trik turned slowly and his eyes met hers. “What do you mean?”
Cassie shivered under is unwavering gaze. “I mean aren’t their different kinds?”
“Who have you been talking to Arwenamin ? Who has been filling your beautiful head with information?” Trik walked closer to the bed as he watched his Chosen closely.
“I know some people who know some people,” she answered vaguely.
Trik let out a low chuckle. “You’re protecting them. I can respect that. However, you might want to pass on that they need to be very careful what they say and who they speak to.”
“Why? Are you going to kill them? Isn’t that what you do?” Though her words were honest, her tone wasn’t accusatory.
“My, my, you have been busy,” Trik circled the bed and came to sit on the opposite side so as not to crowd her and hoping to ease the tension he saw in her shoulders.
“Whatever I tell you Cassie, you need to understand that it changes nothing. You are still my Chosen and I will not give you up,” Trik told her with brutal honesty written on his face.
“Is that a threat?” She asked.
“No Arwenamin, it’s a promise. I have no doubt in my mind that I do not deserve you. I have no right to you based on my actions in my very long life, but those aren’t reasons enough for me to walk away from you.”
“Well, tell me how you really feel.”
“I am of the Dark Elven. I serve the Dark Elf King, Lorsan, as his head spy and assassin.” Trik paused and waited to see her reaction to his words. She didn’t turn away. He didn’t see the expected disgust appear on her sweet face.
“Our enemies are the light elves. We have been enemies with them for as long as I can remember. We live in the Elfin realm, though on separate sides.”
“How do you get here, to my realm?” She asked.
It wasn’t the question he had expected after having admitted his dark roots, but it was the one she asked and so he would answer.
“We can use any reflective surface to travel between realms. Mirrors, glass, large pools of water, and even some metals and plastics will work. We just think about where we want to go, gaze at our reflection, and step through the material.”
“You can go anywhere in the world through a reflective material?” Cassie asked in fascination.
Trik nodded, bewildered by her response. “You did hear the part where I said I’m a dark elf and an assassin right?”
Cassie nodded. “I’m still processing that.”
Trik scooted closer to her on the bed. He reached out and tugged one of her legs down and took her bare foot in his hands. He began to rub it slowly and squeezed tighter when she tried to wiggle free.
“That tickles,” she said trying not to laugh.
“Try not to think about it.”
“Do you always do the stuff you want, even if someone else doesn’t want you to?”
“You want me to touch you,” Trik said with complete confidence.
Cassie’s mouth dropped open. When she tried to respond, nothing would come out. She could feel her face burning up as the blood rushed up her neck and cheeks.
“Now,” he started, ignoring her indignation at his comment and the fact that she didn’t deny his words. “Are we going to address the fact that I essentially just told you that I am evil?”
Cassie watched his hands as he rubbed her foot. She didn’t look into his eyes because she didn’t want him to see the fear there because he wouldn’t understand the reason for it. She herself didn’t understand. She wasn’t afraid of him. She wasn’t afraid he was evil or of the things he must have done. No , she was afraid for something much more complicated than any of those reasons. Cassie was terrified , because even though Trik had shared with her who and what he was, and made it clear that he was essentially evil, she still wanted him. She still wanted to be his Chosen. Deep inside she knew that she should be appalled at what he had told her. She knew that she should be concerned, but the only thing that she could bother to be concerned about in that moment was her strong desire for this beautiful elf to never stop rubbing her feet. Yep, that’s what scared her.
Trik smiled crookedly. “I got all that you know.”
Cassie flung her head back as she closed her eyes and let out an embarrassing groan.
“Okay, new rule,” she said as she jerked her leg away from his hands. “No touching when talking about my feelings.”
Trik’s long hair slid forward as his head tilted and a wicked smile spread across his beautiful lips. “So I get to touch you other times?”
Cassie rolled her eyes. “Are you insecure? Cause really you shouldn’t be.”
“Definitely not,” Trik chuckled. He brushed his hair back and somehow managed to not look feminine while doing it. “Something in you calls to me. Your spirit draws me close and my fingers itch to touch you. Tell me you do not feel it,” he challenged.
Cassie shook her head. “I can’t.”
“Can’t what? You don’t feel it?” Trik growled out.
Cassie scooted back as close to the headboard as possible as she watched those silver eyes bore into her.
“No,” she held up a hand trying to placate the dark elf in front of her. “I meant that I can’t tell you that I don’t feel it because I do. My skin is crawling all over. And as soon as you touch me , it stops. I don’t even know if I’m describing it right, but yes I know what you’re saying and honestly it’s kind of wigging me out.”
“Would you like me to go?” Trik asked and stood up from her bed.
“NO!” Cassie jumped up faster than she had ever moved. She wanted to slap herself for her reaction and then she wanted to bang her head into a wall as she watched the self-satisfied expression form on Trik’s handsome face.
“I meant, you know, if you don’t have anywhere you need to be or anything then you could, ya know, um, you could stay. If you wanted to, I mean it’s okay if you don’t . I’m cool with that too. It’s whatever you want, I mean I have stuff I can be doing, I…”
“Cassie,” Trik interrupted his stumbling Chosen. “Hush.”
“Okay,” Cassie said relieved that he had stopped her from digging her grave any deeper than the necessary six feet.
“I want to stay.” Trik pulled out the chair that was tucked under her desk.
“You do?” Cassie asked in honest interest. “Surely there are more exciting things that you could be doing.”
Trik let his eyes slide lazily over her form. “I can think of some pretty exciting things,” he said with a wink.
Cassie rolled her eyes, but felt the blush all the same.
“When will your parents be home?” Trik asked.
“My dad won’t be home until late tonight and my mom…” Cassie pulled her phone from her pocket to look at the time. She was surprised to see that she had been home for over an hour. She hadn’t realized how long Trik had been in her room. It was 7:00 p.m. and her mom was usually home around 8:00. “She will be home in about an hour.”
“That gives us some time.” Trik motioned for her to take a seat back on her bed.
“Time for what?” Cassie asked as she sat down on her bed across from him.
“You have questions. You do
n’t understand how you can want me even though you know I’m not the hero on a white horse. I’m more the forbidden fruit.”
Cassie laughed. Trik found himself leaning towards her as he watched her face light up in angelic joy. Her laugh rushed over him and he felt a glowing sensation in his chest more wonderful than any physical pleasure he had ever experienced. He had caused that. He had made her laugh. He realized then that he wanted to do it again. He wanted to be the one to put a smile on her face and to cause her to throw her head back in abandoned playfulness and laugh. He wanted her happiness so badly that it was a physical ache in his chest.
“Forbidden fruit, huh?” Cassie’s smile continued to lighten the room even as her laughter faded.
“What are you afraid of, Arwenamin ?” Trik asked, all playfulness gone.
The smile wiped from Cassie’s face as she began to fidget with the comforter on her bed.
“You’ve killed people?” She asked without looking up from watching her hands pick at the material.
“Yes,” Trik answered.
“You’ve hurt people, good people?”
“Probably.” Another short, emotionless remark.
Cassie looked up then. “What do you mean probably?”
Trik saw something in her eyes that he didn’t want to see—hope.
“Yes Cassie, I’ve hurt good people. I won’t sugarcoat my past, my present, or my future. I’m a killer, an assassin. I kill who I’m ordered to kill. I’ve tortured innocents and at this point I don’t know if there is any good in me”
“Have you ever killed or hurt a child?” Her voice was a whisper as she spoke and he could hear in her voice that it would be a deal breaker.
“No,” Trik let out a deep breath, suddenly feeling very weary. “Children are sacred to our kind; light or dark, a child is never to be touched.”
“Have you ever r-r-,” Cassie’s hands were shaking as she tried to get the question that she knew she had to know the answer to.
“NO! Never,” his answer was quick and firm.
Cassie’s eyes closed and he saw a single tear slide down her cheek. He was up and by her side from one breath to the next.
“Why do you cry, A'maelamin ?”
Cassie looked up into his silver eyes as she let him pull her into his arms. She raised her hand and traced a single finger across his forehead and down his chiseled cheek. Silent tears tracked down her face as she spoke.
“You must feel so empty, so alone.”
Trik stared into the eyes of his Chosen and saw the compassion that filled her heart. He saw fear, and a hint of anger, but mostly he saw the pain she felt for him. For him.
“Why are you letting me touch you?” He whispered as he leaned closer to her and breathed in her scent. “How can you stand it when you know that these hands,” he ran the back of his hand across her wet cheek , “have taken more lives than you can fathom.”
“Stop,” a muffled sound as she pressed her face into his chest. “Why does this hurt?”
“What?” Trik asked as his brow drew together and his chest tightened.
“The thought of not being with you, the thought of telling you to leave and never come back. Why does it feel like my heart is being ripped from my chest and stomped on? What’s wrong with me Trik? I should be angry at you or at least disgusted. I should be hitting you, not embracing your touch!” Cassie knew her reaction to him was wrong. The man had just admitted to a life of murder, yet she couldn’t walk away. All she could think about was how lonely his existence must be. How cold the darkness must feel , as it consumes him from the inside, and she hurt for him. She ached for the pain his life must bring him.
“Here, holding you, I feel warm. You chase away the darkness, Cassie.” Trik had heard her thoughts again. She pulled back and looked up into his face. She saw too much.
“I can’t do this,” she told him as she stood up and pushed away from him.
“What do you mean?” Trik asked as he too stood.
She looked up and again could see the longing and deep need in him and it scared her.
“You need to go.”
“Cassie don’t ask me to leave.” Trik’s voice held the first hint of insecurity she had ever heard from him.
“I need some space, Trik. I need to think. Please, just give me some time.” Cassie pleaded. They stared at each other for a long moment and she almost thought he wasn’t going to relent. But then he turned and stepped through her window and was gone. Just like that, he was gone and the emptiness that now took his place drove her to her knees.
Cassie curled up in a ball on her side and wrapped herself in the pain of his absence. She felt like she was suffocating as she gasped for breath. She felt the hot tears slide down her cheeks and she bit her lip to keep from calling out his name. Why was she feeling this way? Cassie coughed as she tried to swallow around the sobs. What’s wrong with me? She thought as she tried desperately to regain control of her emotions, but control would not come.
She didn’t know how long she lay in the floor of her room consumed with her misery when suddenly she heard a door slam open and arms wrapped around her pulling her up into an embrace. It wasn’t Trik because the emptiness and dread were still there.
“Cassie,” the voice spoke quietly, but firmly.
“Cassie, look at me.”
Cassie obeyed and looked into purple eyes. Elora, her best friend hugged her tightly. Her brow furrowed as she tried to figure out how her friend had known to come to her.
“Is she going to be alright?” Elora asked someone who was behind Cassie.
“Syndra?” Cassie recognized that voice as Elora’s mom, Lisa.
“I knew it wouldn’t be pretty, but wow, she looks bad. Once their souls are connected, then being separated is devastating,” said a third voice, one that Cassie didn’t recognize. “Well, even looking like this, she still looks better than his royal ass-hatness.”
“Did you just call the most deadly elf assassin ever, an ass-hat?” Lisa asked slowly.
“Yes, and I’ll say it again. I’m a light elf. We’re mortal enemies; I get to call him names,” the snarky voice quipped.
“Syndra, you worry me.” Lisa chuckled.
Out of sheer curiosity, Cassie found the strength to sit up and pull out of Elora’s hold. Strangely, as soon as Elora let her go, Cassie felt a little better. She looked up at Lisa who sat on the edge of her bed, her forehead traced with wrinkles as the worry she obviously felt shown through her eyes. Then she turned to the voice she hadn’t recognized. A tall woman, who looked nothing like her voice sounded, perched on Cassie’s windowsill. Her hair was cut in a short bob and dyed purple. She had large, green eyes and pale flawless skin. Her nose was short and cute and her lips full and red. She was slim, and every movement was graceful and deliberate. She wore tight jeans and a white, long sleeve, V-neck top that shaped to her curves.
“I’m Syndra,” the purple haired woman said in a voice that sounded more suited for a little pixie than for a tall she-elf.
“I’m, I…” Cassie tried to speak but her words eluded her.
“You’re screwed, love. That’s what you are,” Syndra said, shaking her head sympathetically.
“Syndra!” Lisa’s said exasperatedly.
“What?” Syndra shrugged, “I’m just reiterating what we all see before us. The girl is a mess.”
“What’s wrong with me?” Cassie asked, finally putting a sentence together.
Syndra stepped down from her perch and walked over to Cassie. She knelt down so that they were eye level and tilted her head to the side. Her eyes traced over Cassie’s face.
“He doesn’t deserve you. I can see already you have a pure heart.” Syndra shook her head and let out a frustrated breath. “You’re Triktapic’s Chosen.”
“Yeah, already got that part.” Cassie rolled her eyes, thankful to not be curling in on herself at the sound of his name.
“Yes, well he obviously did a piss-poor job of explaining all tha
t it entails to be a Chosen,” Syndra snorted. “But then he is a dark elf so what did we expect, honesty? Like that’s going to happen.”
“Syndra,” Lisa raised a single eyebrow at the elf.
“Right, sorry. Okay so you’re his Chosen and at some point in the time you’ve spent with him, your souls connected. Essentially , they became one. Each link is different and the intensity with which they bind is individualistic, but I would say if you are having this kind of reaction to being physically separated then you and Trik must have one hell of a connection.”
“But why? Why does it hurt just because we are apart?” Cassie whispered through a wave of pain.
“It hurts because you are separated against your soul’s desire. You are going against nature.”
“I asked him to leave,” Cassie told her.
“But you didn’t really want him to leave. If you and Trik had kissed and said goodnight, mutually agreeing to separate with no ill will between you and knowing that you would be back together in a short while, then you would not be in any pain. But you want him here with you. Your soul is calling out to its mate. Trik didn’t want to leave. He desires more than anything to be here by his Chosen’s side but you made him leave. You ignored what your soul was telling you; you ignored the call of his soul and so you went against nature. Now you are suffering the effects.”
Cassie groaned as another wave of pain wracked her body. “Well that just sucks,” she gasped. Elora tried to hold her but Cassie cried out.
“Anyone else’s touch will be painful. Her soul wants only one being’s touch.” Syndra leaned closer to Cassie. “You need to call to him. Say his name; he will come immediately , and the pain will be over.”
Cassie shook her head. “He kills people. He’s tortured innocent people. He told me he was evil.”
Syndra nodded. “Yes, those things are all true—very, very true. But what else is true is that you hold the other part of his soul and you are good and pure, which means that there must be something in Trik worth saving.”
“He didn’t act like he wanted to be saved,” Cassie coughed as she attempted to take a deeper breath.
“He doesn’t know that he needs to be saved, but the time will come when he is going to need you. You, Cassie Tate, are his Chosen for a reason. Trik has walked alone for over a thousand years, separated from all because of the job he does for the Dark Elf King, separated from the light elves because of what he is. Destiny has made you his Chosen. You are his and he is yours. Nothing and no one in this realm or the Elfin realm can change that. You can fight it, or you can embrace it. You can doom him to a continued existence alone, or you can bring light to his dark life.”