“I am using it,” he told her.
“Then why am I seeing you in your elfin form?” His jaw tensed and she could tell that he did not want to answer her.
“That’s a discussion best saved for a more private setting.” He stood and took a step back from her and that tiny bit of space between them felt like the Grand Canyon. Elora mentally shook herself and drew her shoulders back. She took a deep breath and let it out slow and then turned to face the others.
“Would someone please tell me what’s going on?” Oakley asked. “Because it looks to me like my mom and two strange men just appeared out of thin air on my sidewalk.”
Elora crossed her arms in front of her and cocked her hip out to the side as she looked up at her brother. “You want the full story or the Cliff Notes?”
“Elora, you can’t just tell him everything,” Cush said.
A single brow rose on her forehead as she met Cush’s eyes. “He’s my brother, Cush. He already knows about the elves; it’s just all the other crap he doesn’t know about, so cliff notes to begin,” she said and as she continued to speak her eyes never left Cush’s. “Cassie met a hot guy who wound up being a dark-elf assassin. The dark-elf king has an evil plot to get humans addicted to a drug produced from a plant from their realm, so they will spend more money in his casinos. Cassie was captured, we went to rescue her, and then we got captured. We were rescued; now we’re here. I assume Cassie and her man are going to go back to the light-elf castle,” she paused as if thinking and then let out a dry, humorless laugh. “Oh, and apparently, I’m Cush’s Chosen.”
Chapter 2
“I know the importance of learning from the past. I must look back to move forward. I must remember my past if I am to avoid repeating mistakes. But as I look back, I am reminded of my past transgressions. I am brought face to face with the ugliness that has been my life, and I find that I am broken all over again.” ~Triktapic
Syndra felt the shift in the air just as Trik and Cassie appeared in front of her and just after them, Tamsin, Beleg and Sidhion. She waited to see if more would be appearing in the same fashion and when no one did she frowned.
“Where are Elora and Lisa?” she asked Tamsin. “Nedhudir and Rincavornon?”
“You’re not the least bit bothered that we just appeared out of thin air?” Cassie asked.
“Tsk, tsk.” Syndra waved her off, “I’m more concerned that not all of you appeared out of thin air.”
“Elora took a detour to the human realm,” Tamsin told her as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. Syndra allowed herself a moment to take comfort in his presence and to assure herself that he was safe.
“I thought I made it clear when I agreed to this whole queen thing that you were not to get yourself thrown in a dungeon by a dark-elf king,” she teased him.
“Forgive me, my queen,” he told her with a slight smile as he took her face in his hands and held her still as he kissed her. When he pulled back they were both breathing heavily. “I won’t let it happen again.” Tamsin stepped away and gave her some space.
Syndra fanned herself as she tried to regain her bearings and Cassie caught her eye. She was smiling and blushing and damned if the human girl's blush didn’t make her own face bloom bright red.
“Explain the Elora remark, please,” Syndra said needing to focus on something other than the very public display Tamsin had just put on for all to see.
Cassie felt Trik's warm hand on the small of her back just before she felt his warm breath on her ear. “Interested in seeing if we can outdo the light-elf king and queen on PDA?”
She turned her head so that she could look up at him. His silver eyes danced with mischief as he stared down at her and she wondered if there would ever be a time that she wasn’t taken breathless by his beauty. “I can imagine that you are rarely outdone,” she quipped, “so I don’t feel the need to attempt it.”
“I’ll leave you be for now, Cassie love, but later, you’re all mine.” His voice was smooth as velvet and laced with seduction, causing a shiver to run down her spine. She didn’t respond to his warning because she knew if she opened her mouth, she would just beg him to follow through with his threat, and oh, how dignifying that would look.
Tamsin was telling Syndra what had taken place at the Lorsan’s castle. He had just began telling her about the portal escape when Cassie tuned back in.
“So Lisa went through the portal to follow Elora, only she didn’t know where Elora had gone?” Syndra asked.
“There are pretty much only two places that Elora would have gone. So it was a fifty-fifty shot of ending up in the right place,” Cassie pointed out.
Syndra snorted. “Fifty-fifty under these circumstances begins to look a lot like screwed regardless.”
“So what do we do now?” Cassie asked.
“We wait for Cush to bring them back,” Trik spoke up.
Cassie shook her head. “Sorry, Babe, but I have to go home.”
“Not happening,” Trik said matter-of-fact like. “It’s not safe.”
“My parents are going to be flipping out.” She glanced at Syndra. “You were working some mojo on them while I was at your castle, right?”
Syndra nodded. “I used a little magic on them to keep them from thinking you were missing. It was suggestive magic, so whenever they thought of you the magic made them think they had actually seen you recently.” And you’ve been gone for a couple months. It’s January in the human realm.”
“Holy crap two months, do you think the spell is still working?”
“Should be—my magic is good as long as I’m alive. But it is still a good idea for you to actually see them. It will reinforce the magic when you aren’t there.”
“I’m going to tell them everything.” Cassie met Trik’s eyes. “I don’t want to spend my life trying to hide this from them. If I’m going to be with you…,”
“IF?” Trik nearly growled. “There is no if Cassie. You’re mine, period. If you want to tell your parents we will tell them. I will tell them everything and that you belong with me.”
Cassie smiled. “Tell me how you really feel.”
A sultry smirk danced across Trik's face. “I’d rather show you.”
Syndra groaned, “Get a room.” She snapped her fingers at Trik cutting off his reply. “After you save the world.”
Cassie laughed.
“I don’t think he can wait that long,” Tamsin joked.
Cassie's laugh turned into a choked cough at Tamsin’s words. She glanced at Trik and saw the desire in his eyes and felt her face heat up. She shook her head at him. “We have to go to the human realm and talk to my parents,” she told him pointedly, “no time for messing around.”
“Baby, there is always time for messing around,” Trik purred.
“On that I have to agree with the assassin,” Syndra said with a wink.
Trik stared at Cassie thoughtfully. He knew Cassie was right, but he hated the idea of her in danger, and at the moment he felt that anyplace not the light-elf castle was a danger to Cassie.
“Okay,” he finally said, “we’ll go back to your parents, but,” he held up a finger, “only to tell them the truth and then we’re coming right back here. We have battle plans to make.”
Cassie smiled at him and wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Trik kissed her lips softly. “I love you.”
She smiled. “I love you.”
“Now that I think I’m going to vomit, can we go?” Syndra asked as she took Tamsin’s hand and headed towards the mirror walls.
Tamsin looked at his warriors. “You all stay here in case the others return.”
Beleg bowed his head. “Yes, My Lord.”
Cassie followed Trik to the mirrors, each taking their respective places next to Tamsin and Syndra. They all took a step at the same time to go through the mirrors and they were all pushed back with a force so strong that they each landed on their butts.
&n
bsp; “Dammit!” Trik yelled.
“What does that mean?” Cassie asked as she stood and dusted off her clothes.
“It means you’re not going back to Kansas, Dorothy,” Syndra said as she glared at the mirrored wall as if it had just royally insulted her.
“And if we can’t get through to the human realm, that means Elora and the others are…”
“Screwed,” Syndra finished for her.
The ground beneath them began to tremble, and Cassie had to brace herself to keep from falling over. She looked over at Trik and her mouth dropped open. He was hallowed in light and his long dark hair whipped around him as if it had a life of its own. His jaw was clenched tight and his face was the picture of barely contained rage.
“Trik,” Cassie said his name softly as she moved towards him. She approached him like she would any predator, though she knew he would never hurt her. At least not on purpose.
“I’m stuck here while Lorsan’s elves produce Rapture in the human realm and sell it to people in the casinos,” he growled. “What am I supposed to do from here?!”
“What about Sanctuary?” Syndra asked. “Do you think the portals there are working?”
Trik shook his head. “The portal we just traveled through to get here was a master portal, which means if someone closed it then they closed them all.”
“Not to sound like a broken record, but what do we do now?” Cassie looked at each of the royal elves before her and felt her chest tighten as she realized just how upset they all were by this new revelation.
“We’re going to have to go on the offensive,” Trik said decidedly. He began to pace around the throne room as he spoke. “Lorsan has forced my hand in this. I can’t wait for his next move.” He paused and looked over at Tamsin. “We’re going to have to assemble the light elves and let them know that such a time has come that the Forest Lords have reinstated their king.”
Tamsin nodded. “They will welcome you, Triktapic.”
“Not all of them. I have wronged many in your court. I have hurt many. I don’t imagine that they will accept me with open arms. In fact, I bet I will have a few attempts before the week is over.”
“What kind of attempts?” Cassie asked, not liking the sound of what Trik was saying.
“The assassination kind,” Trik told her calmly as if he wasn’t discussing someone trying to kill him.
She frowned. “You really think people will try to kill you?”
“No.”
Cassie let out a breath, relieved.
“I know they will,” he finished.
Her eyes widened and she swore her heart skipped a beat at the mere thought of Trik's life ending, of not having him here with her. She walked over to him and looked up at him. She knew her eyes were moist with unshed tears but she couldn’t help it—even the idea of a life without Trik was enough to break her heart.
“No one is going to kill you,” she told him firmly.
Trik's lips twitched. Clearly he was amused at her statement. “Are you going to protect me?”
Cassie snorted. “I don’t even like to kill flies. No, I’ll sic Elora on them.”
Trik cringed. “Nothing is worth that, not even an attempt on my life.”
Cassie grinned. “Exactly, so no more talk of you dying.”
“Agreed,” Tamsin piped in. “Now back to things that we can actually control. Sid,” he looked over at the warrior who stood quietly waiting, “sorry, but it’s just easier than saying your whole name.”
“It’s fine, liege,” Sid told him stiffly.
“I need you and Beleg to send out messengers to the realm for a gathering here tomorrow at the mid-day meal.” Sid bowed and turned swiftly, walking from the room. Tamsin looked back at Trik. “We will have the gathering tomorrow. We tell them of your return; then what?”
Trik rubbed his chin and his eyes narrowed as he thought. “I will give the warriors a choice to fight for me or stay behind.”
“No!” Cassie said suddenly as she slammed her fist into her hand. Trik’s eyes widened in surprise as he looked at his Chosen. She stood with her back straight and chin held high as she stared him down. “You are the Elf King, Triktapic. Yes, you made your mistakes, but you will not spend your rule tiptoeing around the light elves because they are pissed at you. You will tell them the facts and you will remind them that when you divide a people, problems like Lorsan are what you end up with. And then you will tell them their calling—to fight for themselves and for their king.”
Trik stared at her, momentarily speechless by his Chosen, and then a huge smile broke across his face. “You are going to be a magnificent queen,” he told her.
“Thank you,” she smiled up at him. She saw the familiar gleam in Trik's eyes before he spoke and her stomach flipped and her jaw dropped open at his next words.
“You are going to be an equally magnificent lover, and I feel the need to point out that I am being very good right now. Because really all I want to do is drag you to a private room and have my wicked way with you.”
Elora splashed cold water on her face as she stood in the bathroom in her brother's apartment. She squeezed her eyes closed tight as the air cooled her wet skin. When she opened them again and looked at herself in the mirror, she tried to see if she appeared different. Did being someone’s Chosen make you look different? She felt different; she felt claimed even though he hadn’t so much as denied or confirmed her pronouncement. She felt like she belonged to him and worse, she liked it.
“Argh! Pull yourself together, Elora.” She groaned to herself as she toweled off her hands and face. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly before she opened the bathroom door. As she pulled the door open, she nearly ran into a solid wall of chest. A very nice chest she might add.
“Hello there,” her voice was smooth and sultry as she looked up at the warrior who currently occupied most of her thoughts.
“Are you alright?” Cush asked her as he stared down at her.
Elora didn’t know how to answer his question. Did he really want to know? Because if he did, then she might as well start off with a big fat hell no she wasn’t alright. She’d follow it up with a would he please just wrap her in his arms and tell her that he wanted her and needed her as much as she did him. And if he didn’t really want to know—if he was just asking out of some weird sense of duty because it was the polite thing to do, then she would knee him in the crotch. She watched as his brow drew together and his lips tightened, and on her final thought he shifted his stance. He was moving like he had heard her thoughts. It was in that moment that she noticed his arm was touching hers. She nearly closed her eyes and groaned again as she remembered all she knew about Cassie being Trik’s Chosen. When they touched skin to skin, he could read her mind and vice versa.
“Crap,” she muttered under her breath.
“I really want to know,” his deep voice drew her attention from her thoughts and she looked at his amused face, “not because I’m being polite. I don’t really care about being polite,” he added.
“Well you caught all that stuff that just went through my head, so that’s how I’m doing,” she told him without looking away. She wasn’t about to be ashamed or embarrassed about wanting him, and if he had a problem with it he could kiss her butt.
“I do have a problem with it,” he answered her thoughts.
She jerked her arm back with a frustrated growl. “No worries, I won’t force you to marry me. I’ll get over you,” she told him and then mentally kicked herself because she knew there was no way in hell she would ever get over him. “There are plenty of fish in the sea and all that jazz.”
She pushed past him, no longer having the energy to verbally spar with him. Instead she just wanted to lie down and sleep for…like…ever.
Cush watched Elora walk down the hall away from him toward the living room. He had gotten the message loud and clear. She wanted him, but she wouldn’t beg. He was telling himself it was a good thing that she was able to resign
herself to the fact that they wouldn’t be completing their mating. He didn’t have room for a woman in his life and he wouldn’t be able to make her happy. In fact, he would just drive her crazy. Because once he claimed her, once he made her his, he would never let her go. He knew the type of male he was: possessive, jealous, selfish, alpha. He wouldn’t want her around any other males. He would cage her to protect her and that would break her. See it’s better this way, he thought to himself as he followed the direction she had just taken to the small living room in her brother’s apartment.
Cush’s feet and thoughts froze in place the second he entered the living room and saw Elora standing wrapped in the arms of a male he’d never seen before. He felt his muscles grow rigid and his jaw tightened as he ground his teeth together. He forced himself to lean casually against the wall because if he didn’t he was going to rip the arms off of the human male who was still touching his Little Raven. He watched as Elora, her brother, the unknown male, and Lisa talked and laughed. They were obviously friends. Friends, he told himself, that is all. But then the idiot had to go and smack his mate on the ass—stupid human.
Cush saw red as that hand made contact with Elora’s very tempting backside and he was across the room with his forearm pressed to the human male's throat before the idea had even crossed his mind.
“CUSH!” He heard Elora’s gasp but ignored everything but the human he had pressed to the wall.
“Give me a reason not to remove your hand from your body,” Cush said calmly.
The male’s eyes were wide and Cush could feel the pulse in his throat pounding against his forearm.
“Dude, I didn’t, I mean…Elora’s just…we’re not,” the boy stuttered stupidly.
“She doesn’t belong to you,” Cush pointed out. The boy shook his head. “Then why would you touch her in such a way?”
“I was just messing around, just playing,” he screeched.
“Cush let him go!” Elora’s voice broke through. He turned his head to look down at her as she attempted, in vain, to pull him off of the human.