Authors: Quinn Loftis
They sat that way, lips nearly touching, breathing in each other’s breaths, holding on to the comfort they found in the other’s presence.
Cassie jumped when she heard the front door open and close.
“My mom,” she told him.
Trik nodded but made no motion to move. She started to stand but he held her firm.
“I’m not leaving,”
his eyes flashed as he dared her to contradict him.
Cassie nearly grinned as she saw the confidence he wore like a second skin slide back in place, all traces of fear gone.
“Syndra said you could keep her from seeing you,” Cassie told him.
“
That is correct.” His head tilted slightly as his eyes narrowed. “I’m curious to know what else the Queen told you.”
Cassie
raised a single eyebrow at him. “What, you didn’t pick that up while channel surfing my mind?”
Trik chuckled.
“It wasn’t something I was looking for at the moment.”
She went to stand again and this time he let her go.
“I have to go down and talk to her. Is it going to hurt when I leave the room?” Cassie shuddered remembering the pain.
Trik stood
, closing the distance between them. He gently caressed her cheek and smiled when she leaned into his touch.
“No
,
Arwenamin,
as long as our separating is mutual and not of ill will then there will not be pain. I won’t allow that ever again.”
Cas
sie rolled her eyes at his overbearing words, but breathed out in relief at knowing she wouldn’t hurt once she left her room.
She left him standing in her room
, watching her as she closed the door behind her. Cassie walked slowly down the stairs trying to collect herself before she saw her mom. She didn’t think she could hold it together if her mom saw something in her and asked if she was okay. She was still raw from the pain and from the things that Trik had shared with her.
She rounded the bottom step and saw her mom going through a stack of mail at the kitchen table.
“Hey,” Cassie said as she stopped beside her.
“Hey,”
her mom smiled. Sylvia Tate was a beautiful woman and always happy
, which only made her more beautiful. There were times that Cassie felt like she walked in the shadow of her mother’s beauty, but she held no jealousy. Her mom didn’t have a clue just how attractive she was.
“Everything going alright tonight?”
Sylvia absently flipped through the mail, pausing sporadically to gaze at one envelope or another.
Cassie let out a deep breath, making sure her voice didn’t waiver when she answered. No matter how tough she wanted to think she was, she never wanted to go through the pain she had so recently endured.
“I’m good. Tired, so I’m getting ready to call it a night.”
Sylvia looked up, her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized Cassie’s face. Cassie decided
that she must have hid her anxiety well because her mom smiled and gave her a hug.
“Okay then, sleep well
,” Sylvia told her.
Cassie made her way back up the stairs, trying to gather her thoughts as she prepared to once again face the inhuman beauty in her room.
“
In the very rare instance that a human becomes the Chosen of an Elfin there is only one way that human can be allowed a continued existence. It is a choice not made lightly especially by those of the Elfin race. A bond must be made, unbreakable, eternal and is only possible between a male and his Chosen.” ~Laws of the Elfin, Lost Book
“Are you not a teensy bit shocked by everything going on?” Elora asked her mother as they sat at their kitchen table. Lisa had made a pot of herbal tea when they arrived home. Now they both sat, sipping their tea, their minds still struggling to wrap themselves around the events of the evening.
“I’ve known
that Syndra was an elf my whole life, and had no idea that she was royalty. I don’t think my mother knew. So yeah, I’m just a tad shocked.”
“What does it mean?”
“It means just what Syndra said. We keep our traps shut. We aren’t supposed to know about their kind and we sure as heck aren’t supposed to know that she is a Royal.” Lisa took a sip of her tea as she looked over the rim of her mug at her daughter.
“She
said that even knowing who Trik is was dangerous,” Elora reminded her mom.
Lisa nodded.
“Maybe he’ll be honest with her now that he knows Syndra has been in touch with her.”
“Yeah, and let’s hope that
Syndra can talk her elf husband out of trying to significantly shorten Cassie’s life span,” Elora added.
Lisa snorted.
“Knowing how closely they protect their secrets, with our luck they’ll probably try hauling her off to Elf land.”
“Not funny
, Lisa.” Elora rolled her eyes at her mother’s dark sense of humor, not even realizing how honestly she came by her own pessimistic personality.
~
Syndra
sat while her mate, Tamsin, King of the Light Elves, paced back and forth across their bedroom. She waited while he considered her words and the implications that came with them.
“So you are telling me
, Triktapic, famous assassin and continual thorn in my side, has a Chosen and she is human?” Tamsin eyed his Chosen with raised brows.
Syndra
gave a slow nod and continued to let him work through the details. She knew how her mate’s mind worked and knew that it was best to make subtle suggestions but ultimately let him come up with the decision.
“So she is
essentially untouchable,” Tamsin thought out loud. “How is it that someone as dark as Trik would possibly be given one so innocent, not to mention young.”
“She is young, but not as young as you think.
She has what the humans call an old soul. She has an inner strength that I don’t even think she is aware of.”
Tamsin looked o
ver at his Chosen and wryly smiled. “What of her innocence, my lover?”
Syndra
stood and walked slowly to him. She stood inches from him as she looked up into his shimmering eyes. Eyes that never ceased to draw her in and remind her of the love he held for her.
“Trik has held our people
, as well as his own, in fear for centuries,” said Syndra. “He is Lorsan’s pet, but I don’t think Lorsan really has control over him, at least not any more. Something is changing; the balance is being tilted in our favor.” She brushed a loose hair out of his face and smiled encouragingly. “Whatever Lorsan has planned, it must be something especially evil—evil enough that the Forest Lords are watching. They only take note if either of our sides are doing something that affects the humans. It is my belief that they have chosen Trik to be the instrument of Lorsan’s downfall. He is not lost, not yet. His Chosen, this Cassie Tate, already holds a deep place in his heart. She will draw him from the dark.”
“And what if he draws her from the light instead?”
Tamsin challenged, ever the analytical tactician.
“Then we must beg the Forest Lord
’s help,” she responded. You know that our realm cannot survive without the humans. If Lorsan destroys them, he destroys us all.”
Tamsin nodded in acknowledgment.
“We must also hope that he does not realize the importance of Cassie’s role. If he suspects that she represents a threat to his power, then he will kill her, regardless of whether she is Trik’s Chosen.”
Tamsin pulled
Syndra into his arms pressing his forehead to hers. His love flowed into her. Even after a millennia together his desire and love for her had only grown. He wasn’t ready to end their long life ; he wasn’t ready to give up any time with his Chosen, especially not for a Dark Elf King’s selfish desires.
~
Trik sat surrounded by the darkness of Cassie’s room. He smiled as he thought about the appalled look on her face when he suggested that she let him sleep next to her…for her protection of course. Protection from what? She had asked. He had grinned his sly smile and told her protection from any who would take his place in her dreams. She had rolled her eyes at him and he had agreed to sleep on the floor. He had never needed much sleep so he had taken up a seat in the corner of her room, on the chair that had sat in front of her desk.
It had taken
Cassie a while to fall asleep. She kept telling him to stop staring at her. But she didn’t understand. She didn’t understand that when Trik looked at her, he wasn’t just looking at her physical beauty. He was seeing all the beauty that she brought into his world , all the beauty that he had never known existed. Cassie held his attention as sure as the sun held the devotion of a flower, seeking out her life-giving rays. Even in the dark , he had seen the blush that had stained her beautiful skin. But eventually, exhaustion had taken over. His thoughts drifted back to the pain they had both felt when they had been separated. He had heard of such a thing happening between Chosen pairs, but never had he ever imagined it would feel like that. It made him sick to think that Cassie had endured such pain. It angered him that he could have prevented it if he had denied her request. He should have stayed and forced her to hear him out. Then again , he didn’t imagine his Chosen could be forced to do much.
Trik heard Cassie whimpering softly in her sleep
. He went to her and kneeled by her bedside, putting his face level with hers. He gently brushed back the hair that fell like a veil in front of her face. As his fingers brushed her skin she leaned into his touch and she settled. Even in sleep , she knew him.
As he knelt there,
captivated by his Chosen, he felt the pull of his King. Lorsan had the ability to call his elves back to him no matter the distance. For the first time in his long life, Trik ignored his Lord’s call.
~
Cassie walked next to Elora through the
drab, crowded halls of their high school. Rows and rows of lockers lined the halls, crowding the students as they stopped to retrieve their personal belongings. To any new student, the school might seem interesting, with all the inspirational posters hung on the walls. The posters contained such stirring proverbs as “There is no I in team,” and Cassie’s personal favorite, “Change is inevitable and life changes as swiftly as the wind blows. It’s which direction that you let the wind blow you that matters.” Some student, bound to be indispensable to society, had crossed out the word ‘the’ and then added a ‘Y’ to the end of ‘wind.’ Cassie might not get a quality education at Northpointe High, but she would certainly learn the important lessons in life, like how to smut up an inspirational poster.
As they walked
,
Cassie kept looking over her shoulder to ensure that Trik was still behind her. He leaned casually against a row of lockers, arms crossed over his chest, looking way too edible for his own good. She was the only one who could see him, and that was a good thing since he was in his Elfin form. He had started out the day in his human guise but she had asked him not to use his glamour around her. She didn’t know how but she had felt a wave of pleasure emanate from Trik when she had made this request.
“Is he still there?” Elora asked as she bit into the bran muffin Cassie
’s mom had shoved into Cassie’s hand on the way out the door. Cassie didn’t have the heart to tell her mom that she hated bran, so she continued to accept them and pass them on to Elora.
“Yep,” Cassie answered.
“And he’s just going to follow you around all day?”
“So he says.”
Elora shrugged. “If you need me to remind you not to pick your nose or dig out a wedgie just let me know.”
Cassie rolled her eyes.
“Good to know you have my back.”
Elora raised a single brow.
“Somebody has too. I leave you alone for one night and you go and get yourself tied to a dark elf assassin.” She shook her head as she continued to eat her muffin. “Only you, Cassandra. Only you would wind up with the bad boy when really you should be with Mr. All American.”
Both girls jumped
when Trik appeared next to them back in his human guise, apparently having decided to allow Elora to see him as well.
“Who is Mr. All American?”
Cassie tried not to look at Trik as she answered. “What?”
“You’re dark friend here seems to think you would be better off with him.”
Trik’s indignation and possessiveness at her statement were apparent in both his voice and his glower.
Elora made her famous
give me a freaking break
face. “Get a grip man, aren’t you some bad ass killer?”
“Yes, please pass that on to this
, this All American you are talking about.”
Cassie laughed and quickly covered her mouth.
Trik leveled her with a piercing stare.
“It’s not a real person Trik. I
t’s a type of guy, you know, like a ‘knight in shining armor’ type.”
“You p
icked a real winner here, Cass,” said Elora. “I think this guy is one arrow short of a full quiver.”