Syndra covered her laugh with a cough. “Virginal? Really, my Queen?”
Cassie shrugged. “It was all I had.”
“Today is a great day,” Trik’s voice boomed, effectively drawing her attention. “Today I have taken Cassie to be my wife in the way of her people.” Cheers erupted. “And today we take back our freedom as a people, one sovereign nation of elves. We will no longer be divided by tyranny—no longer be separated by a chasm of hate.” The room grew quite as they hung on his every word.
“We are no longer light or dark. We are the Elfin nation, one people, with one purpose—to do what is right in the sight of the Forest Lords—to stand for what is good, to protect those who need protection, and to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. Today we go to war!”
Cassie felt her heartbeat speed up as the room roared its approval of Trik’s words. The walls seemed to shake around them as the cheers grew louder. Trik held his hands up and just as quickly as the noise had risen, it dissipated.
“Tamsin has no doubt given you your orders. Each elf has his or her part to play. Stick to the plan and we will be victorious!”
There was a flurry of movement as Tamsin began directing the warriors. Trik turned to Cassie and leaned down so she could hear him over the noise. “You stay close to me. The world will not be safe from my wrath if something happens to you.”
“We’re doing this to protect the world, remember?” she asked him coyly.
Trik gave his famous smirk as he rubbed his thumb across her lips. “Just stay alive for all our sakes.”
“As you wish, my Lord,” Cassie said in syrupy sweet voice.
“Remember that phrase for later,” he purred back.
“I’m seriously going to gag to death if I have to listen to you two toss sexual banter back and forth the entire way to the dark castle,” Syndra huffed.
“Could you please refrain from dying until after we’ve won?” Trik asked her.
“Only if you can refrain from getting it on in the bushes.”
Cassie snorted but quickly schooled her face when her husband shot her and Syndra a warning glare.
“He’s cranky,” Syndra muttered.
“He didn’t get to get it on with his new bride,” Trik growled back as he motioned them to follow.
Cassie shook her head at his back as Syndra smiled unrepentantly.
They traveled surprisingly quickly for such a large group and after a half hour on foot in the forest, Cassie found herself in Trik’s arms.
“You’re going to carry me there?” she asked him skeptically.
“I didn’t get to carry you over the threshold of a new house, so I suppose the threshold of the castle we’re storming will have to do,” he teased.
“Trik, seriously I can keep up,” she said as she attempted to wiggle out of his hold.
“I’ve no doubt about your ability, Beautiful. Perhaps I simply want to hold my wife.”
Her mouth dropped open as she looked up at him. She was still in awe of his beauty but even more so because of the charm that came with it. He was a warrior, assassin, and king, but he was also the flirty bad boy she’d met in an office conference room and he was hers.
“You like calling me your wife,” she pointed out.
He grinned down at her briefly but then looked back up to watch where he was going as he moved swiftly around trees and bushes. He wasn’t even breaking a sweat as he hauled her with his army through the forest. She didn’t know how long it had been when he began to slow and then finally came to a stop. He slid her to the ground and kept his hands on her waist until she was standing steady.
“Are we here?” she asked in a hushed whisper. Trik motioned with his head behind her and she turned. She felt chills break out across her skin as the dark-elf castle rose up before them. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, pushing away the memories of what had taken place the last time she had been there, but still her heartbeat quickened with fear.
“Cassie,” Trik’s lips were against her ear. “He’s not going to hurt you, Love, not ever again.”
She nodded. She knew his words were true. She knew that Trik would walk through the fires of hell to keep her safe.
“And kill every demon I meet while there,” he told her, having heard her thoughts.
She pulled her shoulders back and straightened her spine. She was a queen; she would not give Lorsan the satisfaction of seeing her scared.
“That’s my girl,” Trik said as he pressed his lips to her forehead.
He made a motion with his hands and slowly warriors began making their way closer to the castle. She followed his lead, all the while silencing the little girl in her begging her not to go any closer.
Trik could feel the anxiety pouring off of Cassie and he hated himself for bringing her back to the one place where a measure of her innocence had been stripped against her will. If it was up to him she would never have to endure another day of pain, be it physical or emotional, but he wasn’t a god to be able to hold her fate in his hands. All he could do was protect her to the best of his ability and that started with defeating their most dangerous enemy. He moved quietly with her by his side as they drew closer and closer to the castle he had once called home. His heartbeat was steady in his chest and his breathing was even. Just like before any kill, he was calm. His palms didn’t sweat and his mouth didn’t get dry. He was completely unaffected by what was to come; he always had been. Killing was a part of him. It was as natural to him as breathing, a necessary part of his world.
Tamsin let out a sharp whistle and lifted his hand causing all the warriors to stop in their tracks. They all grew very still, listening for whatever it was that had alerted the light-elf king. Trik’s head snapped around as he heard movement. As soon as he sees the large, lithe bodies of Tyndril and Tao, he knows that he has only seen them because they allowed it. Tao’s large eyes met his as the beast nodded his head at him, letting him know that he and Tyndril were there for him, that they would fight with him.
“The Tiriths,” Cassie whispered in awe as she watched the two beasts pace back and forth in the forest.
“They’re itching for a good kill,” Trik told her.
“So they like dark meat?” Cassie winked at him and he couldn’t help but chuckle under his breath at her superbly bad joke.
“They fight whoever I fight, so really they like any meat,” he told her. He looked over at Tamsin and nodded. “Let’s do this.” He stood up straight and held his hands out towards the castle and began pulling on the power that had been bestowed on him by the Forest Lords. He called on the elements around him, seeking help from all of nature and beginning to channel the power through his body and out of his hands. A pulse of light shot out of his palms and Trik directed it with his mind to find the weakest point of the castle. His power hit it with a force that shook the ground beneath them.
“And so it begins,” Cassie said as she watched part of the right side of the castle explode.
“They’ve begun their attack,” Ilyrana said unnecessarily. “I suppose Tran and Agog were not successful in their attempt to take his Chosen.”
“My love, is there any reason that you insist on standing there spouting off the obvious while our home is being destroyed?” he snapped at his Chosen even knowing he shouldn’t but unable to stop himself.
Ilyrana turned to look at him; her eyes narrowed in anger. “Even dark elves treat their Chosen with respect and love, and yet you have treated me with much less than this for the past couple of weeks. Why?”
“Ilyrana I don’t have time to sooth your ruffled feathers. You know that I love you and for now that will have to be enough. I have Trik and his warriors of light knocking on my door. I have no idea how our dark elves are doing with Rapture in the human realm, and frankly, I’m tired of listening to you whine about how I do or do not treat you.”
Just then Melda walked into the throne room as he finished speaking. She walked past Ilyrana and straight up to him, looki
ng way too interested for his liking.
“My king,” she bowed her head.
“You would be wise to acknowledge your queen as well,” he growled at her. Lorsan had put on the charm to get her to betray the human and now she honestly believed he was interested in her. Despite how he had been treating his Chosen, could the she elf not see his queen and how lovely she was. This whelp didn’t hold a candle to her, yet she stupidly believed that he would stray from his mate—as if he could. But even if he could, he wouldn’t want to, foolish woman. Her eyes widened as she turned to look at Ilyrana who stared back at her with murder in her eyes.
“My queen.” The she elf bowed her head to Ilyrana but then turned back to him.
“Are you ready for me to reopen the portals?”
“Not yet,” he snapped. “I don’t want Trik and his band of warriors able to run once they get in here. I want them trapped, so when the castle goes, they go with it.”
“So you mean to go through with your plan?” Ilyrana asked, not removing her eyes from the young she elf who still stared at him with starry eyes. Lorsan felt his heart soften towards his Chosen.
He walked over to her and took her chin in his hand pulling her attention to him. “I’ve treated you unfairly as of late, my love. I’m sorry. I’ve just been under a lot of pressure. But you are the last person I should take it out on,” he told her silently.
“Thank you,” she whispered and then finished silently. “Once she is of no use to us I want her dead. She is looking upon you as no women should look at a mated male, and I will not tolerate insolent females in our kingdom.”
“As you wish, my love,” he told her before kissing her gently. When he pulled back, the walls shook as Trik’s power hit the castle again. “Damn assassin,” he growled.
Ilyrana smiled. “You miss him.”
“How can I not? He was the only one willing to banter with me without cowering like a weakling before me. There aren’t many men like that and it pains me to lose him.” He paused and when the castle shook yet again he shrugged. “But I have a strict policy that no matter how much I like a man, once he starts trying to kill me our friendship is over.”
“A good policy to have, my love,” she smiled at him.
“Enough of this,” he said as one of his warriors came into the throne room. “Let them in; I’m ready to be on my way.”
“Yes, my liege,” the warrior bowed and then left to do as his king bid.
“Get ready to open those portals, Melda,” Lorsan told the woman. He took his mate’s hand and pulled her towards one of the mirrored walls. “I will take no chances with you, my queen. As soon as the light-elf warriors make their appearance, I want you to head to the vineyards in the human realm. I will be right behind you. I just want to see Trik’s face once he realizes he’s walked right into my trap.”
Chapter 15
“You’ve heard the saying hindsight’s 20/20. Well whoever said that knew what they were freaking talking about. You can always look back and see perfectly the finger that’s about to shoot you in the head as the world crashes in around you. It’s in those moments that a person finds themselves wishing that their hindsight vision was just as crappy as their regular vision.” ~Elora
The massive doors to the dark-elf castle opened and the warriors took advantage of it before Trik could command them stop.
“Dammit!” he yelled as he grabbed Cassie’s hand and started running with her towards the door the warriors were flooding in. He knew breaching the dark-elf castle walls should not have been this easy. Lorsan must have a scheme up his sleeve and more than likely it ends with all of them as corpses.
“Tamsin, pull them back!” he yelled at the other king. Tamsin nodded and started yelling orders to pull back but the battle had already begun. Elves—light and dark—met in the halls amidst flashes of steel and magic. Trik noticed the dark warriors were backing up as if in retreat, which only ignited the predatory battle lust of the light elves. What does a predator do when its prey runs? They gave chase even as Tamsin yelled at them to get back. Damn undisciplined elves, Trik thought to himself.
“TRIK!” He was brought from his thoughts at the panic in Cassie’s voice. He turned just in time to see her duck out of the way of a dark-elf’s sword. She moved just as he’d taught her, ducking the blade, and in one smooth move she pulled out the small dagger in her boot and sliced it across the knees of her attacker. She slid past him on her knees and Trik finished him with a pulse of power straight to his heart.
He watched as his Chosen stood panting, staring down at the now dead dark elf. She was magnificent and she was his. He smiled at her. “I like it when you scream my name.”
She laughed, which is exactly why he made the outrageous statement at the most inappropriate time. The battle was still going on and as much as he just wanted to stand and admire his female, he had a king to kill. “Come on, Beautiful. Let’s go use those kick ass skills on some more dark elves.”
She took his hand once again and they continued on down the hall. Trik knew this castle like the back of his hand and he began moving to the throne room. He could hear the clashing of swords and shouts of anger as the two factions fought and for the first time in all his years of battle he worried for his men—worried for the lives of someone other than himself. Frankly, it was very weird for him to feel such emotions. He pushed it aside as he entered the throne room which now resembled a battlefield. Bodies littered the floor, both dark and light, and the clash of steel and the flashes of light from elf magic reverberated across the hall. He pushed Cassie behind him as his eyes searched the room for the one elf he came to kill; all the others were collateral damage.
After one sweep he found him and knew the second he saw the smirk on Lorsan’s face they were in trouble. Lorsan gave a slight nod and that was when he saw the she-elf, Melda, standing next to him working some sort of magic over the mirrors. His eyes went back to Lorsan who suddenly made an exploding motion with his hands. Trik’s heart dropped when he read Lorsan’s lips.
“Poof,” the dark-elf king said and then was gone through the now open portal.
“Hey, wasn’t that the she-elf that helped me?” Cassie asked from around him as she caught a glimpse of the retreating elf just as she disappeared through a portal.
“That’s not really important right now, Love. We have got to get out of here fast.” Trik yelled Tamsin’s name. As soon as the light-elf king finished dispatching the dark warrior he was engaged with, Trik gave him a hand signal directing him to get everyone out. But then he felt the ground shift beneath his feet and the walls shudder. He knew they would never get out in time.
“Cassandra, come here,” he hollered at her over the noise. He wrapped an arm around her waist and then he raised the other. He did the only thing he knew to do. He could feel the explosion building as it rumbled towards them. As the air charged with hot electricity, his own power began to grow. When the explosion finally hit he closed his eyes and pushed his power out with all his might, expending every ounce of energy he could muster. He felt the heat of the explosion as it pushed past them. He forced the damage that would have imploded on them out, deflecting the debris as far from them as he could. Even still, he felt small bits rain down on them, but they were alive. They were all alive. Well, the light elves at least.
“Whoa.” Cassie’s voice made his eyes snap open.
“Understatement, Beautiful.”
“Tony has agreed to give his blood to open the portals,” Lisa told Cush and Elora as they walked into the motel room.
“Can I be the one to cut him?” Elora asked as she took a seat on the edge of one of the beds.
“Feeling bloodthirsty, Sis?” Oakley asked her as he looked between Elora and Cush.
She shot him a snarky grin but didn’t dignify him with an answer.
“I’d prefer to cut myself, but thanks for the offer,” Tony told her with a gentlemanly manner that, had her heart not belonged to another, might have her swoonin
g after him.
She nodded and smiled at him, more out of habit than a desire to be flirty. She felt a large warm hand on her neck and then a familiar presence in her mind.
“Do I have to tell you that you are only allowed to act out your violent tendencies towards me?”
She nearly rolled her eyes but caught herself and cleared her throat instead. “So you would let me cut you?”
She felt his chuckle more than heard it and it made her shiver.
“As deep and as often as you want.”
Elora coughed as his words entered her mind and she nearly fell off the bed. If not for his hand on her neck, she would have been on the floor. She turned to look up at him and the wicked grin on his face was enough to tell her that his comment had been anything but innocent.
“I’ve created a monster,” she told him.
He shrugged and his face was back to its blank, emotionless self.
“Okay, so back to the human cutting himself,” Rin suddenly interjected as everyone stared at the interaction between Elora and Cush.
Elora looked at him with a wry smile.
“Is there a special place that this needs to be done?” Oakley asked.
Cush shook his head. “There was nothing in the book that said it had to be at a specific location. I imagine we just need to have something that works as a portal, a mirror or something that holds a reflection.”
“So we can just do it here in the motel room?” Lisa asked.
“Don’t see why not,” Cush answered. He pulled out a dagger from one of his many hiding places and Elora found herself fighting back a grin. Her man was hot; that’s just all there was to it.
Tony took the dagger from the warrior and walked over to where the mirror hung. “Is there anything special that I need to say?”
Cush thought back to the book and what he had read—what he had purposefully failed to mention to the others. There was something that had to be said. But if Tony uttered those words, he would be bound in the portal—forever stuck between realms.