Elfin, Book 1 The Elfin Series

  Chapter 4

  “I’m scared, I won’t lie about that. But I can’t deny that a part of me—a part way, way, way, waaaayyyy deep down inside is slightly excited about the elves. Okay, and about Trik. Excited about some elves that want to wipe my existence from the face of the earth? Apparently, I’m a glutton for tragic endings. Who knew?” ~ Diary of Cassie Tate

  “Should I come back later?”

  Cassie jumped when she heard the deep voice behind her, letting out a completely undignified squeal. At the same time, she jerked the shirt back down that she had begun to lift up to pull over her head. Her hand went to the place over her heart as if to hold it in while it tried to beat out of her chest.

  “How, what, where…” her words quickly tumbled out as she shook her head and tried to process how the handsome man had suddenly appeared in her room.

  “Your mirror,” Trik said in explanation to her unasked question as he pointed to the mirror above her dresser.

  “What about it?” Cassie asked, finally finding her words.

  “It’s how I got into your room. That’s what you were asking right? How did I get into your room?” Trik crossed his arms as he leaned back against the wall behind him.

  Cassie stared at him. She noted to herself that she must be seeing him in his human form at the moment.

  “I was trying to be gentlemanly by announcing myself,” he said. “Though now that I consider the situation, it would have been much more to my enjoyment to let you finish what you were doing.” He continued with a smirk.

  “That would have been rude,” Cassie told him as she took an unconscious step towards him. She was drawn to him. Something in her longed to be close to him and she could no more turn away from him than she could separate her soul from her body.

  “Why are you here?” She asked him.

  Trik pushed off the wall and prowled towards her. Her breath quickened as she saw his eyes begin to turn from grey to silver. She watched in awe as his shoulder length hair extended before her very eyes, becoming so dark as to appear tinted purple. His skin became more bronzed and the beauty that was already painful to look at became even more pronounced. She lost her breath as she took him in.

  “Wh-wh-what are you?” She stuttered breathlessly.

  “I think you know,” he told her softly as he came to stand mere inches from her.

  He reached up and brushed away a few wispy strands of blonde hair that had escaped her ponytail. Cassie tried to remember to breathe as she looked up into his handsome face.

  “How can you be an elf? How is that even possible?”

  “How can you be mine? How is that possible?” He leaned forward and placed his forehead against hers.

  Cassie’s breath caught as she felt something pass between them. It was like her spirit was joining with his. She could feel something deep inside her flowing from her body to his.

  “What’s happening?” She whispered as her eyes closed giving herself over to the sensation.

  “You are my Chosen.” Trik answered.

  “What does that mean? Chosen what?” She asked breathlessly.

  “My mate, the one being in the universe created to be a part of me as I’m a part of you.”

  “We aren’t even of the same species, how can I be a part of you?” Cassie shifted, bringing her body in line with her head so that they were practically brushing against one another.

  Trik’s hands came up and rested themselves on her hips. She felt his warm breath caress her face. She inhaled deeply, drawing in his smell and finding peace in his presence; peace and comfort that she had no idea that she had even needed.

  “I don’t understand it, Cassie.” Her name on his lips was the most intimate sound that she had ever heard and she found that she longed to hear it again.

  “Cassie,” Trik said softly.

  “Are you reading my mind?” She asked him, still not moving away from him.

  “I can see your thoughts when I touch you, remember?”

  “That’s sort of disturbing,” she told him as she opened her eyes and pulled her forehead back from his so that she could look into his eyes.

  “I won’t invade your most private thoughts; I could never do that to my Chosen.”

  “How do you know? Have you had a Chosen before?” Cassie asked. Even as the words left her mouth she felt an illogical pang of jealousy and hurt at the idea of him being with someone, anyone else.

  Trik’s hands tightened on her hips and his eyes narrowed. “We only have one Chosen.”

  “Ever?” She asked.

  “Ever,” he confirmed.

  “What now?”

  She watched in fascination as he licked his lips. She felt her face heat up in a blush when she saw a crooked smile lift his lips. He had noticed what she was staring at.

  “Want a taste?” He asked her suggestively.

  Cassie’s eyes widened. “Are you always this forward?”

  “You were the one staring at my lips like they were a succulent feast. Not that I’m complaining.”

  Cassie tried to pull away but he refused to let go of her. Their eyes met and Cassie felt like she was falling helplessly into those silver orbs. She held perfectly still as his head dropped closer to hers. She knew what was coming and though a part of her thought she should stop him, she made a conscious choice to ignore that part.

  “Cassie,” his lips were less than an inch from hers.

  “Yes?”

  “How old are you?”

  Cassie started to back away, confused by his question. Again, he refused to let her go.

  “Eighteen,” she answered.

  He grinned, a wicked, wicked grin that sent a shiver through her body.

  “I’m going to kiss you now,” he whispered.

  Before she could protest, if she had wanted to, his lips where pressed to hers.

  Cassie’s body melted into his and she felt the strong muscles of his arms wrap around her in a firm hold. His chest flexed as he pulled her closer. Cassie let out a breathy moan as she felt his tongue brush against her lips and she opened her mouth without hesitation. She felt one of his hands slide up her back and then to her hair.

  Trik grabbed her ponytail holder and slid it out of her hair. He felt the soft strands of her blonde hair flow like water over his hand. He raised both hands and ran them through her now loose hair as he deepened the kiss. In his long life nothing had ever felt so right as kissing the woman before him. If he had doubted before that she was his, he had no doubts now. She was definitely his Chosen and he knew, right then and there, as she ran her hands up his back under his long hair and gripped his shirt in her small hands that he would die for her, and, if necessary, he would kill for her.

  He pushed her back until she was pressed against the wall and felt her body tremble against his. The desire that ignited in him was all-consuming and he knew that he would need to be careful and not push her too fast. He pulled back from the kiss and looked into her beautifully flushed face. Her lips glistened with moisture from their kiss and he didn’t try to hide the satisfaction in seeing the proof of her desire for him on her lips and in her eyes.

  “Whoa,” she whispered softly.

  Trik didn’t back away, but continued to press in closely. He smiled and stroked his fingers through her hair until one hand rested on the curve of her neck, his thumb brushing gently against her throat. He watched as she slowly began to bring her breathing under control and the intense need began to fade from her eyes.

  “I think that would be an understatement, Arwenamin.” The endearment he used was an elfin term and he saw the question in her eyes.

  “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 don’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 caus
ed 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 that 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 i
s 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.”

  Cassie’s eyes narrowed at Syndra. “Who are you?”

  Syndra smiled slyly. “I’ve known Lisa and Elora for the span of their lives and neither has ever really seen me. What do you see Cassie, Chosen of Triktapic?”

  The short purple of Syndra’s hair faded to dazzling white as it grew, falling past her shoulders to her waist. The green in her eyes flared to life and her pale skin began to glow. Cassie watched as Syndra tucked her long hair behind her ear and that’s when Cassie noticed the ear was indeed pointed. She noticed too that a long white robe tied around the waist had replaced the jeans and white shirt she wore. She felt power emanating from the she-elf, a power that kept her on her knees.

  “You’re old and powerful,” Cassie muttered.

  Syndra smiled and bowed. “I am Syndra, Queen of the Light Elves, Chosen of Tamsin, the Light Elf King.”

  “Well what do ya know,” Elora said dryly.

  Lisa’s jaw had dropped open and her eyes were wide with childlike wonder.

  Cassie looked from Lisa to Elora and then back to Syndra. The question must have been written on her face.

  “No, they do not see what you see,” Syndra answered the unasked question.

  “You see her in her true form?” Lisa asked Cassie.

  Cassie nodded.

  “She can see me because she is a Chosen,” Syndra explained. “Tamsin had told me that a human had seen us in our true form. He has given orders to hunt you. Now that I know you are a Chosen and that is why you were able to see them that night, he will retract the orders on your life.”

  “So you all were really going to kill me? Even though you are supposed to be the good guys?” Cassie asked as another jolt of pain erupted. She gasped and tried to steady her breathing.

  “We have laws, just as you do. We must protect ourselves. But times have changed in the human realm, and maybe it’s time for us to change as well. I will tell you, though, people who have lived for centuries and millennia don’t typically take change very well.” Syndra watched her closely as Cassie tried to hold herself together.

  “You must call him, Cassie. This won’t get any better.” Syndra told her.

  “How did you know?”

  “Word travels fast when one of the strongest elves out of dark or light, looks like he has been beaten within an inch of his life. Trik showed up in Sanctuary. I’ll let him explain what that is, and word of his appearance spread like wild fire.”

  “Why did you come?”

  Syndra smiled and Cassie could see the genuine concern in her eyes.

  “Honestly, I was curious. I sought Trik out and all it took was a light brush against his arm as I walked by to get the information I needed. Normally he would have never allowed such contact, but he’s even worse off than you are.”

  “So you can do the whole touch thing and read minds too?” Cassie asked.

  Syndra began to answer, but stopped herself. She turned to look at Lisa.

  “You know that nothing said here can leave this room right?”

  Lisa nodded. “Of course. I would never share what you say, nor would Elora.”

  Elora nodded her agreement when the Light Elf Queen turned to look at her. Seemingly satisfied with Lisa’s answer, she continued.

  “Typically it is something that only occurs between two Chosen, but sometimes we elves gain special gifts as we age. One of my abilities is the power to see into the mind of someone with which I come into physical contact.

  The room was quiet after Syndra’s response. Lisa continued to stare at the she-elf whom she had called friend for so long, amazed that she was a Queen and Lisa had never known.

  Elora watched her best friend struggle to breathe through the pain that she was enduring. Sometimes she didn’t understand why Cassie was so stubborn.

  “Just say his name already,” she whispered fiercely. “There’s no reason for you to go through this.”

  Cassie shook her head. “My mom will be home any minute; he can’t be here.”

  Syndra waved off Cassie’s worry. “He can veil himself from humans. You don’t need to worry about that. What you need to worry about is your mother seeing you like this. She’s going to hall your pathetic looking self to see one of those healers you humans use.”

  “A doctor,” Lisa offered up. She narrowed her eyes at Syndra. “You sure don’t sound like a Queen most of the time.”

  Syndra laughed. “I’ve had a lot of practice blending in, primarily from hanging out with you and Elora.”

  “Oh yes, the purple hair totally blends,” Elora rolled her eyes.

  Syndra smiled at her. “It’s less disturbing than the pointy ears I assure you.”

  Cassie listened to the women around her talk but they were beginning to sound far away, like they were speaking through a tunnel. It was after she nearly passed out that she gave in.

  “Trik,” she whispered.

  She had barely spoken his name when she heard gasps around her and felt strong arms picking her up.

  “Leave us.” Trik’s voice was tight and anger and pain radiated through his words.

  “We will talk soon, Triktapic.” Syndra narrowed her eyes at the dark elf assassin.

  Trik ignored her and the other two humans in the room. He held Cassie tight against his chest as he sat on her bed. He felt the pain subsiding from him and could finally breathe again. He rubbed his face into her hair literally breathing her in.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered, his lips brushing against her ear. “I’m so sorry. I should have warned you that this might happen. I shouldn’t have left.”

  “I asked you to,” Cassie’s voice wavered, but continued to grow stronge
r as her pain too began to fade. Her face was buried in his chest and once again she felt something inside her reaching for him.

  “Do you feel that?” She whispered.

  Trik placed a finger under her chin, lifting it so that he could look into her eyes.

  “What you feel is our souls reaching for each other.”

  “I don’t understand; how can I feel it? It shouldn’t be possible.”

  “Maybe not, but it is. I won’t ever let you go, Cassie. I won’t ever let you endure such pain again.”

  “I’m scared, Trik.” Cassie held his gaze as she spoke. She needed him to understand what she was feeling.

  “I see inside you, A'maelamin. I feel your fear,” Trik told her as he brushed her hair back from her face. “I’m afraid as well.”

  Cassie’s eyes widened in surprise. “You? What could you possibly be afraid of?”

  Trik leaned forward and pressed his forehead to hers. He closed his eyes. Suddenly images flooded Cassie’s mind and emotions pulsed through her like a wild storm. Her breath caught as she realized Trik was sharing his mind with her. Once she realized what was happening, she began to pay closer attention. Her arms wrapped around him and she pressed herself closer as she watched the most dangerous assassin of his kind reveal his deepest fears.

  What she saw broke her heart. He was afraid that she couldn’t love him knowing what and who he was. He was afraid of losing her and the joy she had brought him, joy that he never imagined could exist. She felt rage unfurl as he pictured her with another guy, felt the pain that quickly followed on the heels of that rage. She saw his existence and the emptiness of it through his eyes and it broke her heart. He also showed her the darkest part of himself. She could tell he didn’t want to, but he refused to be less than honest with her. Cassie felt a tear slide down her cheek as she saw the hopelessness in him because he would not stop being what he was, couldn’t stop. He was a dark elf; he was an assassin, and that would never change.

  Cassie pulled her forehead from his, breaking the connection. She kept her eyes closed as she tried to process all that he had shown her and allowed her to feel. It was so overwhelming, so intimate and all consuming.

  “Cassie,” her name on his lips was a plea.

  She let out a deep breath and opened her eyes. He sat before her in his natural form. She hadn’t even paid attention to the fact that he had looked human when he first arrived.

  “One day at a time, Trik,” she told him softly. “I can only do this one day at a time right now. I don’t understand it, but I know that the thought of you leaving and never seeing you again is unacceptable.”

  Trik moved so quickly that she didn’t have a chance. His lips were pressed firmly against hers. She felt the desperation in the kiss and it hurt to know that she had made him feel that way.

  He pulled back just enough to speak. “No A'maelamin, do not blame yourself. You have handled this better than I could have ever dreamed.

  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.”

  Cassie 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.