Elfin (23 page)

Her mom stood at the stove stirring something in a pot.

“Hey
,” Cassie said to her.

Sylvia
turned her head. “Hey,” she said back with a smile. “Where is Trik?”

“Oh, he can’t make it tonight. His parents needed him.”

“I hope everything is alright.”

“Hope what is alright?” Her dad asked as he walked in behind Cassie.

“Trik can’t make it tonight because his parents needed him,” Sylvia explained.

“Well that’s too bad,” her dad said as he tucked some papers quickly behind his back.

Cassie’s head fell back as she let out a groan. “Dad, tell me that isn’t what I think it is.”

“I don’t kn
ow what you’re talking about,” he replied innocently.

She snapped out her hand to him. “Hand it over.”

It was hard not to laugh when her dad’s face took on the
I’ve been caught with my hand in the cookie jar look as he handed the papers to her.

Cassie smoothed the papers out on the counter in front of her and began to read. Her mouth dropped open and the more she read , the more she was sure that it would hit the floor at any moment.

“Are you kidding me?” She cried out indignantly.

“Those are all very important details,” her dad defended.

“
Number 1,” she began reading, “date of last drug screening and results.” She paused, waiting for his justification.

“Don’t you think it’s important to know if he is using illegal drugs?”

Cassie skipped down a few lines. “Number four, Date of last sexual interaction and did you use protection; if so what kind?”

Cassie ignored her mom who was standing at the stove trying
, but failing to hide her laughter.

“
Wouldn’t it bother you to know that only a week ago he might have been crawling out…”. Cassie held her hand up to stop her dad from continuing that statement.

“Number twenty five?
Really dad, twenty five?” Cassie gestured to the papers. Her dad simply looked at her innocently. “Number twenty five,” she continued. “How many children have you fathered, are they all with the same woman?”

“Okay, maybe that one wasn’t necessary considering if any of his answers led him to that one I would have already kicked him out,” her dad admitted.

“I thought we decided that you weren’t going to do the papers.”

“Technically, yes we did.”

“Technically, what does that even mean?” Cassie tore the papers up and threw them in the trash can. “You are not asking him those questions.”

He shrugged as if he could care less. Cassie knew that meant he would just print another one. Apparently he had a database.

They sat down to eat and Cassie tried to decide the best moment to drop the news about
tomorrow night.

There was a pause in the conversation and she decided
that it was as good a time as any.

“So
, Trik is taking me on a date tomorrow night.”

Her
dad raised an eyebrow at her, while her mom smiled with a nod. She figured that smile was just because her mom was happy to get to see his beautiful face again. Cassie totally understood.

“He will come in and talk to both of us before you le
ave,” her dad told her.

Cassie nodded.
“I told him that.”

“Good,” her dad said to no one
in particular and Cassie swore that she saw the shadow of a smile cross his face.

~

Trik stepped into the court of the Light Elves. He had been surprised that he was able to get through . His kind was usually blocked from entry. He stared into the large throne room. The soft light glowed off of the pearl stone that fashioned the room. The lights seemed to come from the stone, illuminating everything, removing all shadows. Trik looked down and noticed his shadow was very light, but it was still a black spot in the room of white.

“What brings you to my court
, Triktapic?” Tamsin walked out of one of the side walls. Trik realized that the pearl walls put off reflections allowing them to be used as openings to other realms.

“I have come to seek your
council.” Trik knelt down on one knee and bowed his head before the Light Elf King, something that he would not normally do if he hadn’t been there to ask him for a favor.

“The world must be coming to an end if the Great Triktapic kneels before us,”
a feminine voice spoke across the room, her voice carried as it bounced off the high walls.

“He comes with a request,” Tamsin told his Chosen as she came to stand next to him.

Syndra made an impatient noise as she looked down at the usually proud assassin. “Good grief Trik, stand up. What situation have you gotten yourself into that you would come to your enemies?”

Trik stood slowly and lifted his head. His eyes swam with emotion, emotion so deep it was like looking into a deep well and not being able to see the bottom.

Syndra took a step towards him. “What has happened?”

“Nothing.
Not yet anyway.” Trik took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before speaking again. “I have come to ask an oath of protection on my Chosen.”

Tamsin and Syndra both frowned. “We already told you we would protect her.”

“If I chose not to,” Trik qualified. “You said that you would protect her if I chose not to. Now I need you to protect her in the case that I fail to.”

“Why would you fail? When have you ever failed to protect your target or
to take it out?”

Just then Trik made a decision, one that he’d always
feared that he would eventually have to make. Trik’s presence seemed to swell and suddenly he was bathed in a bright light and his radiance. His power filled the room making it feel small and inconsequential. His hair shimmered, black as night, and the silver of his eyes nearly became metallic with the intensity of their gleam. Tamsin and Syndra both took a step back, their mouths dropping open.

“You’re a R
oyal,” Syndra spoke quietly as she stared at Trik’s Royal form.

He nodded once.

“Does Lorsan know?”
Tamsin asked.

“No. He would have killed me
long ago.”

“You are right about that.”
Syndra snorted.

“I don’t want to lead.
I have never wanted to be King.”

“How did you wind up as the King’s right hand man?”

“That is a story for another time. I need to keep my secret from Lorsan for as long as possible. It is the only chance I have at defeating him.”

“You are going to attack Lorsan?” Tamsin’s voice was skeptical.

“If it comes to that. Cassie has asked me to walk away from him. I told her I would. She is under the impression that I’ve already done just that.”

“You haven’t?” Syndra
frowned in disapproval.

“I have to do this strategically. I can
’t just walk into his court and tell him that I’m leaving. Cassie won’t understand that. I have to appear to still be on board with his plan in order to protect her.”

“If he thinks
that she is the reason that you are leaving then she will be the first thing he goes after,” Tamsin reasoned.

“Exactly.”

“So you want us to protect Cassie if Lorsan decides to take you out?”

“
I know she is not of your court.”

Syndra held up a hand to stop him. “
She is a pure one. She belongs here more than in your court. We will protect her, I give you my word.” Syndra bowed to Trik.

“Thank you,” Trik nodded and reached out to take her hand. Syndra placed it in his and her eyes widened as she felt him push pure, royal power into her.

“How?” She whispered to him.

He stepped away and without another word walked towards the pearl walls.

“What was that about?” Tamsin asked.

Syndra’s eyes stayed on the wall where Trik had just disappeared through
. Her mind was still trying to wrap around the revelation that Trik had just shared. Finally she turned to her Sh'mai , “He is the King.”

“Yes, he is supposed to be the D
ark King.”

“No, Tamsin, my love.
Triktapic is THE King.”

Tamsin’s mouth dropped just as Syndra’s had.
“Of the entire race?”

She nodded.

“How?”

“I have no idea.”

~

He stood in the shadow of her room and watched as she slept. The gentle rise and fall of her chest reassuring him that she was safe, alive, and whole.

He hadn’t planned to reveal his secret to Tamsin and Syndra, but he needed them to understand just how far he was willing to go to keep Cassie safe. I f he had to destroy the entire dark elf race then he wouldn’t hesitate, not even for a second. He knew that there would be consequences for his actions and he would deal with them, but he had to deal with each battle as it came. He stepped out of the darkness and the moon basked him in its soft glow. He approached her bed soundlessly, his motions so smooth that he hardly disturbed the air around him. He rarely used his Royal powers, but he was going to need them soon and he was out of practice.

He looked down at the woman who had slipped into his heart and taken over. Her soul was so pure that it chased all the shadows from his own. He reached down and stroked her cheek, barely a whisper against her soft skin. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her hair and whispered.

“Dream of me,
arwenamin , always dream of me.” Using a subtle push he placed the idea in her mind so that he would be what she saw every time she closed her eyes.

He decided to stay and watch over her while she slept. In all honesty he couldn’t leave. Knowing that she would be in danger the very next night in Lorsan’s court, he didn’t want to miss this time to be close to her. He stretched out beside her and pulled her into his arms. She would think she was drea ming. He smiled to himself as he looked into her mind, the benefits of being who and what he was, and thought that as long as she was dreaming of him, he could make it a good one.

C
hapter 11

“I’ve figured out why it’s better that the
elves keep themselves hidden from humans. Because they’re crazy, plain and simple. They are as whacked as they come. I wear black from head to toe; I decorate myself in morbid jewelry and pierce myself in places that should never be pierced, so if I am saying they are whacked then we have to accept that we are royally screwed. Pun intended.” ~Elora

“Do I even want to know why you have that dreamy look on your face?” Elora asked dryly.

Cassie shook her head.
“Probably not, unless you need to vomit this morning.”

The
y walked into their first class and took their usual seats. Elora turned back to Cassie and gestured for her to talk. “Let’s have it quiver lover.”

Cassie blushed as she thought about why she had the smile plastered on her face that morning.

“I had the best dream.”

Elo
ra raised her eyes suggestively. “As in the best?”

Cassie grinned even bigger.

“Oh man, you’re right I’m going to puke.” Elora grumbled. “So are you going to be this annoying all day?”

“Probably.”

“Damn.”

Cassie laughed as she pulled out her History book and tried with all her might to appear interested in the things that were discussed. She was sure that she wasn’t doing a good job based on the frowns she kept getting from Mrs. Davis.

By lunch time Elora was ready to punch her best friend in her dreamy face.

“Seriously, this can’t be healthy,” Elora ripped open her sack lunch as Cassie sat across from her.

“I’m telling you Elora, I’ve never had a dream that was so real.”

“You have got to be kidding me, still with the dream. Okay now I have to know. If this dream was an all-day orgasm-inducing experience, then you are obligated by the Girlfriend Code Book to share.”

Elora was sure Cassie
’s face invented some new shades of red as her eyes widened.

“Wow,” was all Elora got out before Cassie’s head jerked around, her embarrassment forgotten.

“Let me guess, your quiver radar has detected the quiver carrying bandit.”

Cassie looked ba
ck at Elora and rolled her eyes. “Are you trying to come up with as many nick names as possible?”

“I’m writing a book.”

“Really, what’s it called?”

“
The Quivers Among Us,” Elora announced without missing a beat.

Cassie shook her head in exasperation at her friend.

She felt the familiar tug again and scanned the lunchroom for her Chosen. And then she saw him, and so did everyone else.

He was in his human guise, which was
nearly as beautiful as his Elven one. He was tall and his gate was regal and bold. He held the attention of the entire room and all he was doing was walking. He was wearing faded denim jeans, his black boots, and a black t-shirt that said I’m kind of a big deal.
She had never seen him in regular human clothes, and she had to admit he rocked a pair of jeans and novelty T-shirt like nobody’s business.