Elfin Trilogy

Chapter 4-3

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 only wants the touch of one particular being.” 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. 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 the elf wore. Cassie felt power emanating from the she-elf, a power that kept her on her knees.

“You are 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 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 don’t typically adapt to 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, dark or light, appears as if 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 demeanor 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. 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 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 form to be examined by 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 spending time 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, as if they were speaking through a tunnel. It was after Cassie 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 tightly against his chest as he sat on her bed. He felt the pain subsiding and could finally breathe again. He rubbed his face into her hair, breathing her in.

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

“I asked you to.” Cassie’s voice wavered, but continued to grow stronger as her pain began to fade. Her face was buried in his chest and, once again, she felt something inside of 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 is this possible?”

“I don’t know, 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 own mind with her. Once she realized what was happening, she began to absorb everything. She didn’t want to miss a single thing he might want to show her. Somehow, she knew it would be important. 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 man, 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 felt he didn’t want to reveal this, but he refused to be less than honest with her. A tear slid down her cheek as she saw the hopelessness in him because he would not stop—could not stop—being what he was. 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.

“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 is unacceptable.”

Trik moved so quickly she didn’t have a chance to respond. 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 … cloak yourself,” 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 be in pain 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 inquired to deeply into her wellbeing. She was still raw from the pain and from the things Trik had shared with her about his past.

She reached 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. Sylvia didn’t have a clue just how attractive she was.