Elfin Trilogy

Chapter 6-3

“Not enough,” Cassie grumbled.

Elora laughed. “I’ve never seen you plastered, Cassie. This might be exactly what I need.”

“What you need? What about what I need?” Cassie whined.

Elora was looking over Cassie’s shoulder when she finally responded.

“Oh, you’re about to get what you need.” She shot back the rest of the contents of her cup and then grabbed Cassie by the shoulders and turned her around.

Cassie’s mouth dropped open when she saw what Elora had been watching.

Trik, in all his tall, pitch black hair, Elfin in human guise glory, had Todd by the throat. The room was frozen, though the music continued to rip through the air. Cassie felt like she was moving in slow motion as she raced across the room. It seemed an eternity before she finally reached them.

“Trik?” Cassie blinked at him, confused at his sudden appearance, and at the fact he was holding Todd by the throat.

“Or treat?” Elora asked as she stepped up next to Cassie.

Cassie realized then just how much she had had to drink as she snorted at Elora’s comment. Elora’s lips twitched at her friend but Trik’s eyes narrowed.

“Are you intoxicated?” he asked, his scowl deepening.

Cassie scowled back. “No. Maybe.” She paused, thinking, and then finally nodded, “Definitely.”

They continued to glare at each other. Elora finally cleared her throat.

“So, hate to interrupt the death stare, but your victim is turning blue.” She motioned with a nod of her head toward Todd. “I didn’t know if you were intending to kill him in front of all these witnesses or not.”

Trik broke the stare with Cassie and turned back to Todd.

“Stay away from her,” he growled

Todd made a small nodding motion with his head. Trik finally let go of him and Todd stumbled back. Cassie moved to help him, but Trik intercepted her and the intensity of his silver eyes made her freeze. Trik looked away from her to the rest of the room. Suddenly it was quiet. Somehow, the music just stopped. She heard the room gasp and Cassie realized for the first time that she now saw him in his natural form and, judging by the reactions around her, so did everyone else. He looked around the room and, in a voice as cold as the air had become, he spoke.

“Get. Out.”

No one had to be told twice. They were up and moving, a stampede of humans, all trying to stay as far from Trik as possible.

Trik looked at Elora when she made no motion to leave and Elora folded her arms across her chest, a clear challenge. If he wanted her to leave then he would have to physically remove her. Cassie, even in her inebriated state, knew she needed to intervene. She stepped in between Trik and Elora just as Trik took a step toward her best friend.

“What do you want?” Cassie met his stare and, though she wanted to back away from the fury she saw there, she held her ground. She felt Elora standing at her back.

Trik laughed and it was so evil her skin crawled.

“What do I want?” He snarled. “I want to know why my Chosen is drunk, half-dressed, and with another male?”

Cassie looked down, remembering her skimpy Halloween outfit. She turned to look back at Elora who shrugged. “How the hell was I supposed to know he was going to show up?”

Cassie’s head swung back around to Trik. She mimicked Elora’s shrug. “Too bad.”

Trik gestured impatiently. “Too bad what?”

“Too bad, so sad,” Cassie snorted out laughter at her words.

Elora patted her on the back, trying to cover her own laughter. “Hold it together a little longer, lightweight.”

Trik still looked confused and that made Cassie laugh harder. She wiped her eyes as she began to calm down.

“Too bad, we don’t always get what we want, Trik,” Cassie felt herself begin to sober just a little at the memory of what Syndra had told her. “I didn’t want to hear about you touching another woman but you know what, Trik, I didn’t get what I wanted. I didn’t want to hear about another woman putting her lips on your neck or about how you let her do it, but that’s exactly what I heard. So you don’t get to know why I’m dressed like a slutty butterfly, or why I’m smashed, or why I let Todd put his arms around my waist.” She paused, she could practically see the steam rising from Trik’s head. “And you don’t get to know if I would have stopped him from shoving his tongue down my throat.”

Cassie felt Elora lean close behind her. “You were doing great ‘til that last part.”

“Too much?” Cassie whispered.

“A teensie bit,” Elora told her, holding her hand up to indicate with her fingers the small amount.

Cassie folded her arms across her chest as she glared at a very pissed off dark elf assassin.

“I think you need to leave,” Cassie motioned toward the door.

“I’m leaving,” he started to walk past her, but then grabbed her hand at the last minute, “but not without you.” He didn’t break stride as he pulled her behind him and right through the living room window. Cassie heard Elora’s voice behind her and then silence.

They emerged on the other side in a dark, lush bedroom. Candles lit the room and bathed it in a soft glow. She jerked her arm from his grasp and ignored his glare as she looked around at her surroundings.

“Where are we?” she asked as she looked at the large, ornate wood bed holding a black comforter and strewn with a ridiculous number of pillows. Her eyes continued to roam the room. There was a fireplace along one wall. A fire suddenly flickered to life in it. Her eyes widened, but she refused to be impressed. Along another wall sat a large desk. A giant bookshelf was built into the wall all around the desk and around the rest of the room. Every inch was covered in old books. The floor was hardwood and a white, fluffy rug lay in front of the large bed. Finally, having no other place to look, Cassie met Trik’s eyes. He said nothing.

“What do you want, Trik?” she asked, trying hard not to slur her words.

“You. And you want me,” he told her in his usual confidence unbothered by her anger.

“No, I don’t. Did you not just see that I was on a date, and it wasn’t with you?”

He took a menacing step toward her but Cassie knew he would never hurt her.

“It would be wise, if you wish for Todd to live, to not bring him up again.”

Cassie rolled her eyes. “Fine, whatever. Can I go now?”

“We are far from done, Cassie. You called for me.”

She laughed. “In your dreams.”

Trik smiled. She could tell that he knew something that she didn’t. Something about his smile told her that she wasn’t going to like it.

“Your soul did not like you touching another. It called to me. It called so loudly and with so much pain, it brought me to my knees.” Trik didn’t gloat, he simply stated the facts. Somehow, that made Cassie even angrier.

“Well, my soul is a dumbass who loves to be tortured.” Cassie decided to chalk that off as the alcohol talking but went ahead and went with it.

Trik moved slowly toward her and Cassie began to back away. She was being stalked by a predator, a very patient predator that was used to catching his prey.

Her butt hit something and she turned, only to realize that he had backed her against his bed. She closed her eyes and chanted to herself, stupid, stupid, stupid. When she opened her eyes, Trik stood mere inches from her. She felt his warm breath on her face. When he took another step closer, their bodies were touching. She could feel his heart beating against hers. He raised a hand and stroked her cheek gently. Though she tried not to, she leaned into his touch and nearly whimpered when his lips touched her ear.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. The warm breath brought goose bumps to her skin. She shivered.

“I’m so, so sorry,” he whispered again. The sincerity in his voice pounded against the floodgates she had so carefully barricaded inside. Like a damn bursting open, a sob wrenched from her chest and the tears began to flow freely. She hit his chest over and over. She knew that the alcohol was probably making her more emotional than she otherwise would be, but she was beyond caring.

“Why? Why would you do that to me? How could you touch her? How could you let her kiss you?”

“Because I’m an i***t, A'maelamin. Please, I beg of you. Forgive me.” Trik pulled back so he could look into her tear stained face. The pain and betrayal he saw there tore a hole inside him. He fell to his knees in front of her.

“Please, Cassie. Please forgive me.”

“How do I ever trust you again?” She wiped tears from her face, smearing her black mascara while trying to regain her composure. She stared down into his silver eyes and gave in to the urge to touch him. She traced a finger across his forehead and down his cheek. Trik closed his eyes and let out a desperate breath.

“Arwenamin, I’ve missed you,” he told her, but she only understood the last part.

“You hurt me, Trik.”

“I know, baby. I know I did.” He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his face to her stomach. He breathed in her scent and pulled her closer. He had tried to do what he thought was right. He had tried to let her go, but he knew now it was impossible. Neither could live without the other. Their souls would slowly begin to die until they were empty shells, like the leftover skin of a locust.

“I thought I was doing what you needed,” he told her, his voice muffled in her clothes.

She pulled his face back and looked at him. “You don’t make my decisions for me. It’s my choice if I want to be with you.”

Trik nodded once. “And do you? Want to be with me?”

Another tear escaped as he stood and looked down at her. He took her face in his large hands. As he looked into the face of her broken heart, he felt the first tear he’d shed in over a millennium slide down his own face.

“Yes,” she whispered. That simple word made Trik’s soul sing.

He pulled her to him and took her lips in a kiss that was nearly violent. He swept his tongue against her lips and she whimpered as she opened her mouth. Their tongues met and Trik slowed the kiss, enjoying the way she tasted. He walked her back and continued pressing until she lay on his bed. Cassie felt her fake wings crushed beneath her, but quickly pushed them from her mind as he climbed over her and slowly laid his body on top of hers. He felt her tremble underneath him and he smiled when his soul answered her own. The connection that drew them became so powerful Trik wasn’t sure where one began and the other ended.

Cassie felt Trik wrap an arm around her, pulling her body closer to his. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on with everything she had, afraid, at any moment, she would wake up and discover this had all been a dream. She gasped as his other hand slid down her hip to the back of her thigh and he pulled her leg up, bending it at the knee as he wrapped it around him. Cassie tilted her head back when he pulled away from her lips and began to kiss her jaw and then her neck. She moaned without shame as his tongue traced her collarbone. He nipped it with his teeth and she jumped beneath him, drawing a chuckle from Trik. She leaned forward and bit his shoulder in retaliation and smiled to herself when he groaned. He pulled back and looked down at her. His hair falling over his shoulder created a dark curtain around them, closing them into their own private world.

“I don’t deserve a second chance,” he told her as he traced her brow.

“No, you don’t,” she agreed. “But I’m giving you one. Don’t screw it up.”

Trik grinned and Cassie’s heart jumped at the innocence she saw there, an innocence she’d not seen in Trik before.

When he spoke again, his words were in his own tongue and the beauty of it took her breath away.