“It’s been noted that you think that the selling of Rapture has become a detriment to our business,” Tony said tightly.

Rick let out a humorless laugh. “A detriment to our business my ass, Tony. It’s a detriment to people’s lives. Some guy last week tried to kill a man over a card game. The week before that a man nearly killed himself when we cut him off from the bar.”

“I don’t need a recap of all the crap that has been going down, Rick,” he growled. “I’m here nearly twenty-four hours a day; I know exactly what is going on.”

“Tony, I’ve got men ready to quit because they are scared for their lives. These people who are drinking this Rapture act like hard core addicts. You’ve been in this business a long time; you’ve seen what addictions can do to certain types of people. They’re dangerous to themselves and to everyone around them.”

Tony forced himself to take several deep breaths before he responded. “I hear you, and I agree, but there’s more going on than you know. I’m trying to deal with it; please believe me when I say this is not how I want my casino running.” Rick was silent for several minutes.

Finally he said, “Okay. For now I’ll leave you to do whatever it is you need to do to handle this, but do it fast, or we’re all going to walk.”

Tony fought hard not to throw the cell phone across the room. After all, it wasn’t his cell phone’s fault that everything had gotten so out of control. He kept expecting Trik to come sauntering through his office glass with one of his smart-aleck remarks and a trade mark smirk, but he might as well have been waiting for pigs to fly. When it came down to it, Trik might be his friend, but he was a dark elf, first and foremost, which meant Tony was on his own.

“What the hell am I going to do?” he asked the empty office as he walked over to his personal wet bar. He poured himself a glass of cold ice water. Oddly enough, Tony never drank, but he downed the water as if it were single malt whiskey. The ice water hit his brain with a sharp sting and he welcomed the pain that helped him clear his thoughts. One thing he knew for certain was that Rapture couldn’t continue to sell in his casino, or any casino for that matter. But he didn’t know how to stop it or how to stay alive if he even tried.

“Why did you let them get away?” Ilyrana snapped, stopping briefly to glare at her king and then resume her angry pacing. “And I say let because that is the only way those imbeciles would have been able to leave.”

Lorsan listened but did not respond right away. He loved his Chosen, there was no doubt of that, but he didn’t let that love make him weak. He wouldn’t be dictated to by his woman—no matter how much he loved her. He was still king and she was not. So for now he just stared at her evenly, letting her stew in her own juices.

“If we want our court to continue to follow us and not go crawling after Triktapic, we have to make him the villain,” Lorsan explained as if he were speaking to a child. “Trik has now broken into the dungeon and stolen my prisoners who trespassed on dark-elf territory. He has broken our laws.”

“You want to be able to justify attacking him?” she asked as she once again came to a halt in front of him.

“I don’t have to justify myself,” he quipped. But it will make it easier in the long run for some who might be otherwise difficult to convince to follow me.” He took a deep breath and popped his neck, getting rid of the tension that had been gathering there. “The facts are this, my dear,” he took her hand and pulled her to him as he spoke, “Triktapic is the king once again, put in that position by the Forest Lords. He is destined to rule.”

“You sound resigned to defeat my love. It isn’t very attractive.”

He laughed. “You know me better than that. Defeat is not a term I even recognize in my vocabulary. Do not fret, My Sweet. The Forest Lords have set out Trik’s destiny before him. They control him. But I am master of my own destiny. I choose my future. And my future does not have Trik in it as king.”

“Okay, let’s get this thing over with,” Elora said dryly as she slid the van door open and began to climb out.

“Don’t you think we should maybe have a plan before we go in there?” Lisa asked while not making any move to exit the vehicle.

“I don’t know what there is to plan,” Elora said from where she stood on the sidewalk with her arms folded across her chest. “Cassie is with an elf assassin in another realm. That’s all there is to it.”

“You’re going to reveal our world to them?” Cush asked her. He didn’t sound alarmed, however, only resigned.

“They’re not going to believe us,” Lisa said matter-of-fact like. “They’re going to hear us begin to talk about their daughter and as soon as we say, elves, and, other realm, they’re going to send us packing.”

“Well, you don’t really have any other option,” Oakley pointed out.

“Sure we do.” Elora smiled. “We can head to Sin City to see Trik’s friend.”

Cush’s head snapped up and his eyes narrowed. “You know Tony?”

Elora frowned, not sure why he was giving her his I’m not quite in control look. “I know of him. We haven’t exchanged digits or anything. Trik told Cassie about him and their ‘business,’” she made air quotes around the word business, “and naturally Cassie told me.”

“Naturally,” he responded just as dryly as Elora typically did.