Cush chuckled as he shook his head and took a step back. “No more wishy-washy stuff,” he agreed. “I am yours and you are mine.”

“Good to know,” she told him as she looked back at her closet and tried very hard not to do some ludicrous girly dance or some other embarrassing stunt that would earn her a place in the dork hall of fame.

He glanced at her bed and noticed the full suitcase. “I would feel more comfortable if you didn’t do this. You know Rin and I could handle this on our own and then come back for you.”

Elora nearly laughed out loud but somehow mustered the small smidgen of maturity she had decided to foster. “Do you really believe I would just leave all the fun to you two Navy Seal wannabes?”

Cush rolled his eyes and seeing the tall, masculine tough guy do such a teenage motion only made her smile wider.

“Have you ever met a Navy Seal?” he asked dryly.

“Not the point.”

“Kind of is,” he disagreed.

“I’m going. Just because we have decided to jump on this whole Chosen bandwagon does not mean you are going to tuck me away in a bubble to try and keep me safe. Danger is my middle name.”

“I never took you for the dramatic type.”

Elora snorted as she began grabbing dresses from her closet and tossing them on her bed. “I wasn’t this way until I met you, so I’m totally laying the blame at your feet. Feel free to pick it up and strut that stuff like you’re proud of it, Babe.”

Cush stopped her from putting yet another dress on the bed. He started to hang it back in the closet but noticed that it was red instead of black and skimpy. He looked from the dress to her and then back to the dress.

“You can take this one,” he told her matter-of-fact like.

Elora shook her head. “What is with men and red?” she muttered under her breath. “Red does not make a woman’s butt look smaller.”

“Who said we wanted it to look smaller?” Cush’s voice dropped lower and wrapped around her like her like velvet.

She shivered but refused to look at him. She stuffed everything into her suitcase and zipped it close then turned to look at him. She nearly groaned at the look in his eyes. “Okay, I get it. You’re a dude; you like big butts painted in red.”

“I don’t even know what to say to that,” he admitted, his stony demeanor back in place.

“Speechless.” Elora grinned. “It’s a good look for you.”

Cush tugged her pony tail playfully and growled. “Try to behave and not get yourself killed, please.”

“Watch it with the hair pulling, elf boy. My brother has already pointed out my pension for playing rough. Keep that up and we won’t ever make it to Vegas.”

“Bloody hell, woman,” Cush growled low as he led her to the van where everyone was waiting while she grinned unrepentantly.

Chapter 7

“Only those with no ambition and the inability to truly understand power are happy without it. They live in their little bubbles, never suspecting that there is more in the world. They are content to just exist. I want to do more than exist; I want to create, to destroy, to evolve.” ~Lorsan

“Do you believe he won’t come for you?” Ilyrana asked as Lorsan stood staring out into the dark garden. The soft glow of the moon shone through trees giving the forest beyond an eerie radiance.

“Oh, he will come,” he answered eagerly. “That’s what I’m counting on. He will grow bloated on his own power and believe that he can defeat me. It will be his usual pride and cockiness that will be his downfall.”

“You seem very confident yourself, my love.”

Lorsan turned to look at his Chosen. “I have spent millennia building this kingdom. I have infiltrated the human realm and I’m singlehandedly bringing the human race to their knees because of their own gluttonous behavior. So forgive me, my love, if I am a little sure of myself.”

Ilyrana stepped up to him and placed a cool hand on his cheek. “Shh,” she cooed to him, “I am not your enemy. You forget that it is my job to make sure that you see any weakness or flaw in your plan. I do this because I love you. Please don’t push me away in your hasten to gain the world.”

He let out a deep breath and then leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. “You’re right, as usual. Forgive me, lover.”

“Promise me one thing and I will forgive you,” she told him.

His eyes narrowed as his head tilted to the side. “What thing?”

“Kill him. You loved him like a son and he repays you by betraying you. Promise me you will kill him, but not before he watches me rip the heart out of his Chosen.”

A sly smile stretched across Lorsan’s lips. “You always have been a blood thirsty little thing. And that, my dear, is why I love you so. Consider it done.”

“So you’re together now?”

Elora bit her tongue to keep from snapping, he’s sitting right next to me, and instead smiled at her mother. “Uh-huh.”

“She belongs by my side,” Cush spoke up from the other side of her where they sat squished into a row of seats on the plane they had barely caught.

“Um-hmm,” Lisa murmured slowly, “and pray tell, what exactly does belongs by your side mean?”

“Ugh, Lisa,” Elora groaned. “Do we really have to get into this while we’re taking off in a freaking plane?”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Lisa said innocently as she placed a hand on her chest. “Would you prefer I wait until we get to cruising altitude and the seat belt light goes off to discuss the fact that you have decided to tie yourself to an elf warrior for all of eternity?”