Tamsin reached up and cupped her face gently. “And it will be an even longer time once this is over.”

“Ah my love, ever the optimist,” she said as she stepped into his embrace. “You will be helping train the warriors today with Trik?” She asked him with her face pressed to his chest.

He treasured these moments because his queen was not one for public affection, nor did she like to feel vulnerable. “Yes,” he answered. “Somebody has to show that elf how it’s done.” She laughed as he had intended and when she pulled back her eyes were lit with humor.

“Please put him on his backside at least once,” she grinned mischievously.

“Women always have been the more bloodthirsty sex. Really it should be you leading us into battle,” he teased her as he turned to go.

“You call it bloodthirsty, but it is only an incentive for others not to mess with me,” she called after him. Tamsin found himself smiling all the way to the court yard.

Cassie listened and watched silently as Trik and Tamsin went over various fighting techniques and strategies. She stopped focusing on their words when Trik started saying things like if you swing your sword at your enemy then be sure you swing to kill because the less times you have to swing at him the more energy you will conserve for the next one. Yep, that pretty much made her focus more on the techniques that he was showing them. Who knew there were so many ways to approach your opponent? Not to mention how many ways to kill him with just your hands. There was no doubt she was way, way, out of her league. She cringed as she watched Trik grab another male by the arm and jerk him forward with a speed that left her astounded. In a quick series of complicated leg movements, he had the male on his back on the ground with a dagger at his throat. Holy crap where did the dagger come from, she thought to herself. Trik looked up from where he was positioned over the elf and winked at her. She rolled her eyes. Only he could look that hot while holding a dagger to another man’s throat.

“You ready to give it a try?” he asked her as he helped the male elf, whose eyes were wide with shock, up from the ground.

“Um, yeah, let me think about it,” she paused and then answered quickly, “no.” Cassie held her arm up with her palm out as Trik started moving towards her in that slow, cat like way.

“Trik, I’m serious, I’m just watching. Just let me stand over here and do my thing, while you do your thing,” she stumbled over her words as she tried to back away from him.

“Lesson number one,” Trik called out as he continued to stalk her, “never run from a predator.” He grinned at her as he snatched her arm just as quickly as he had the males, only he was much gentler with her. He jerked her into his chest and wrapped his steel like arms around her. “It makes you prey,” he finished as he looked down at her face.

Cassie went limp against him, knowing there was no point in fighting him. It was better to just bide her time and wait until he was distracted, then she could make a run for it.

“You do realize I’m listening to you right now right?” He asked with a raised brow.

“Damn,” she snapped. “Why do I always do that?”

“Because subconsciously you want me to know every tiny little detail about you,” Trik murmured against her ear.

Cassie felt the warmth of his breath all the way down to tips of her badly in need of paint toe nails. She struggled not to close her eyes and give in to the allure that was Trik and the clearing of a throat greatly increased her willpower. She leaned so she could look around Trik’s large shoulders, because he refused to let her go, to see Tamsin and about a hundred other elves staring at them.

“You haven’t distracted me,” Trik whispered, obviously ignoring Tamsin’s interruption.

“What?” she asked still looking at the people behind him and wanting to crawl in a hole.

“You mentally grumbled because I refused to let you go. And I was just helpfully pointing out that you are supposed to wait until I’m distracted to slip away from me, and you have failed to sufficiently distract me.”

Cassie pinched her lips together as she looked back up at him. He looked so relaxed, so at ease with himself and, not to her surprise, completely serious. “You do realize that you’re supposed to be training all those people right?”

“PAIR UP, PREFERABLY WITH SOMEONE OF A DIFFERENT SIZE THAN YOURSELF,” he yelled as his eyes continued to hold hers. “WORK ON THE FIGHTING TECHNIQUES WE JUST WENT OVER. USE REAL WEAPONS; IT WILL MAKE YOU BE MORE ACCURATE. INJURIES THAT CAN BE HEALED ARE ACCEPTABLE, MORTAL WOUNDS ARE NOT.”

Where there had been silence, suddenly there was a flurry of activity behind him. Cassie once again leaned around him and saw that all hundred or so male and female elves were doing exactly as Trik asked them to. She righted herself and then looked back up at him. He was wearing the face that goes along with the t-shirt she saw him wear once that read I’m kind of a big deal.

“How do you like them apples?” he teased as he waggled his eyebrows at her.

Cassie couldn’t help but laugh. She shook her head at him but the smile stayed on her lips. “Gah,” she groaned. “Fine, I’m ready. Show me your moves.”

“Words every guy loves to hear,” he smirked at her as he released her from his hold. “Okay,” his voice went immediately into business mode. “The first thing you need to learn is that being a female actually gives you an advantage on the battlefield.”