“What do you think he would do to get you back?” A deep gravelly voice whispered in her ear. “What do you think he would give up?”

Everything, was the answer she would have said if she could because she knew it was true. She also knew she couldn’t allow them to take her because Trik was needed, and he couldn’t save the elves and humans if he was focused on getting her back. With a renewed sense of purpose, she began to fight back. For three days she had been training with the most deadly assassin to ever grace her realm or his own. She wasn’t just a helpless little high school-er anymore. She was a queen. She wrenched back on of her legs and twisted her hips at the same time. It must have caught her attackers off guard because suddenly one leg was free. She pulled it back and kicked with all her might and the loud grunt that followed told her she had connected with her target. She flung her body, rolling it over and over, jerking herself free from the one who had covered her mouth. She rolled clear off the edge of the bed, and four days ago she would have landed on her rump, but her training with Trik had her reflexes on overdrive.

She rolled off the edge and flipped her legs around so that her feet landed on the floor with a thud. Swiftly springing up she looked around the dark room. Her eyes adjusted quickly and she saw both men were looking at her with wide eyes. Long dark hair, tall lithe forms, and shining eyes gave away their dark-elf heritage. They had expected easy prey. Well, they had another thing coming if they thought she would just lie there while they tied her up like a prized hog. She crouched down into the fighting stance that Trik had taught her and she met each of their eyes.

“So, are we going to dance or what?” she asked with bravado that she didn’t really feel. Just as the one she had kicked made a move towards her, the doors behind her flew open, and Trik and all his power came storming in. His arm stretched out and the two dark elves were flung back against the wall. Their legs dangled uselessly several feet from the floor as they were held in place by the sheer will of her mate. Trik walked straight to her and looked her over. He must have seen something he didn’t like because his eyes began to swirl and glow silver.

“Are you alright?” he asked her gently as he cupped her face.

She nodded. “I was using what you taught me,” she told him proudly.

His lips turned up in a slight smile. “My fierce beautiful queen.”

“Don’t you forget it,” she teased him back. She reached up on her tippy toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I’m fine,” she whispered against them. “They didn’t hurt me.”

Trik’s forehead pressed to hers and she could tell that he was barely holding it together.

“Why did he send you,” he finally asked as he turned to face the two dark elves. They stared back at him blankly as if he had spoken a foreign language. “Agog,” Trik said the elf’s name with a familiar purr. “I believe you have been on a few missions with me. You know what I’m capable of.”

“You’re a light elf now,” Agog interrupted him.

A slow smile spread across Trik’s face and it sent chills down Cassie’s arms and not the good kind.

“When it comes to my Chosen, there is nothing that I am not capable of. So if you think for a minute that I won’t utilize all of my skills, vast as they are, in order to protect her, then you are so very, very mistaken.”

Cassie turned to see Tamsin and Syndra both enter the room. Syndra hurried over to her. “Are you alright?” Cassie was slightly surprised when the light-elf queen hugged her.

“Yeah, I’m good. They didn’t get a chance to hurt me,” she told her honestly.

“What are you going to do with them, Trik?” Tamsin asked him.

Trik stared up at the men and with a flick of his wrist they crumpled to the ground. They weren’t dead. Cassie could still see their chests moving up and down as they breathed, but they were definitely unconscious. “Lock them up. I’ll question them after I’ve had a chance to make sure my Chosen is alright.”

Cassie started to speak up but the look Trik gave her had her snapping her mouth closed. Trik took her hand and led her to the bathroom. He shut the door behind them and turned the lock on the door, effectively shutting out the others.

“Trik.”

“Shh.” He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to hers. It started out sweet and gentle but then something changed, and suddenly he had her pushed up against the wall with his hands in her hair tilting her head back to deepen the kiss. She could hear his thoughts loud and clear in that moment. He was terrified of losing her again. He was terrified of what Lorsan would do to her if he got her. She ran her hands over his face as she returned his kiss and gradually he softened until he finally pulled back. He panted as he tried to catch his breath and she was glad she wasn’t the only one that sounded as though she’d been running a marathon.

“They could have taken you,” he whispered against her lips. He may have stopped kissing her, but he wasn’t moving away from her. His hands ran up and down her arms and back and then gripped her hips. “They could have,” he didn’t finish the sentence; the horror of it was shining in his eyes.

“But they didn’t,” she pointed out, “and I was fighting back and doing a pretty darn good job. They were expecting a helpless girl, but you have taught me that I don’t have to be helpless. You’ve taught me to defend myself.”

Trik shook his head. “A female, a human female against dark-elf males doesn’t have a chance, Cassie. They could have killed you. The fact that you are alive means that Lorsan doesn’t want you dead.”