By the time they made it back to the vehicle, Lisa, Oakley, Tony, and Elora looked like worn-out horses that had been run for days. Their hair was windblown and plastered to their heads with sweat, their eyes wide with fear and shock, and their clothes a jumbled mess from the branches that had slapped at them as they ran. Their shoes were all soaked with red fluid and now covered in dirt as well. All four of them fell or leaned or knelt on the ground, attempting to catch their breaths. Moments after their return, Rin leapt through the overgrown field and landed beside Cush. He looked every bit as un-flustered as Cush did, not even the least bit out of breath.

“Did you eliminate him?” Cush asked.

Rin gave a solemn nod.

“Right, we need to go,” Cush told them as he walked over to Elora and pulled her to her feet. He cupped his hands on her face and looked down into her wide eyes. “You okay?”

She nodded. “Just a normal day in the life of my warrior boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?” His lips twitched with the hint of a smile.

“What do you want me to call you?” she asked as she brushed off her dirty pants.

“Just so long as you call me yours,” he whispered into her ear. Cush didn’t know why he felt the need to remind her, but for some reason the possessive side that had reared its ugly head the minute she had walked into his life was snarling to be heard. He turned to lead her to the vehicle just as Rin hollered at him.

“CUSH, WAIT!”

He froze and then turned to look at his friend. Rin was listening to something. Cush attempted to tune out everything around him and tried to listen to what nature was saying to them.

“Bomb,” Rin finally broke the silence.

“In the car?” Oakley asked and backed away from the vehicle that he was nearly touching.

Rin nodded. “Do you hear it?” he asked Cush.

Cush did hear it. The wind was crying out to them, telling them that there was something wrong with the vehicle. Elora looked up at him in question.

“I’ll explain when there isn’t a bomb waiting to go off.”

“Good point,” she added.

“I take it this means we’re going to have to run again?” Tony asked.

Cush didn’t answer but instead hoisted Elora up into his arms. He looked at Rin and then to Lisa and Rin understood what he was asking him to do. Once an arguing Lisa was in Rin’s arms they started off at a decent jog heading away from the valley and towards the last town they had come across. It was going to be a long run.

“He’s captured them, my liege.” The words grated on Lorsan’s last nerve and it took everything in him not to strike the messenger down. But what good would that do? What purpose would it serve to kill one of his own just because he was irritated with Triktapic. The assassin’s—no wait, the king’s—very name made his blood boil and his heart pound. He wanted his head on a spike to decorate his garden. He wanted his glory shredded and his might and power stripped from him until he was as naked as the day he was born. And he would have it. Trik wasn’t a coward; he wouldn’t hide behind the walls of the light elves forever. He would attack soon and when he did he would finally see just why Lorsan was the dark-elf king. Trik would finally see that there remained a power that was greater than all others, Forrest Lords or not. There were some things that couldn’t be destroyed.

“Come on, Trik, I’m waiting for you. Come see you’re old king,” Lorsan muttered into the empty throne room.

Cassie opened the door at the sound of the soft knock. Syndra stood just outside looking as regal as ever.

“I came to see how you are,” she told her.

Cassie smiled. “Did Trik send you?”

Syndra laughed. “Oh child, haven’t you learned yet? I don’t do anything anyone tells me to do, king or no king.” She stepped into her quarters and shut the door behind her as Cassie took a step back. “No, I’ve come of my own accord. Being attacked in your bed while you’re sleeping, and not by your mate, well that can be a little taxing.”

Cassie didn’t try to stifle the near hysterical laughter that boiled up. Only Syndra could have put something that had been so terrifying into terms that sounded so blasé. “Taxing,” she repeated the she-elf’s words.

Syndra nodded and moved towards the large couch. She sat down and made herself comfortable and then motioned for Cassie to take a seat as well. Cassie knew there was no dissuading Syndra so better to just go along with her.

“Is he going to kill them?” Cassie blurted out suddenly.

Syndra’s eyes widened slightly and her brow rose. “Do you think he should kill them?”

Cassie huffed and threw herself back into the chair. “I hate it when you answer me with a question. It reminds me of my mom. She’s a lawyer, you know. She’s so good at getting a person to argue in circles, and by the time she’s through with you, all you can do is nod your head and say yes ma’am.”

Syndra didn’t respond. She simply stared at her and waited.

Finally Cassie answered. “I’m worried that if he does kill them that he will allow that side of himself to rule. I mean, let’s just face the facts, Syndra. Trik was a bad dude for a very long time. Those, um, those,” she stumbled as she tried to come up with the right word. “Those impulses don’t just go away. He told me once that it was in his nature to be evil, that it was a part of him.”

Syndra rolled her eyes. “Leave it to Trik to be melodramatic. Look,” she said, grabbing Cassie’s eyes with her own. “I’m not saying that Trik didn’t do some pretty awful things in his past. I mean as closets go his is overflowing with skeletons, and I mean that literally,”