Cassie’s face turned a bright shade of red as she looked from Trik to Lisa and finally Elora. “He made me do it.”

Chapter 19

“A parent would say that the only truly unconditional love in this world is the love a parent has for a child. I would have to disagree. I would say that there is one other truly unconditional love and that is the love a child has for a parent. No matter their faults, no matter their mistakes, no one can replace our parents. No one can fill that space that is reserved only for them in our hearts, and because of that there is nothing that would keep me from tearing the world apart for mine.” ~Cassie

“I can’t believe you married quiver boy,” Elora told Cassie as they stood waiting on the warriors to decide their next move. Lisa had prepared sandwiches for everyone and once they had all eaten it was decided that some sort of plan had to be hammered out. Elora had suggested they just blow up Las Vegas, and with that comment she and Cassie had been pushed from the little planning circle. She just shrugged and said, “Your loss.”

“I know. I can’t really believe it myself,” Cassie admitted and then it just all came out. She told Elora everything that had happened from the time Elora stepped into the portal up until the moment she walked back into Lisa’s storeroom.

“Wait, what do you mean the Forest Lords could close the portals for good?” Elora interrupted.

“Trik won’t let that happen,” Cassie assured her.

“Uh Cas, hate to break it to you, but I don’t think the Forest Lords take orders from QB. Just a guess based on the whole ‘hey if you don’t want to be king we’ll make you a dark-elf assassin instead and wipe your memory’ event,” she shrugged. “Just saying.”

Cassie pinched the bridge of her nose as she thought about Elora’s words and knew her friend was right. “We have to get my parents,” she suddenly said as she stood and turned to Trik. “Trik, we have to get my parents and take them to the light-elf castle. I don’t want to take the risk of being separated from them.”

Trik walked over to her and looked down into her eyes. Cassie held his stare, employing him to understand how important this was to her. “Please, Trik,” she whispered.

“Okay,” he nodded. “Okay, we’ll get your parents and then we go after Lorsan and Tarron.”

His hands shook as he held the book reverently, as a parent would hold a child. He stared down at the torn cover. The power emanating from the book pulsing into his hands caused him to shutter. He had it. After all this time, it was finally in his possession, and now he had the power to put the humans in their place. He set the book down and turned to look at his two prisoners. He had restored their memories. So now they stared back at him full of fear and grief and he wanted to spit at their weakness. Love, of any kind—whether for a lover or a child, was weakness. He had learned that the hard way all because of a human.

“Your daughter isn’t the first in your bloodline to be a Chosen, did you know that?” Tarron asked the human woman. “There was one before her, long ago, who was also a Chosen.” His mind wondered back to a time before technology had taken over the human realm, when things were simpler. The dark elves were often in the human realm during that time, pushing behind the scenes to lift the ban on prohibition, and that’s how he had met her, his Lucy. She was leaving the general store and she had stopped him in his tracks.

“We don’t know what you’re talking about,” the human woman’s voice broke through his thoughts, pushing away the memory of his Chosen’s face.

His eyes narrowed as he looked at her and even three generations later he could still see his love’s features in the face of the woman before him. He didn’t think she was nearly as pretty as Lucy, but there were similarities.

“Don’t worry,” he purred as he reached out and traced a finger down her cheek. “You will.”

“Get your hands off her!” The human male growled.

Tarron backhanded the man, effectively shutting him up, but now the woman was crying. “Don’t you humans ever shut up?” he snarled as he turned away from the pair. He walked back over to where the book lay. “So many choices to make,” he murmured to himself ignoring the whimpering behind him. “So many choices.”

“It’s too quiet,” Cassie said as she pushed the front door of her house open. Trik grabbed her arm and tugged her behind him, earning him an eye roll.

“Cassie, how many times do I have to remind you that the blonde always dies first in the movies?” Elora whispered as they followed Trik and Tamsin into the house with Lisa, Syndra and Oakley behind them and Cush, Rin, and Tony pulling up the rear.

“This isn’t a movie, Elora,” Cassie retorted.

“True, but most movies are based off some smidgen of truth.”

“And this smidgen just happens to be the blonde always dying first?” She looked back at her best friend.

Elora smiled. “Totally, because you know if it comes down to you or me, I’m throwing your ass under the bus.”

Cassie laughed but her laughter was brought up short as they entered the living room and her eyes landed on the chaos and destruction. She felt her heart pounding in her chest as she saw the chairs toppled over, the broken coffee table, and glasses lying on the floor. Her eyes moved swiftly over the room and then without thought she was running.

“MOM, DAD!” she yelled as she ran, not paying attention to the foot steps behind her or the sound of Trik telling her to stop. She hit the stairs and took them two at a time pushing doors open as she reached the hallway until she came to their room. She ran into their room first, then to the bathroom, and then to the closets, but they were all just as empty as the rest of the house. She walked out of her dad’s closet, her shoulders hunched forward in defeat, and she felt the first tear fall. She felt hands on her shoulders and she looked up into the silver eyes of Trik and his handsome face blurred as the rest of the tears began to fall.