Syndra’s eyes narrowed as she walked towards Trik. She had come to Sanctuary simply to observe him, to see if the dark assassin was changing his playboy ways since he had found his Chosen. Though she had originally planned to remain unseen, what she saw made her reveal her presence. She had to remind Triktapic that he was no longer a free elf, even if the other elves saw the Light Elf Queen in the dark elf Sanctuary.

As Syndra stepped up to him, her power rushed through the room as she took the dark she-elf by the hair and ripped her from Trik's grasp. The room came to a standstill and suddenly everyone but Trik, Ziana , and Syndra were on their knees. Syndra held a writhing Ziana in her hand, high enough that her feet did not touch the ground.

“You would defile yourself with this filth after you have found your Chosen?” Syndra’s words were knives across his skin.

Ziana stopped struggling instantly and glared at Trik.

Syndra turned to look at the she-elf. “That’s right you two-bit hussy, he is no longer his own. He belongs to another and has no business putting his hands on you.”

“He makes his own choices,” Ziana spat back.

Syndra, in a rare show of anger, threw Ziana across the room, not bothering a second glance at the crashing sound of her body hitting the wall. She turned back to Trik and once again settled that powerful gaze on him.

“What do you think it would do to her if she knew you held another in your arms?”

Trik didn’t answer. He knew what it would do. It would destroy the fragile relationship they had built in the short amount of time they had known each other.

“How do you think your Chosen would feel to know another woman’s lips had been on your neck? How do you think your Chosen would handle knowing that you CHOSE to hold another?” Syndra was yelling and the air whipped around her as she released her royal power.

“She doesn’t need to know,” Trik growled.

Syndra laughed and it was so angry that Trik wondered if had really come from the lips of a light elf.

“She has a right to know what or who her Sh'mai is doing.” Trik stepped back as if she had slapped him.

“A simple dance is not comparable to sharing one’s bed.” His lips tightened as he met the Light Queen’s eyes.

“And if it had been Cassie in another’s arms, with his lips pressed to her skin, his body pressed against hers?” Syndra knew she was playing with fire as she taunted the dark elf assassin, but she cared not. She had grown to like his Chosen and she found herself wanting to see Trik happy for once in his long life. She didn’t want the idiot to screw it up, and hopefully he hadn’t. But Syndra had every intention of telling Cassie what had transpired here. She had a right to know. She needed to know all the facts about Trik before she made a decision to commit to the dark elf, even if those facts were unbelievably painful.

Trik shook with rage as he pictured the words Syndra had spoken. Cassandra in the arms of another, possibly that idiot , Todd. He knew what he would do ; he would kill him, and anyone who dared touch her.

Syndra saw the emotions flash across his face, saw him battling the anger.

“You know as well as I do that I am no good for her. She deserves someone who doesn’t have the blood of a thousand men on his hands,” he snarled at her.

“You are missing the point. It is not about what she deserves or about what you deserve. It is about what is . For whatever reason, the Forest Lords have given you a Chosen as pure as fresh fallen snow, untainted by mud, dirt, or the tracks of others. You have been given a gift and gifts are not always deserved, but they should always be accepted. It is not wise Triktapic to throw a gift back in the face of the Forest Lords.” Her words were left ringing in the air, and in a rush of wind, the Light Elf Queen was gone.

Trik had heard that the most powerful of elves could travel in their realm without mirrors, but hearing about it and seeing it happen before his eyes were two very different things. The room slowly began to return to life as the music started again and elves stood from their kneeling positions.

He turned to leave, no longer in the mood for the company of others. As he made his way through the crowd , his eyes met Ziana’s. She had already moved on and was swaying in the arms of another male. The look she gave him was full of contempt, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

~

Cassie stared up at her ceiling as she lay on her bed. She put her phone down after checking the time for at least the hundredth time in the last half hour . She had helped her mom cook dinner, helped with the dishes , and even done a load of laundry in hopes of keeping her mind off of Trik and his whereabouts. Now she had nothing left to do. She picked up her phone again and looked at it, 9:01. One minute later than the last time she had checked. In a fit of frustration , she threw her phone across her room but instead of the thud she expected to hear as the phone hit the wall she heard a voice instead.

“A little upset?”

Cassie shot up out of her bed.

“Syndra?” Her words came out breathless as she tried to calm her beating heart after having been startled by the elf’s sudden appearance.

“Last I checked,” she told her as she held out her phone. Cassie took it quickly and stepped back just as quickly.

“Are you afraid of me Cassie?” Syndra asked.

“Should I be?”

“No,” Syndra shook her head. “I am not your enemy, quite the opposite actually.” Syndra made a slow perusal of the room and then turned her stare back on Cassie.