by Quinn Loftis
“He touched you,” Cush told her unnecessarily.
“So what?” Elora snapped. “I’m single, Cush. I can let any guy I want touch me. Now let Paul go.”
For some reason, the male’s name on Elora’s lips only enraged him further. He turned back to the human. Paul, he mentally spat the name. The guy was turning blue, which indicated to Cush that he was pushing just a tad too tightly.
“Do not touch her again,” he spoke slowly and though he didn’t yell he knew his words were laced with the right amount of menace, “ever.” He finished and stepped back. His sudden release had Paul falling to the ground which caused his lips to twitch. He turned around to walk away and as Elora made her way to get closer to Paul he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back.
“Do not,” he warned her as he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “I don’t know what is going to happen. I don’t know what I feel for you. But what I do know is that any man I see touching you, or being touched by you, is in danger of dying by my hands. So please, do not go to him.”
Elora stilled at the cold hardness that wrapped around the warning in his voice. She tilted her head back so she could look up at him and saw that his blue grey eyes were so bright that they nearly glowed. His jaw was clenched with the effort that it was taking him to not act on whatever it was he was feeling.
“So you’re telling me that you don’t want me, but nobody else can have me either?” she asked him as she pushed out of his hold. She wouldn’t have been able to get free had he not allowed it, but she wasn’t going to dwell on that little detail.
Cush frowned at her and she nearly laughed. It was obvious that he didn’t like the way it sounded when she laid it out there for what it was.
“I don’t know what I want, Elora, but I do know that seeing another male touch you is making me more violent than usual.”
Elora’s brow rose. “More violent?” He didn’t say anything more. He simply took her hand and pulled her to the farthest piece of furniture in the room and pushed her into it. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, but she stayed where he put her. “Keep treating me like a damn dog, Cush, and I’ll bite your…,”
“Elora!” Lisa snapped. Her voice was sharp, but when Elora looked up at her mother she saw the hint of humor behind the tone.
“I’m just giving him fair warning. Is Paul okay?”
Lisa nodded. “He’s just a little nervous now but he’ll be fine.”
“Okay.” Oakley came and stood next to Lisa, arms folded across his chest. “Now that Legolas isn’t trying to kill my roommate anymore, are you two ready to tell me everything?”
Elora let out an exaggerated sigh. “Gah, if we have to…or we could order Chinese and play on your X-Box. Really that’s a no-brainer choice, Oak.” She looked up at him hopefully, but the stern glare he returned told her he wasn’t going for it. “Fine, pull up some carpet and cop a squat; this is going to take a while.” Elora slid down onto the floor with her back leaned up against the couch and got comfortable before she and Lisa began their story.
“It was a dark and stormy night,” Elora started. Oakley glared at her but she heard a snort come from Cush’s direction and that made her smile. Great, I’m smiling because I made my fantasy elf crush laugh. I’m lame, she thought.
Two hours later Oakley was once again up and pacing as Elora finished her explanation.
“So that’s how I ended up at your door. I guess this is where I wanted to be,” she said. “Mom followed me with,” she pointed to Cush and Rin, “those two. The sexy brooding one is Cush and the sexy non-brooding one is Rin.”
Cush didn’t acknowledge Oakley. He just continued to stare at Elora who gave him a wink and blew him a kiss. His lips twitched and she knew he was trying to hold back a smile.
“And Cassie is in the Elf realm?” he asked.
“Yes, with her mate, Trik,” Lisa answered.
“So what now?” Oakley stopped pacing and looked over to Cush and Rin.
“We need to get to the light-elf castle and see what the king has planned,” Cush said as he pushed away from the wall he was leaning on. He walked over to the large front window and then looked back over his shoulder at Elora. “We must go.”
Elora nodded and then stood. She looked back at Oakley and smiled. “Got to save the world.”
Oakley laughed. “If anybody can, it’s you and Cassie.”
Lisa hugged him and kissed his cheek. “We’ll be back. You stay safe.”
Oakley nodded and then watched as the group walked up to where Cush stood in front of the window.
“Picture the throne room in your mind. Lisa. You hold Elora’s hand and follow with her,” Cush instructed and then stepped into the window. His foot and head hit the glass at the same time. He probably wouldn’t have cracked it except that Elora ran into his back followed by her mother, which created a very painful Elora sandwich.
“What the…,” Elora said as she tried to right herself and back away from Cush, tripping over Lisa in the process.
Cush stared hard at the now cracked glass. His hand reached out slowly as if the glass would bite him.
“Something is wrong,” he said absently.
“What was your first clue? The inability to walk through the glass or the inability to walk through the glass?” Elora asked dryly. Lisa smacked her arm and glared at her. “What?” Elora growled. “I’m sorry, but I tend to get pissy when things don’t go the way they’re supposed to.”
“When are you not pissy?” Rin asked, breaking his long silence.
Elora gave him the single eyebrow stare. “Finally come out to play?”
Rin chuckled at her and then looked past her to the elf behind her. He shook his head. “I don’t have a death wish.”
Elora looked over her shoulder and saw that Cush was glaring daggers at her and Rin. She shrugged her shoulders. “Whateve.”
“So what, you can’t get back to your realm?” Oakley asked.
“The portals have been closed,” Cush answered grimly.
“Bloody hell,” Elora suddenly breathed out as the realization hit her. “That means Cassie can’t get back here.” She looked over to her mom. “You know her parents are probably freaking out.”
“You’re right, Elora, we need to go check on them and let them know that Cassie is okay.”
Elora threw her arms up in the air. “What are we going to say? Hey your daughter is fine but you can’t see her because she’s with her quiver carrying boy toy in the elf realm, and oh yeah, she’s trapped there.”
“Quiver carrying?” Cush’s deep voice rumbled from behind her and she heard the amusement in it without seeing his face. She turned on him and pinned him with her eyes. “Are you trying to tell me you don’t carry a quiver?”
Cush took a step towards her and his huge frame towered over her. She watched him warily as a slow smile formed on his sensual lips. He leaned down next to her ear and whispered, “No, Little Raven, I don’t carry a quiver. I wield a sword.”
Caught off guard by his statement, she let out a bark of laughter and quickly slapped a hand over her mouth. He stood back to his full height and looked at her. Elora felt her face growing warm. She cleared her throat and attempted to compose herself. “Well, by all means, wield away.” Their eyes met as she punctuated her flirtatious statement with a wink.
“Elora.”
“Yes, Lisa?” Elora answered, finally turning away from the intense stare of Cush.
“Oakley’s going to drive us home.”
“I am?” he interrupted.
“You are,” Lisa confirmed. “And then we will go over to Cassie’s and speak with her mother. Cush and Rin, you guys are just going to have to stay with us until this is all sorted out.”
The elves looked at each other and shrugged. With no better plan presenting itself, they clambered into Oakley’s van, a vehicle which, while certainly roomy enough, was not designed for beings as large as Cush and Rin.
“Oakley, w
hen did you get a van?” Elora asked as she started to climb in behind Rin but was pulled back by Cush, who made sure she didn’t end up on the bench seat next to the other elf. She wanted to be annoyed by it, but there was a part of her, way, way, way, WAY deep down that liked how possessive he was. Mother of pearl, I’m a freak, she thought to herself as Cush sat down in the seat next to her. Maybe so, but if that is what I get to be freaky with, really who am I to complain? Elora nearly laughed out loud at her inner monologue.
“I won it,” Oakley answered vaguely.
“Uh-uh, right,” Elora responded just as vaguely.
Twenty minutes into their drive, Lisa suddenly turned around and looked at Elora. Her face held one of those looks that said she had just remembered something that shocked her the first time she’d heard it, and it still continued to do so.
“Chosen?” Her eyes narrowed at her daughter and then shifted to Cush. “While you are welcome to stay in my house, and I understand what a Chosen is and just how strong the connection is, there will be no sword wielding under my roof!”
Elora’s eyes widened at her mother’s words and her mouth dropped open, but nothing would come out. Cush didn’t seem to have the same problem because the words that came out of his mouth flowed as smooth as butter.
“I’m honored to be allowed in your home, Lisa, and I understand that Elora and I will have to practice our swordplay off of the premises.”
Chapter 3
“There comes a point in life when just say no shouldn’t just be a slogan, it should be a theme song and some people should have it playing in their ear non-stop.” ~Tony
Tony stood a silent witness to the horror that was taking place before him as he looked out over the casino floor from his office perch. He, like most casino managers, had one way glass encasing his office so that he could watch without the public being able to see him. As two of his security guards took yet another violent patron to the ground, he wondered to himself if having the one way glass put in had been such a smart idea.
His phone vibrated in his pocket just as the man on the floor was finally subdued.
“Talk to me,” he said as he answered the call.
“We’ve called the police again. Seems Mr. Black can’t remember who he is or where he lives.” The deep voice of Rick Lawson, head of Inequity security, rumbled through the line and Tony could hear the weariness that he knew was weighing on them all.
“They’re going to start charging me as often as they have to come down here,” Tony said only half joking.
“Boss,” Tony rolled his eyes. Rick only called him boss when he was about to say something that no one else could get away with. “You have to get rid of the stuff. Something about it isn’t right.”
Tony gritted his teeth as he bit back the growl of frustration and indignation he felt at Rick’s words. Tony knew what he was talking about, and he knew that he was right, but his hands were tied. The dark elves that owned most of Vegas were in charge of the distribution of Rapture and it had been made perfectly clear to him that he was to keep it in the bar and keep his nose out of their business. But just as his father had before him, he bore the burden alone. None of the other employees knew anything about the elves, light or dark. None of the others knew that he had no real power. He was as subservient to the dark elves as his employees were to him.
“It’s been noted that you think that the selling of Rapture has become a detriment to our business,” Tony said tightly.
Rick let out a humorless laugh. “A detriment to our business my ass, Tony. It’s a detriment to people’s lives. Some guy last week tried to kill a man over a card game. The week before that a man nearly killed himself when we cut him off from the bar.”
“I don’t need a recap of all the crap that has been going down, Rick,” he growled. “I’m here nearly twenty-four hours a day; I know exactly what is going on.”
“Tony, I’ve got men ready to quit because they are scared for their lives. These people who are drinking this Rapture act like hard core addicts. You’ve been in this business a long time; you’ve seen what addictions can do to certain types of people. They’re dangerous to themselves and to everyone around them.”
Tony forced himself to take several deep breaths before he responded. “I hear you, and I agree, but there’s more going on than you know. I’m trying to deal with it; please believe me when I say this is not how I want my casino running.” Rick was silent for several minutes.
Finally he said, “Okay. For now I’ll leave you to do whatever it is you need to do to handle this, but do it fast, or we’re all going to walk.”
Tony fought hard not to throw the cell phone across the room. After all, it wasn’t his cell phone’s fault that everything had gotten so out of control. He kept expecting Trik to come sauntering through his office glass with one of his smart-aleck remarks and a trade mark smirk, but he might as well have been waiting for pigs to fly. When it came down to it, Trik might be his friend, but he was a dark elf, first and foremost, which meant Tony was on his own.
“What the hell am I going to do?” he asked the empty office as he walked over to his personal wet bar. He poured himself a glass of cold ice water. Oddly enough, Tony never drank, but he downed the water as if it were single malt whiskey. The ice water hit his brain with a sharp sting and he welcomed the pain that helped him clear his thoughts. One thing he knew for certain was that Rapture couldn’t continue to sell in his casino, or any casino for that matter. But he didn’t know how to stop it or how to stay alive if he even tried.
“Why did you let them get away?” Ilyrana snapped, stopping briefly to glare at her king and then resume her angry pacing. “And I say let because that is the only way those imbeciles would have been able to leave.”
Lorsan listened but did not respond right away. He loved his Chosen, there was no doubt of that, but he didn’t let that love make him weak. He wouldn’t be dictated to by his woman—no matter how much he loved her. He was still king and she was not. So for now he just stared at her evenly, letting her stew in her own juices.
“If we want our court to continue to follow us and not go crawling after Triktapic, we have to make him the villain,” Lorsan explained as if he were speaking to a child. “Trik has now broken into the dungeon and stolen my prisoners who trespassed on dark-elf territory. He has broken our laws.”
“You want to be able to justify attacking him?” she asked as she once again came to a halt in front of him.
“I don’t have to justify myself,” he quipped. But it will make it easier in the long run for some who might be otherwise difficult to convince to follow me.” He took a deep breath and popped his neck, getting rid of the tension that had been gathering there. “The facts are this, my dear,” he took her hand and pulled her to him as he spoke, “Triktapic is the king once again, put in that position by the Forest Lords. He is destined to rule.”
“You sound resigned to defeat my love. It isn’t very attractive.”
He laughed. “You know me better than that. Defeat is not a term I even recognize in my vocabulary. Do not fret, My Sweet. The Forest Lords have set out Trik’s destiny before him. They control him. But I am master of my own destiny. I choose my future. And my future does not have Trik in it as king.”
“Okay, let’s get this thing over with,” Elora said dryly as she slid the van door open and began to climb out.
“Don’t you think we should maybe have a plan before we go in there?” Lisa asked while not making any move to exit the vehicle.
“I don’t know what there is to plan,” Elora said from where she stood on the sidewalk with her arms folded across her chest. “Cassie is with an elf assassin in another realm. That’s all there is to it.”
“You’re going to reveal our world to them?” Cush asked her. He didn’t sound alarmed, however, only resigned.
“They’re not going to believe us,” Lisa said matter-of-fact like. “They’re going to hear us begin to talk about their daughter and
as soon as we say, elves, and, other realm, they’re going to send us packing.”
“Well, you don’t really have any other option,” Oakley pointed out.
“Sure we do.” Elora smiled. “We can head to Sin City to see Trik’s friend.”
Cush’s head snapped up and his eyes narrowed. “You know Tony?”
Elora frowned, not sure why he was giving her his I’m not quite in control look. “I know of him. We haven’t exchanged digits or anything. Trik told Cassie about him and their ‘business,’” she made air quotes around the word business, “and naturally Cassie told me.”
“Naturally,” he responded just as dryly as Elora typically did.
“So, to continue my point, my dear brother,” she began again, giving Cush a pointed look, “we definitely have a choice. But we would be making the wrong choice if we didn’t stop here first and tell them what is going on.”
The creaking of the front passenger door broke the sudden silence as Lisa climbed out. “You’re right, we have to do this. If I were in their place and it was either of you missing I would want to know, no matter how impossible it seemed.”
“This is more along the lines of delusional, Mom,” Oakley said.
“Not helping,” Elora sung out through a grim smile.
Cush and Rin both squeezed their tall frames out of the small van door, somehow looking as graceful as ever, and joined the others on the sidewalk. Elora made a conscious effort not to drool as she watched Cush move, though she didn’t attempt to hide the fact that she was indeed watching. And the smirk he shot her testified that he hadn’t missed her attention.
“Are you coming, or are you just going to stand there?” Lisa hollered over her shoulder. Elora hadn’t realized that her mom and Oakley were halfway to the Tate’s front door. Damn hormones, she thought to herself. Shaking off her momentary distraction caused by the elf warrior, she hurried after her mom with Cush and Rin following behind her, no doubt keeping a look out for any potential danger from the dark elves.