Tamsin looked at his warriors. “You all stay here in case the others return.”

Beleg bowed his head. “Yes, My Lord.”

Cassie followed Trik to the mirrors, each taking their respective places next to Tamsin and Syndra. They all took a step at the same time to go through the mirrors and they were all pushed back with a force so strong that they each landed on their butts.

“Dammit!” Trik yelled.

“What does that mean?” Cassie asked as she stood and dusted off her clothes.

“It means you’re not going back to Kansas, Dorothy,” Syndra said as she glared at the mirrored wall as if it had just royally insulted her.

“And if we can’t get through to the human realm, that means Elora and the others are…”

“Screwed,” Syndra finished for her.

The ground beneath them began to tremble, and Cassie had to brace herself to keep from falling over. She looked over at Trik and her mouth dropped open. He was hallowed in light and his long dark hair whipped around him as if it had a life of its own. His jaw was clenched tight and his face was the picture of barely contained rage.

“Trik,” Cassie said his name softly as she moved towards him. She approached him like she would any predator, though she knew he would never hurt her. At least not on purpose.

“I’m stuck here while Lorsan’s elves produce Rapture in the human realm and sell it to people in the casinos,” he growled. “What am I supposed to do from here?!”

“What about Sanctuary?” Syndra asked. “Do you think the portals there are working?”

Trik shook his head. “The portal we just traveled through to get here was a master portal, which means if someone closed it then they closed them all.”

“Not to sound like a broken record, but what do we do now?” Cassie looked at each of the royal elves before her and felt her chest tighten as she realized just how upset they all were by this new revelation.

“We’re going to have to go on the offensive,” Trik said decidedly. He began to pace around the throne room as he spoke. “Lorsan has forced my hand in this. I can’t wait for his next move.” He paused and looked over at Tamsin. “We’re going to have to assemble the light elves and let them know that such a time has come that the Forest Lords have reinstated their king.”

Tamsin nodded. “They will welcome you, Triktapic.”

“Not all of them. I have wronged many in your court. I have hurt many. I don’t imagine that they will accept me with open arms. In fact, I bet I will have a few attempts before the week is over.”

“What kind of attempts?” Cassie asked, not liking the sound of what Trik was saying.

“The assassination kind,” Trik told her calmly as if he wasn’t discussing someone trying tokill him.

She frowned. “You really think people will try to kill you?”

“No.”

Cassie let out a breath, relieved.

“I know they will,” he finished.

Her eyes widened and she swore her heart skipped a beat at the mere thought of Trik's life ending, of not having him here with her. She walked over to him and looked up at him. She knew her eyes were moist with unshed tears but she couldn’t help it—even the idea of a life without Trik was enough to break her heart.

“No one is going to kill you,” she told him firmly.

Trik's lips twitched. Clearly he was amused at her statement. “Are you going to protect me?”

Cassie snorted. “I don’t even like to kill flies. No, I’ll sic Elora on them.”

Trik cringed. “Nothing is worth that, not even an attempt on my life.”

Cassie grinned. “Exactly, so no more talk of you dying.”

“Agreed,” Tamsin piped in. “Now back to things that we can actually control. Sid,” he looked over at the warrior who stood quietly waiting, “sorry, but it’s just easier than saying your whole name.”

“It’s fine, liege,” Sid told him stiffly.

“I need you and Beleg to send out messengers to the realm for a gathering here tomorrow at the mid-day meal.” Sid bowed and turned swiftly, walking from the room. Tamsin looked back at Trik. “We will have the gathering tomorrow. We tell them of your return; then what?”

Trik rubbed his chin and his eyes narrowed as he thought. “I will give the warriors a choice to fight for me or stay behind.”

“No!” Cassie said suddenly as she slammed her fist into her hand. Trik’s eyes widened in surprise as he looked at his Chosen. She stood with her back straight and chin held high as she stared him down. “You are the Elf King, Triktapic. Yes, you made your mistakes, but you will not spend your rule tiptoeing around the light elves because they are pissed at you. You will tell them the facts and you will remind them that when you divide a people, problems like Lorsan are what you end up with. And then you will tell them their calling—to fight for themselves and for their king.”

Trik stared at her, momentarily speechless by his Chosen, and then a huge smile broke across his face. “You are going to be a magnificent queen,” he told her.

“Thank you,” she smiled up at him. She saw the familiar gleam in Trik's eyes before he spoke and her stomach flipped and her jaw dropped open at his next words.

“You are going to be an equally magnificent lover, and I feel the need to point out that I am being very good right now. Because really all I want to do is drag you to a private room and have my wicked way with you.”