Cassie tried to smile.It trembled.“Cush is still on your shit list?”
Elora’s face twisted.“He still thinks sparring with other males is dangerous, even though said males are terrified of him and wouldn’t so much as break one of my nails.Every argument with him is like beating a damn dead horse, only this horse won’t stay dead.He says he’s only trying to keep me safe.”Her mouth flattened into a line.“He seduces, avoids, and lectures.Not always in that order.”
Cassie nodded.“And you’re furious.”
Elora’s face practically transformed as her lips thinned and her eyes narrowed.“I’m incandescent with rage.”Elora had always been the calm one in their duo.Apparently, being bonded to a possessive, male elf had caused some serious changes in her personality.
Cassie huffed a laugh that felt like cracking glass.“So we’re both a mess.”
“It seems to be a new state of being,” Elora said.Then her eyes sharpened.“There’s something more going on, Cass.What your Chosen did is completely out of character for him, at least in regards to you.How you’re acting, like a kicked puppy, no offense?—”
Cassie rolled her eyes.“Offense totally taken.”
Elora didn’t miss a beat, just kept right on talking.“It’s not like you to back down.My Cassie would have kicked Trik in the balls by now.Whatever isgoing on, I feel like it’s affecting everything.Me, Cush, you, Trik, the realm.Everything.And don’t try to tell me it’s only because Trik is pushing you away.I’m not buying it.There’s something more.”
Cassie nodded.Her friend knew her well.She was foolish to think she could hide anything from Elora.But, she could start with the easy stuff first.“I heard ...”She swallowed.“Myrin said something.I’ve never heard of it before, or read about it in any of the texts I’ve found in the castle.He called it the Chamber of Light and Dark.”
Elora snorted, though it lacked humor.“It sounds like a book that’s going to have a boy from London flitting about trying to save everyone from some evil force that is constantly coming back in various forms.”
“That’s calledHarry Potter, probably fiction, but now that I’m married to what I thought was a mythical creature, who knows?But, that has nothing to do with this.The Chamber of Light and Dark is where shadow elves come from,” Cassie said softly.
“Yeah, because ‘shadow elves’ doesn’t scream middle age fiction fantasy at all,” Elora interrupted.
Cassie gave her a look, until Elora said.“Sorry, continue.”
She explained to Elora what she’d heard before Trik had freaked out and magically thrown her out on her ass.“According to Myrin, it’s been asleep with the shadow elves trapped inside, and now, it’s waking.The magic leaking into the realm is from there.”
Elora stared at her, chewing on her bottom lip, and shifting from one foot to the other as she seemed to consider all that Cassie had said.Then she let out a deep breath.“You’re sure there’s no ‘boy who lived’ amongst these so-called shadow elves?”
Cassie shook her head.“Sometimes, I completely understand why Cush might want to tie you up and use you for target practice.”She pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to regather her thoughts.“Trik sent Tamsin, Syndra and Oakley out into the forest because the trees have been whispering.What if it’s this Chamber that they’re talking about?”
“Who’s talking about it?”Elora asked.“The trees?Tamsin and Syndra or Trik?”
“Yes,” Cassie deadpanned.
“Cool, cool,” Elora gave her a thumbs up.“Just wanted to make sure we were on the same supernatural crazy train, complete with whispering trees, shadow elves, sentient chambers, and possibly a British boy who lived.”
“What is with you and the Harry Potter references?”Cassie snapped before she could stop herself.
“What?”Elora shrugged.“I read when I’m pissed off at Cush, and I’ve been pissed off a lot.It’s a good series.”
“Fair,” Cassie grumbled.“But can you set your obsession with it aside for a second and consider the fact that the former light elf king and queen,and your brother,are out there right now with said whispering trees and a sentient chamber waking up with most likely an army of pissed off shadow elves ready to break free.”
“My brother?”Elora asked, her eyes widening.“Since when did he become the tree whisperer?He’s been training to be a warrior.”
“Belig has been helping him learn to listen to the world around him,” Cassie explained.“Being a fae warrior isn’t just about swinging a sword.”
Elora shook her head.“You just had to go with ‘swinging a sword?’You couldn’t say bludgeoning bad guys?”
“Glad to see the tension between you and Cush hasn’t killed your sense of humor,” Cassie said dryly.“ The point is, they’re still out there.”Cassie’s stomach twisted.“No one’s heard from them since yesterday.”
Elora looked toward the forest that shadowed the palace grounds, jaw tightening.“I can’t just do nothing while Oakley is out there.Warrior or not, I still have more power than he does.Cush will lose his mind if I go out there.”
Cassie gave a brittle smile.“Trik will do worse.”
Elora turned back to her, eyes bright with the fierce loyalty that had held them together since childhood.“Worth it.”
“Agreed.And when have we ever waited for permission?”Cassie whispered.
