“Shh, Love.” He pulled her into the shelter of his arms. “We’ll find them,” he promised. “We’ll get them back.”

Cassie buried her face in his broad, firm chest and gave into the fear that was every child’s nightmare, losing their parents. She didn’t know if they were alive or hurt. She didn’t know if she could have prevented this had she told them the truth about Trik. She didn’t know how to get them back, or if she ever would. In that moment she didn’t know much of anything other than the pain that engulfed her.

“You don’t have to know, Cassandra,” Trik told her as he held her tight. “I know and I will take care of you.”

Elora stood in Cassie’s room holding the note she had found lying on her bed next to a picture of Cassie. Her hand shook as she read it for the third time, and she fought back the bile that rose in her throat.

“What is it, Little Raven?”

Cush’s deep voice grounded her and she swallowed before answering, making sure she didn’t vomit.

“It’s a note from Tarron.” His name was like acid on her tongue, and she wished he stood before her now so she could gouge out his eyes with a spoon—blame it on her dark side. “He has Cassie’s parents.”

“What?” Cush gently took the note from her and for some illogical reason she giggled when he cursed. Okay, so maybe the stress was getting to her and she was finally cracking.

“Liege!” Cush’s voice carried through the house that now felt like a tomb. “You need to see this.”

They all gathered back in the living room. Oakley and Tony had taken it upon themselves to pick up the mess, righting the chairs and sweeping up the glass.

“Thank you,” Cassie told them both through sniffles and both men blushed, simply nodding their reply. Trik pulled Cassie to him as he turned to address the group.

“Tarron has taken Cassie’s parents,” he told them.

“Why?” Lisa asked, her eyes wide with fear.

“Apparently he has history with Cassie’s bloodline,” Trik explained and then read the note out loud for everyone. “Dearest Cassandra, I thought I had lost my Chosen long ago, but it seems fate has seen fit to bring her back to me in the same bloodline in the elegant form of you. You see, your great-grandmother, Lucy, was my Chosen. I lost her only to now have her returned to me. Your parents will remain with me until you take their place, then I will return them to their home. I have much to do before we can be together, but be patient, Cassandra, I’m coming for you soon. Yours, Tarron.”

“Has he lost his damn mind?” Elora growled.

“Close,” Tamsin answered. “He lost his Chosen, which can drive the surviving mate mad. I had forgotten that about Tarron’s history. His Chosen was human and shechose to live in the human realm and age and die, but Tarron didn’t want to die. Above all he has always craved power and so he didn’t die with her as he should have. He left her in the human realm to live her own life, and as his actions have proven, he has been driven mad because of his loss, because of the choices he made.”

“What are we going to do?” Cassie asked as she looked up at Trik as tears continued to stain her flushed cheeks.

He gently wiped away her tears as he held her face in his hands. He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips and then whispered, “I’m going to do whatever it takes to get your parents back safe, and you’re going to trust me to do that. There’s a reason I’m the greatest spy and assassin in the history of time, Cassie, because I’m good at what I do.”

She pressed her forehead to his and nodded her head. She couldn’t speak because she just would have begged him to save her parents. She would have pleaded for him to fix everything, to take all the bad and broken things in her life and make them right. She knew he would die trying, so she wouldn’t ask that of him because she couldn’t lose him too.

“This is not how I expected this day to end,” Elora told Cush as he held her in his arms on the couch in Cassie’s living room. Cassie hadn’t been ready to leave her house so they had agreed to stay the night, to grieve and rest, and then regroup in the morning.

“She’s strong,” Cush said and she felt his lips brush against her head as he spoke. “She’ll make it through this, no matter the outcome. She’s a survivor.”

“Oh, believe me; I know that better than anyone. Cassie may seem all gentle and meek but she’s tough as nails. That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t hurt, and I hate that she has to go through this all because that idiot didn’t stay with his Chosen. Would,” she paused briefly before she finished her question, “would you stay with me if I chose the human realm?”

“And give up my immortality?” he asked, his deep voice rumbling in his chest against her back. “In a heartbeat,” he finally said after what felt to Elora like the longest pause in history. “But you’re half elf, so the rules are different for you. Your life will be longer even if you stay in the human realm because you will age much slower. Regardless, Little Raven, where you go, I go. That is just the way it is.”

She smiled to herself and leaned her head back on his chest. She snuggled down and pulled the blanket she had retrieved from the hall closet up over them and as she yawned she said, “Well I happen to like the way it is.”

He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “I love you,” he whispered in her ear. “Rest now, Love, because tomorrow we hunt.”