Page 113 of Elven Shadow

Rebecca tensed, reaching out with her senses to take the general temperature of the garage again.

To her surprise, even after everything that had happened tonight—including Hector’s deeply disturbing claims that he’d attacked the compound with his homunculi toroot her out—not a single Shade member moved to obey the changeling’s command.

Some stared at Aldous’s most humiliating tantrum of all. Others gaped at the smears of blood drying on Maxwell’s hand, or the puddles of guts flecked with chips of bone lay around the dead Hector on the floor.

Some even gave Rebecca a confused look. Confused, maybe, by her sudden decline in physical fortitude.

Or maybe they were all waiting for her todosomething. To fulfill whatever part of Leonard and Diego’s plan she’d refused to accept because she just didn’t want any of this.

That became even more apparent through Leonard’s gawking expression when Rebecca finally found him among the others. The mage shot a pointed look in Maxwell’s direction, then in Aldous’s, and as if that weren’t obvious enough, he tossed a hand back and forth between himself and Rebecca as well.

Code for:“Now looks like a really great time, so are we going to fucking do this or what?”

This was simultaneously the absolute worst timing and probably the best Shade’s rebels were going to get. Aldous was already down. His defenses had been obliterated. He thought he was safe.

The entire task force had gathered down here, all of them already armed, and sure, they could let their commander believe it was only because he’d ordered it to be so.Ifthat was part of the plan she’d flat-out ignored.

But Rebecca felt like shit. She might have been dying. Maybe something totally different, who knew? Maxwell and his security team hadn’t turned against anyone but Hector so far.

Maxwell’s actions, however, suggested the shifter was still deeply devoted to upholding several main points within his job description, specifically protecting the life and physical well-being of Shade’s commander. So this could still go either way.

Maxwell and his guys had been at that first library meeting. They’d turned against one of their own when Hector had clearly become more dangerous to the entire organization than not. They might still be on board with wrapping up this fun little coup and calling it a day.

Or they might still be batting for the other team.

Specifically the guy the rest of Shade was trying to overthrow.

The changeling man-baby sobbing in a puddle against the wall because someone had wrapped a hand around his throat.

Besides, after that bombshell of a demonstration on Maxwell’s part, as evidenced by the body on the floor with a giant hole ripped through its middle, the rest of Shade’s operatives were probably even less likely to want to stand up to something like that, no matter how many times over they collectively outnumbered the Head of Security and his team.

“What a fucking night, huh?”

Rebecca scanned the sea of faces—some of them blurring in her vision—for the owner of that voice. When she found Diego, he was staring at her just like Leonard, his eyes wide as he not-so-subtly jerked his head in Aldous’s direction and lifted his fully loaded assault rifle in both hands.

No. Absolutely not.

Whatever he wanted her to do, Rebecca was in no shape to step up and do it. Forget that she had specifically left herself out of the planning phase so she wouldn’t have to deal with this right now.

So she wouldn’t accidentally wind up being the center of attention all over again—or at the center of this rebellion that looked a lot closer to taking place now that the perfect opportunity had presented itself after the distraction of one serious attack on the compound none of them could have foreseen.

Yes, if Rebecca had had her sights on stepping up to get rid of Aldous herself, she certainly could have done it right now.

Not when she felt like this. Not with the entire task force armed to the teeth in the garage. Not with Shade’s entire security team among them.

Definitely not with Maxwell Hannigan now staring right at her, like he was just waiting for her to make a move so he could grind her into dust afterward.

Itwas impossible to read his stony expression. Part of her thought he was giving her the same look at Leonard and Diego—that it was now or never.

The other part of her, though—the part specifically trained to assess threats in every possible scenario—wondered if that look wasn’t pure warning instead.

Daring her to try something now, with the window for an in-house takeover wide open.

Promising he would do whatever it took to stop her, and Rebecca was rather partial tonotwalking around with a giant, gaping hole through her middle.

Just how farwouldMaxwell go to keep her at bay?

Was Rebecca really willing to risk her physical safety against a shifter who could do to her what he’d done to Hector just becausesomeoneneeded to get this show on the road?

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