Page 26 of Elven Shadow

She stopped in the center of the room, which looked more like a private VIP lounge in some exclusive nightclub she’d never heard of.

Black leather couches, darkly shaded lamps, ropes of black-light wiring tacked up around the ceiling’s perimeter, and an enormous armchair on the far side of the room, most likely chosen for its similarities to whatever Aldous envisioned his own throne might look like.

At a glance, it looked more like one of those old electric chairs she’d heard humans once used to murder their murderers. But what did she know?

The chair’s back was so wide and so tall, the entire piece of furniture turned to face the opposite wall, that it was impossible to see the person currently sitting in it beyond a glimpse of his fingers drumming lightly on the flat wooden armrest.

Of course. Only Aldous would have set up his office like this. Of course he’d invite someone to it and sit on his throne with his back to the door.

The room had once been the foreman’s office, back when this building was still in use for its intended purpose. The entire far wall was made of windows, offering a full bird’s-eye view of the main factory floor below, which had since been converted into Shade’s common room.

Lord Changeling sitting up here in his fucking seat of power, gracing all his diligent little subjects below with his ever-watchful gaze.

It would have made an imposing sight, maybe even intimidating, if anyone but Aldous sat in that chair.

Even knowing him as little as she did, Rebecca could only see him as a desperate, self-righteous idiot clawing for control wherever he could and completely oblivious to his own incompetence.

Which made him a hell of a lot more dangerous than a scary-looking dude who could successfully intimidate someone like Rebecca.

In her experience, sure, those guys could be dangerous too, but they spent a lot more time using their brains to determine the right time for it.

“Shut the door,” Aldous commanded.

Maxwell hopped to it like a good little soldier. The office door shut with a soft squeal of its hinges and a gentle click.

Rebecca didn’t have to turn around to know the shifter had stayed to sit in on this fun little meeting. She felt his gaze sweeping across her shoulders and back almost as acutely as she’d felt all the spite and malice directed at her from the two black holes in Hector’s face.

Not even three hours after she’d dragged her team away from certain death at that apartment building, and already, she was racking up hardcore admirers.

How fun.

Hopefully, the stares and condescending glances and maybe a wannabe stern talking to from the fucking changeling in that chair would be the end of it.

Rebecca couldn’t afford any more time than that under the spotlight.

“Now that you’re here, elf,” Aldous began as he slowly pushed himself out of his seat to stand with his back still toward her, “you’re probably wondering what all this is about.”

Being identified by her race when the shifter said it was one thing. But coming from the lips of Shade’s first in command, it sounded like an insult.

Aldous must not have spent a whole lot of time with a whole lot of Elves. Certainly not any like Rebecca Bloodshadow.

Very few had.

“Your powers of observation are astounding,” she quipped, propping a hand on her hip.

The sarcasm went right over Aldous’s head as he set a hand on the top of his throne’s back and turned to face her. “I know.”

What a fucking joke.

This guy knew nothing.

“I see a lot around here, you know,” Aldous continued, stepping around his enormous chair. “More than you probably think. My years of leading this organization have taught me how to notice more than the average magical.”

This whole thing would have been so much more entertaining if Rebecca had someone to share in the amusement with her. But she noticed, standing there in the center of the office, that Maxwell hadn’t moved a muscle beside the closed door.

He didn’t find any of this amusing, either.

She could hear it in the slow, heavy rhythm of his calm and dedicated breath through his nose.

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