Page 32 of Elven Shadow

The shifter pressed his lips firmly together, still scowling but obviously unwilling to remain silent when he’d been directly addressed. Offering a response was the very least he could do for not having said a damn thing this whole time.

“No, we do not,” he growled.

“There you go.” Aldous snapped his fingers and pointed at Maxwell. “He knows how things work around here. I think it’s time you learned the same lesson. So here’s what I’m gonna do.”

The changeling spun around at the far side of his office to pace in the opposite direction, his shoulders hunched and his arms pumping at his side as he turned his head in an oddly hunched way, like a deformed hyena stalking someone else’s carcass.

“I made you one offer already,” he snarled. “I gave you a choice. You made the wrong one. So this time, I’m not giving you a choice. Accepting this arrangementisn’tan option.”

Rebecca inhaled deeply through her nose.

Great. This idiot was still making the rules, and she was back to not saying a word about it and not giving a shit.

“Your next mission,” Aldous continued, “I’m assigning to you personally. There’s been a lot of chatter lately about the Darkspawn having finally made its way here. To Chicago. Andyouare going to find it and retrieve it for me.”

Bullshit.

“That’s not a deal,” Rebecca blurted. “That’s a death sentence.”

“Not if you do what you’re supposed to this time and actually follow your orders,” he snapped. “Which youwilldo, for several reasons. The first being that if youdon’tgo after this artifact, if youdon’tretrieve it, if youdon’tbring it to me and lay it at my feet the way I expect you to… Well, then I’m afraid Shade will have no more use for you at that point. And in case you haven’t heard, this organization does not cater to buyer’s remorse.”

The sharp grunt beside the door sounded particularly loud.

From the corner of her eye, Rebecca caught the last two seconds of Maxwell pressing a fist to his mouth, pretending to cover what was clearly a forced cough.

Pretending to cover his disapproval, maybe even disagreement, but he sure as shit wasn’t going to say it out loud.

Aldous seemed completely oblivious to it. Then again, subtle cues of communication clearly had never been a strong suit.

“On top of that,” he continued, his self-serving smirk blooming into what counted as a victorious grin on his stupid changeling face, “you won’t be entirely alone. I’ve made sure of it.”

The sight of that smirk ruffled Rebecca’s composure even further when she noticed his bottom lip quickly regaining its dark-green hue and the unhealed scratches across his face smudging with lighter green where their natural state overpowered his human illusion.

The changeling had gotten himself so damn excited, he didn’t have enough leftover concentration to keep his ensemble of illusionary spellwork up to snuff. Now, the naturally green tint to his flesh spilled through in mottled splotches, darkening his features by the second as his pacing took on a mad, feverish pace.

“I’vegotyou now, elf,” he continued, his limbs trembling as he shook a finger in the air. “I’ve got eyes on you. Your own personal fucking shadow, and they answer only tome. Everywhere you go, everything you do, they’ll be watching you. When you eat. When you sleep. When you take a shit.I’llknow about it. All of it!”

Aldous whirled on her, spit flying from his dark-green lips that now looked like over-inflated caterpillars around his mouth as his emerald eyes bulged from his head. “You’ll never see them coming. You won’t know who’s really watching you. Who you can trust. But I’ll know everything aboutyou. Your entireexistenceis in my hands, understand?

“And it won’t stop until you’re right here!” He stabbed that finger down toward the floor at his feet. “On your knees, presenting me with the Darkspawn on a silver platter because I told you to and becauseI fucking own you!”

The changeling panted, his face bloated and flushed green like he was about to pop as he sucked all the extra spit back into his mouth and glared at her. “If you fuck this up, elf, I won’t be anywherenearas generous with you the next time.”

Rebecca had slipped her hands into the pockets of her black jeans during his diatribe, and she kept them there now as she stared daggers into Aldous’s skull.

This fucking changeling.

“Well?” he asked, raising an eyebrow before fully straightening and smoothing his hair away from his forehead with both hands. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

She could have said so many things. She could have threatened him right back. Hell, she could have ended the guy in the blink of an eye, eliminating all her most pressing obstacles, and no one here would have been able to prove a thing.

If Maxwell hadn’t been standing there by the office door with his hands behind his back, emotionless, gazing at nothing, like this kind of thing was a daily occurrence for him. She seriously hoped not.

The one thing that kept her in check was the realization that Aldous was completely serious.

She’d heard it in the timbre of his voice, felt it in the energies of ignorance and entitlement and truth spilling from his disgusting mouth.

The changelinghadalready assigned a shadow to watch her. The second he’d mentioned it, she knew that was something he’d done before sending for her tonight—so he’d have not only a threat but a promise to put into action should she refuse his initial vomit-inducing proposition.

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