Page 49 of Elven Shadow

That train of thought wasn’t meant for others to hear.

Shade was not the place to vent the pressures of her own personal reality and all the dangers she faced simply by being involved in something as perilously infuriating as a budding task-force rebellion full of competent operatives who’d never before found themselves on the brink of a violent uprising.

She had plenty to get off her chest. Airing her dirty laundry was more likely to get them all killed.

Probablybeforethey could do what had to be done.

A few tense chuckles rose across the library.

Then Nyx cleared her throat with a high-pitched squeak and shook a finger at Shade’s only elf. “Like I said. Go big. Get rid of Aldous. So what does that…mean, exactly?”

With a sigh, Rebecca could only meet the katari’s violet gaze for a brief, exasperated moment before forcing herself to look away. “You know what it means. Look, all our problems boil down to a single simple solution. As long as it’s a…permanentsolution.”

A deep growl rose from Maxwell’s throat. “Got a lot of practice with that one, elf?”

She snorted and swung her gaze across the gathering to fix it on his silver-glowing eyes. “Well, Max, practicedoesmake perfect, doesn’t it?”

Maxwell’s lips curled into a mocking smile that both challenged and invited her closer. He knew exactly how to push her buttons, and damn if she didn’t want to push right back.

Rebecca was fully prepared to meet him head-on in this infuriatingly pointless bit of conversation. She spread her arms and cocked her head at him.

If Maxwell Hannigan wanted a go at her, now was the perfect fucking time.

They might have come close to starting a brawl of their own if Leonard hadn’t gotten in the middle of it. Again.

“Is that it, then?” he asked, spreading his arms wide as he turned in a slow circle to address the whole group. “Is that what everybody’s thinking? We all on board?”

No one offered a tangible response, but the averted gazes and discomforted grimaces and shuffling feet said plenty.

Hopefully, when the time came, those who couldn’t bring themselves to admit out loud what they really wanted would have the spine to take action.

Otherwise, this rebellion would crumble beneath their feet before it ever had a chance.

“I guess that’s settled, then,” Leonard muttered. “Fine. Uh…we’re really doing this.”

“About damn time,” another mage shouted from the back.

That got plenty of half-assed murmurs of assent from other members, which started a chain reaction of acceptance spreading quickly through the library.

Diego puffed out a heavy sigh through loose lips and readjusted his baseball cap.

Nyx closed her eyes for a deep inhale as a tiny smile flickered across her lips.

Leonard turned toward Rebecca with a scathing glare almost fully disguising his relief and nodded. “At the very least, Knox, I’ve seen what you can do. You won’t hear me trying to argue you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

She leaned against the bookcase again and shrugged. “Inspiring, Leonard. Really.”

“So talk. If we’re going down this road, tell us where it goes and how to get there.”

“That’s right,” Maxwell piped in again, his voice overpowering the growing background noise of magicals finally coming to grips with what they’d been too unsteady to commit to until now. “Just how perfect did your practice make you, exactly?”

Rebecca jerked her head away from the mage in the trench coat to widen her eyes at the shifter. “This isn’t about me.”

“The hell it ain’t!” someone shouted from among the crowd. “You’re the one who said it, elf. If you know how we do this, spit it out already!”

“Seriously?” Nyx shouted back, her wings fluttering too quickly to see as her purple sneakers rose two inches off the floor. “You do know whatpermanent solutionmeans, don’t you?”

“I wasn’t born yesterday, katari.”

---