Page 189 of Elven Crown

“No thanks to you,” Maxwell snarled. “You broke rank. You deliberately defied your orders to hold until we knew more about what we were walking into. You ran right into this like it was a solo op. We could have lost lives tonight because youstillhaven’t figured out how to follow the rules!”

Rowan’s gaze swept lazily across the room to fall on each individual operative before he exaggerated a shrug. “Well look at that. We didn’t lose any.”

“That’s not the fucking point!”

“Oh no. Of course not. But I figured it out, wolf. Theproblemis you’ve gotten so used to shoving your hand so far up everyone else’s ass that when you move it, they start talking. And you can’t stand anyone telling you you’re doing it wrong.”

“Everything you touch falls apart,” Maxwell hissed. “You almost killed our commander during training, Blackmoon.Training.”

“For the love of—” Rowan growled and rolled his eyes. “That’swhat you’re stuck on? Is that what’s pissing you off? Maybe if you knew what training even was…”

Rebecca had hoped they’d be able to work this out on their own, at least after this major win for the team tonight, but that was a premature hope.

“That’s enough, Blackmoon,” she called out.

“I would love to show you sometime,” Rowan spat, stretching his neck out toward the shifter standing an inch taller than him, at most. “Anywhere. Anytime.”

“I don’t have to prove myself to anyone,” Maxwell growled. “Least of all some entitled pain-in-the-ass elf who can’t—”

“Hannigan,” Rebecca tried again, thinking maybe her Head of security would be more responsive. “Let’s wrap this up. We’re almost—”

“Says the wolf who thinks he’s the king of the fucking reject club,” Rowan spat. “Because his ownpackcouldn’t even stand to keep him!”

Maxwell’s expression went blank for half a second. Then, with a violent snarl, he shoved Rowan away with both hands.

The Blackmoon elf staggered backward up the sloping auditorium floor, laughing all the way.

Great. Now they’d made it physical.

“Go ahead and say it,” Maxwell snarled. “I’m right here.”

Smirking, Rowan looked the shifter up and down, then shrugged. “Okay.”

His fist came swinging up with surprising speed and perfect aim before he punched Maxwell square in the face.

“Ohshit…” someone muttered.

The team had stopped working to watch, and now they all backed away as if of a single mind, their eyes wide as they shared nervous glances.

Rowan’s blow had little physical effect. Maxwell had dodged the worst of it, but with these two, it was less a matter of physical damage and more a matter of principle.

Apparently, that was the principle of murdering each other, because neither one of them had the stones to just let this go.

Maxwell’s furious growl and Rowan’s bitter, dangerous laughter clashed against each other as they geared up for a real fight.

Rebecca was done stepping up between them. She was done trying to mediate or keep them apart or get either of them to see reason.

If they wanted to act like morons, fine. She would treat them like morons.

While they bickered and shoved each other around, Rebecca snatched someone else’s momentarily discarded magitek weapon off the ground, gave it a quick inspection, then slapped the controls along its side to power up the mechanism.

Its low whine filled the air as a sputtering burst of neon-orange light glowed from within. She raised the weapon in both hands to aim it at Rowan and Maxwell, hoping they at least had the brains to realize the difference between a threat and a promise.

They might have been bluffing with each other, but Rebecca certainly wasn’t.

She hoped at least one of them took her seriously, or she’d have to follow through and make them.

Even if it meant going back on her refusal to let any member of Shade get hurt tonight.

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