Page 89 of Elven Crown

“There you have it, then.” Rowan clapped his hands together and plastered on another twisted smile.

Rebecca’s concern merely thickened.

“Looks like we’ve got it all figured out,” he added. “So if you’ll both excuse me, I believe I have more celebrating to attend to.”

He didn’t wait for a response before heading back to the party.

Rebecca stood there, stunned by what Rowan had just attempted and hoping Maxwell hadn’t picked up on the Blackmoon Elf’s hand signals meant only for her.

That had been far too reckless. Signing to him in the holding room with her back to the security camera was one thing, but using it out in the open while actively conversing with Shade’s Head of Security? The single most suspicious member of this task force? Where anyone could have noticed? That was something else.

Why did Rowan insist on being so fucking brash here? Didn’t he understand what was at stake, not just for Rebecca alone but for this entire task force of magicals for whom she was now responsible?

How hard was that to understand?

Still staring across the common room after Rowan’s departure, Maxwell cleared his throat. “That one is primed for crossing the lines.”

If only he had any idea how right he was.

Rebecca inhaled deeply and held it a moment. “It’s only been two days.”

“Barely.”

“Let’s give Blackmoon a chance to settle in before we start planning how to break him, okay?”

The laugh bursting from Maxwell’s open mouth put her instantly on the defensive, because she hadn’t yet heard anything quite like it. Especially from him.

When she looked up at him, she realized she enjoyed the sound of his rumbling laughter, the way his eyes crinkled at the corners, how much softer it made the shifter look despite his constant rigidity.

Then she couldn’t help but notice how close he stood and how much he seemed to have relaxed around her in the last few days.

It took only a second of consideration before her focus turned to that tingling warmth flaring between them. It hadn’t disappeared or weakened while they’d stood here. Rebecca had merely been too focused on getting Rowan out of her face.

Now, though, she couldn’t help but feel it, that energy of Maxwell’s presence still coursing through her with something she didn’t recognize. Something she couldn’t name.

By the Blood, even with no clue what this was or how much damage it might do in the long run, Rebecca wanted more.

Against her better judgement, she actively searched for a way to keep the conversation going, because all she wanted now was to give Maxwell a reason to stay.

“This is a nice change of pace, don’t you think?” She nodded toward the magicals drinking and partying and enjoying themselves late into the night. “Good to see everyone in a decent mood. You know, instead of sulking and trying not to murder Command.”

Maxwell’s nose twitched. He seemed hesitant to answer before offering an uneasy reply. “This is certainly not the norm.”

“But it should be.”

When she finally brought herself to look up at him, of course Maxwell had already been watching her. Their gazes met,and it felt like another unspoken agreement had just formed between them—an acknowledgement of what Shade could still be, provided the right circumstances.

That together, Rebecca and Maxwell could make this the norm for everyone because they’d already proven it was possible.

The admiration in his gaze took her by surprise and simultaneously overwhelmed her.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that he meant something more with that look than pure admiration or even gratitude.

That she was supposed to recognize it and respond accordingly.

But she just didn’t have it in her. Going down that rabbit hole right now felt too dangerous, too distracting, too much like holding all responsibility at bay so she could lose herself in the shifter’s glowing silver eyes.

Not the best move.

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