Page 203 of Elven Crown

The horror and guilt on the shifter’s face matched her own exactly.

He knew just as much as she did, and now he also recognized the implications of this horrible little gift left for them in exchange for another kidnapped operative.

Rebecca had fucked up going to the old prison alone that night, but the responsibility for the chaos after that fell on both herandMaxwell. They’d fucked up together, and now, Harkennr had taken one of their own to get back at them.

When she finally found her voice again, Rebecca couldn’t bring herself to admit out loud what they’d both realized. So she went with the next best thing. “I guess that open invitation for a chat’s off the table now, huh?”

Maxwell’s frown darkened, and he swallowed thickly.

Beyond the fact that Nyx had been stolen from their headquarters, this little figurine had also confirmed Harkennr’s next move as an act of war. Against the two of them, yes, whether or not he knew which specific individuals had infiltrated his compound.

But it was also an act of war against all of Shade.

The only positive here was that Rebecca and Maxwell now knew what they were up against if they returned to the Old Joliet Prison, which was now an impending certainty.

The real question, though, was whether Shade could handle Harkennr and his forces now that the guy knew they were coming and would be waiting for them. They’d caught the place off guard when it was just the two of them on their own—admittedly, the task force’s two most powerful members—and they almost hadn’t made it out.

How much danger would they be putting everyone else in when they went back a second time to retrieve Nyx?

There was never a doubt in Rebecca’s mind that this would be their next move. They had to go after the katari.

But Maxwell’s next words were surprisingly painful to hear, especially when laced with all the agony of guilt the two of them now shared over what their mistake that night had produced.

“We have to get her back,” he said. “If they took her to that place…”

“I know,” Rebecca murmured.

The pain and fear in his silver eyes, visibly dimmer now than usual, only made it worse.

They both knew this wasn’t good and that they would put an entire task force of magicals in harm’s way when they went to rescue Nyx. But theyhadto get her out.

“She won’t last long in there on her own,” Rebecca whispered.

The shifter set his jaw, the muscles clenching over and over again until he nodded. “Then we go in and get her out. Therightway.”

The right way. Just like they’d agreed to start doing that night together.

And here Rebecca had been, all this time since then, thinking “the right way” was supposed to improve things for Shade. But if she had to go up against Harkennr now to free Nyx from that sadist’s clutches, she might just have to get her hands dirty in a completely different way.

No, she was certain of it. Because Kordus Harkennr didn’t play by the rules, which meant Rebecca couldn’t, either.

Otherwise, she had already doomed them all.

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