Page 50 of Elven Crown

Maxwell’s furious growl reverberated against the walls as he stalked toward the elf, his silver eyes lit up with one continuous flare.

Oh no…

This was the part where Rebecca’s Head of Security took this show to the next level and shifted right here. She already recognized all the signs. Plus, the anticipation of such an impending battle was so thick in the air, she could almost taste it.

“I should lock you up again,” Maxwell snarled.

“Wouldn’tthatbe fun?” Rowan teased.

Just before the men got close enough to reach for each other, Rebecca made her move.

She summoned a heavy attack.

Two crackling orbs of crimson battle magic hissed through the air, sending flickering blood-red light and dancing shadows across the hallway a second before they cracked into the floor.

One in front of Rowan’s feet, and the other in front of Maxwell’s.

Both men stopped short. The shifter’s gaze darted up to Rebecca’s face to sendhera warning snarl instead while the scent of hot stone and burning steel filled the hallway.

Rowan, however, stared straight down at the two-foot-wide crater Rebecca’s magic had left in the cracked tile floor at his feet. Then he clicked his tongue. “Seriously? That’s all you got?”

His next chuckle made Rebecca feel like she was losing her mind. “This isnotwhat we need right now!”

Before her voice finished echoing back toward them, Rowan and Maxwell fixed her with equally hesitant stares, the air crackling with their shared desire to rip each other apart.

Well, they could add that to the growing list of things they had in common. Like both taking themselves away too seriously and being a major pain in her ass.

She wagged a finger back and forth between them. “Whatever you two have against each other, this isn’t helping anyone. And it sure as hell won’t get Eduardo’s cargo off the streets, which is our priority right now. Agreed?”

Maxwell stepped around the hole she’d blasted into the floor with another rumbling growl, rolling up the cuffs of his long-sleeve shirt. His glower focused solely on Rowan again. “I’d be happy to pivot and prioritize throwinghimback in a holding room. We shouldn’t have let him out.”

“Well we did.” Rebecca stepped forward to put herself between them again. Part of her wanted to scream at them to grow the hell up or she’d be forced to hurt them both. The other part of her wanted to laugh in their faces.

Clearly, she was the only one here capable of taking the high road, and now was the perfect moment to lead by example.

“He passed initiation, Hannigan,” she continued. “It’s done. The only issue we should be focusing on now is getting Eduardo’s cargo off the streets, and that’s it.”

She thought she had him convinced before Rowan barked out a laugh and tugged at the collar of his shirt, flipping it up at Maxwell in a way that made even Rebecca want to pound his face into the tile floor.

Maxwell surged toward him with a hiss.

Rebecca leapt to insert herself between them one more time, realizing the situation probably called for physical restraint for both of them.

It looked like the shifter was ready to walk right through her.

“Hey! We have a job to do!” Rebecca pressed a hand against Maxwell’s chest, hoping it would at least remind him that she was standing here so he didn’t bowl her over.

It did far more than that.

The instant flare of magnetic heat and blazing energy jolted through her entire hand at the contact, zipping up her arm and blooming through her core and rushing up toward her face in half a second.

There was no way in hell Maxwell didn’t feel it too.

He froze, seemingly snapped back to reality. He sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth and blinked like he’d gotten something caught in his eye. Then his silver eyes widened, their constant shifter glow faded back its normal levels, his mouth popped open, and he swayed on his feet.

It was only a little. Rebecca would have reached for him if she’d thought her Head of Security was about to keel over, but he caught himself in time.

Whether anyone else had noticed was anyone’s guess, but Rebecca had noticed.

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