Page 71 of Elven Lies

“You’re really gonna let us go?”

She spread her arms. “That’s the plan.”

They scrutinized her further, then Tusks tilted his head. “We don’t believe you.”

“Well that’syourproblem. I’ve already untied you and told you why. You’re still the messengers, but now you have a messageforyour boss instead offromhim. It’s not that complicated.”

“And that’sallwe gotta do?” Shorty asked hesitantly.

“Simple and easy.” Rebecca stepped back to be sure she was off the golden circle in the center of the marble floor, then gestured toward it. “Now stand up and go deliver the message. And I can promise you right now, if I ever see you in this building again, I’m far more likely to change my mind.”

“Y-y-yeah!” Shorty stammered and pushed himself to his feet. “We got it, lady. No problem.”

Tusks struggled to stand beside him. “You can count on us. Message is our middle name.”

“I’m sure,” she muttered.

“You won’t regret this.” Shorty nodded furiously as his buddy dusted off the fronts of both their shirts. “What’re we supposed to call you, anyway?”

Rebecca raised an eyebrow. “Nice try. If you don’t get out now, I’m gonna start counting to ten.”

“Got it!”

“No problem, lady. Totally understood. No names, no problem.”

Shorty stepped toward the podium rising from the golden circle to take them back to the lobby.

But Rowan stepped forward at the last moment. “One more thing.”

The orcs turned toward him, their orange eyes glowing and their lazy smiles bending around protruding lower tusks.

The Blackmoon Elf moved in a deadly blur.

Rebecca saw a streak of green and brown, heard a choked-off grunt, then two quick series of crunching snaps followed by two heavy thumps on the marble floor.

A second later, both orcs lay motionless in the center of the golden circle. Behind them, Rowan gazed at their lifeless corpses with no expression whatsoever and dusted off his hands.

Rebecca stared at the bodies—the two orcs who’d attacked them and proven themselves useless for anything beyond delivering her message. And now that message wouldn’t even be delivered.

A boiling surge of anger blasted through her as she lifted her gaze toward the elf who’d quite literally just taken matters into his own hands.

“Rowan, what thehell?”

22

She couldn’t believe it. Rebecca had drawn him aside to tell him exactly what she meant to do. She’d untied their attackers, for crying out loud, and Rowan had decided all on his own to deliberately ignore her decisions before killing the messengers right here in front of her.

What in the Blue Hells was hethinking?

Rowan merely blinked at her, as if he hadn’t understood her perfectly clear question, then shrugged. “See? I’m awaybetter bodyguard than that stuck-up shifter. Really, it was no big deal.”

“Why did youdothat?” Rebecca seethed, calling on every inch of willpower to not attack him where he stood and rip him apart. She knew she could.

“What do you mean?” he asked with a goofy smile. “I did what you said.”

“I didn’t tell you to break their necks!”

“Yeah, but you said it was time to end this.”

---