Page 96 of Elven Prince

Rebecca caught movement on her right—a slinking through the shadows before rustling ferns and bushes gave way. A single figure emerged from the darkness to step into the wan light of the few sputtering lights on the bridge and the insufficient moonlight.

It was more than enough for Rebecca to recognize him. She would have known his shadow.

Rowan Blackmoon.

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Gravel and dead weeds crunched beneath his boots as he walked steadily away from the trees, his hazel gaze roaming across the Shade teams all gaping back at him.

Not Rowan Blackmoon the way they’d onlythoughtthey’d known him.

This was the Scion of the Blackmoon Clan in all his glory. A powerful force for Agn’a Tha’ros. An elven prince.

His plain Earthside clothing in dark and nondescript colors were gone, replaced by the splendor of a true commander’s garb. Full elven armor of a brighter white-silver than any of the others, detailed with intricately swirling symbols of his station.

A full helm crested with a tuft of black feathers completed the ensemble, though he’d since removed it to tuck it under one arm as he approached.

Knowing Rowan, he’d probably never put it on in the first place.

He stopped halfway toward Rebecca, then took a moment to look at everyone—the four Shade teams standing in frozen disbelief behind their Roth-Da’al, and the elite battalion surrounding them all both on the ground and from above.

His soft chuckle felt like it came from a different world. “I’d almost forgotten how heated these things can get. And howeasyit is for the whole lot of it to just…go up in smoke. Figured I’d get a good front-row seat to the show, but you know what? I couldn’t help noticing something just doesn’t look quite right here.”

Rebecca’s operatives hissed, growled, whispered threats under their breath, but none of them moved toward the Blackmoon Elf or let an emotional outburst get the better of them.

Rowan advanced again, smiling his secret, devilish smile with each slow-falling footstep, swaggering toward Rebecca like the king of both fucking worlds.

Her only hope.

Her devastating weakness.

He said nothing as he cut across the road, refusing to distinguish between dirt and magical corpses in his path and stepping on whatever he pleased. Then he stopped directly in front of Rebecca, helm still cradled in the crook of one arm, and flashed her a feral grin.

Maxwell bristled instantly, leaning forward like he meant to lunge at Rowan but refusing to leave Rebecca’s side. “Traitor.”

Rowan’s hazel eyes never left Rebecca’s face, but he snapped his fingers and pointed at the ground at the shifter’s feet. “Down boy.”

All Maxwell could do now was growl even louder, silver eyes strobing with violent intent but nothing more. She’d ordered him to stand down. He would obey.

She’d also ordered her entire task force not to engage Rowan Blackmoon under any circumstances. At the time, she hadn’t once considered this type of confrontation even existed among the possibilities.

Her gaze flickered toward the commander’s helm in his arm, and the last connection she hadn’t yet made lit up in her mind with an electric jolt.

This washisarmy. All this washisdoing…

“Rowan,” she hissed, abandoning her former pretenses of familiarity with the Blackmoon Elf. Maxwell already knew she and Rowan shared a history. There was no reason to keep trying to hide it. “What the fuck are you doing?”

Rowan shifted his weight to one foot, looked her up and down, and winked. “Good to see you, too,Kilda’ari.”

Rebecca’s fists curled into themselves all on their own. She couldn’t stop them, nor could she keep the furious tremble at bay as she glared at him and felt as though any minute, she would burst into flames. But she did maintain a relatively level control over her voice. “That’s not what I said.”

“Hasn’t that always been the way between us?” Rowan chuckled, then fixed Maxwell with a conspiratorial smile. “Don’t hurt yourself trying to puzzle it out, shifter. It’s an elf thing.”

When he winked atMaxwellnext, Rebecca was sure Rowan would be on his back in the dirt in the next two seconds with an enormous gray wolf standing on his chest and tearing out his throat.

Wishful thinking.

“Isthiswhy you disappeared?” she hissed, barely containing her rage with so many soldiers surrounding her teams. “To go back for Gazen’s battalion because you couldn’t get the job done on your own?”

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